Issues with 828mkIII and MIDI

[dbossa]

Hi guys,

Before I start, I just want to mention that I read through many posts and tried out alot of suggestions but I still have the same issues...

I purchased a brand new 828mkIII lately and have it hooked up to a Windows XP SP2 based laptop via firewire. I have a Yamaha keyboard hooked up to the unit via it's MIDI ports. I'm using VST instruments loaded in an old program called Steinberg V-Stack (which works perfectly when I use my EMU 1616 instead of the MOTU).

Here are some of the issues I'm having:

1) Stuck notes: I'll be playing the piano and all of a sudden one of the notes that I hit just sticks as if I have the sustain pedal on. No matter what I do I have to wait until the note decays on its own.
2) No note at all: I'll hit a note at one point during play and the note simply doesn't happen as if I never even hit the key. In some rare instances the note will appear (quite loudly) several seconds after I hit it.
3) Loss of audio entirely when transposing: This is really random but happens very often. Sometimes when I try to transpose into a different key (using my Yamaha keyboard transpose feature) everything just stops. There is no audio and no indication of any activity if I try to play. It's as if the whole thing just dies. I then have to shut down V-Stack, load it back up, load up my VSTs again and then it's fine.


What I've done:

1) I upgraded to the latest firmware version 1.0.6
2) Installed the latest drivers
3) Applied the two Microsoft patches for people having firewire issues in SP2
4) Tried different latencies (I can't use anything more than 256 because it becomes too difficult to play live)
5) Tried it on my brother-in-law's Dell laptop - exact same issues.


Can any of you offer any suggestions that may help?

Thanks in advance!

Daniel

[Gianluca13_2]

Exactly same problem here.

I tested on the same firewire bus at the same time an 828 MK III and an 8Pre. Both MIDI in ports received data from a controller tested and well functioning. The 8pre worked fine the 828 MK III fitted wrong data leaving note on or missing note. Not so frequently two three time in an hour.
I signaled this problem to Italian assistance and they answered me I was the first signaling this problem. Reading in an important Italian forum I discovered other peoples having same problem. I think this is some of critical in the 828 MK III. Or in hardware or in firmware. It is not depending by the computer or firewire drivers and my test on top demonstrate clearly this. I read of a guy having some problem also with a Mac then seems to me there’s other possibility than a defect in 828 MK III. Sure it is not for all 828 produced because I also heard of peoples having any problem and very happy with 828. I posted two time in Technical Link of MOTU just for have two automatic answer and nothing more. I don’t know what to do. I’m thinking to bring my interface and my laptop to the seller for have a substitution hoping it isn’t just a temporary palliative.

Stay tuned if I have some news I tell you.

Gianluca.

[dbossa]

Grazie Gianluca per l'informazione che mi hai datto. L'apprezzo moltissimo. Sono felice che non sono l'unico con questa problema.

Can anyone else shed any light on this? Has anyone been informed of a possible firmware update that may be in the works? This is the only problem I've encountered so far... none of the high pitched noises and pops that some others have been experiencing.

[dbossa]

Gianluca, did you ever consider using a USB to MIDI adapter to connect your keyboard to your laptop so as to bypass the MOTU's MIDI altogether? I've got one lying around somewhere and will give it a try tomorrow to see if it makes any difference.

[Gianluca13_2]

Yes, it make difference. I tested an M-Audio 1 x 1 USB MIDI port as MIDI in and all the system M-Audio + 828 MK III + 8Pre worked very fine. I want investigate in 828 hardware side. In next days I want to place an oscilloscope probe around the MIDI in circuit. I’m a digital system designer and this behavior tell me something but before I need some information more.
.

[dbossa]

Sounds good... Let me know what you find!

[drifter7508]

Same issues here. Just bought the 8pre + 828MK3.

The MIDI interface on the 828mk3 is useless!
Skipping and hanging notes.

Replaced it with my Elektron TM-1 USB MIDI interface and all
is suddenly working just fine.

Running WIN7 64 Bit + the latest 64 drivers from Motu.

So, any news about these MIDI problems?