Midi Issues - no note off

c0wb0y19

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Midi Issues - Alesis DM5 quits - Solved

Hello. I have some issues with recording into garageband. I recorded a piano part just fine, no issues. i then plugged in my Alesis DM5 Drum kit, and it will record for about 10-15 seconds and stop. When looking at the midi information on the screen, the notes on the drum kit don't seem to turn off. i think this is overloading something and causing the mac to just drop the DM5. I can make it work again for 10-15 seconds by stopping the recording and starting again where i left off. I took a screenshot of what i am talking about but i don't guess i can post it, it tells me its not a valid image file (screenshot is a .png file)

Anyway, i can not find a feature in the DM5 settings that lets me choose what type of "note off" i send, wether its an actual note off, or a "note on" with a velocity of zero. The note on velocity zero is what is sent from the DM5. I acquired midipipe and unsuccessfully tried to change my note on/0 to note off, also tried to add space between the on/off being sent. But i am also a complete newbie to recording via midi, and to using midi pipe, which isn't the easiest thing to figuring out...

It may be asked why not just use an audio out. I want to be able to record the drums Midi to make changes and see how things sound with the different sets in Garageband. Also, I am a bassist, not a drummer so my timing isn't awesome, and i can clean that up a little by editing midi.

Anybody have any suggestions? Thanks for your time

Tony
 
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Just a thought - if it not sending note offs, then the MIDI polyphony will be eaten up, at which point it hangs? Wasn't the DM5 the drum that sends ON messages at velocity 0, rather than note OFF messages?

EDIT - I've found lots of people complaining this is the case - and by design it does seem to just send the go message, and as percussion is short lived envelope wise, they didn't bother to follow the spec. Some people seem to like it live because they can then mute a cymbal by grabbing it, essentially sending another velocity message, but a very low one - so it mutes. Nobody seems to have fixed this by any clever means so far.
 
Hi Rob and thanks for your reply. To answer your question: In all the research i have done over the past week, the DM5 does exactly what you described. Note on at the velocity played, then immediately another note on at velocity zero instead of a note off message. i used Midipipe to verify that this is what is coming from the DM5. I did notice that the played "note on" was sent to channel 10, and the off "note on" velocity 0 was sent to channel 1. I used midi pipe to route the note on zero to channel 10, still with no success. Garageband still shows the notes, once hit, continue on until it overloads (I'm not sure what the right term is) and the only way to make the note go "off" is to stop the recording. I can hit several notes on one drum, and they all register, (until overload), but none of them "turn off". I may have used Midipipe incorrectly, as i am a novice in all areas here...

Have you or anyone else that wants to chime in had any experience with using midipipe? there isn't a manual for it that i can find, only a few web pages and a couple of youtube videos which have pointed me into what i think is the right direction. But there is still a LOT of room for user error on my part...
 
I think i have it figured out, i wanted to put my solution here, because i hate it when people never reply with a solution. and from my searching this week, i am not the only person that has run into this no "note off" deal when recording midi.

Garageband is limited because the only midi option is to listen to ALL midi channels at the same time. You cannot record multiple midi instruments simultaneously (as far as i know) on different channels. Looks like i will have to upgrade to Logic or some other software for this.

In this particular case, I was able to successfully record my drums from the DM5 into garage band. My solution was to use Midipipe, and in the right hand column, i had (in this order):

(1) Midi In, with my device selected, check the option to "hijack";

(2)Channel filter and selected only channel 10 (because for some reason, the DM5 plays the "note on" to channel 10 and the immediate note on velocity zero, acting as a "note off" to channel 1);

(3) Message converter, to convert all my "note on"s to "Note Off"

(4) Midi Out and selected the Midipipe output 1. Also below that, checked the pass thru option box


Essentially this converts all my "note on" to "note off" for midi channel 10, and when garage band records, it only registers a blip instead of a long note that never turns off. I was able to play a whole song without the usual 10 seconds only before it shuts off. So whenever i record my DM5, I have to run Midipipe in the background, with my saved setup described above. Hope this is able to help someone, i have been banging my head with this issue for days. From my research, other people have had issues with notes never getting turned off, perhaps this may be a doable workaround.

Thanks for reading
 
Thank you for posting a solution. I don't have a DM5, and possibly never will (I've nothing against it, I'm just not a drummer), but this should help other DM5 users who are looking for a solution. It's weird that the message with velocity 0 is going to channel 1 instead of channel 10-- that seems like a major error in the design. Using Note On with velocity 0 is a common and accepted way of send a "Note Off," because it makes the messages more compressible using running status, but it's too bizarre to be believed that the "Note Off" isn't even on the same channel.
 
yeah, the note off to channel one had me doing a double take. i checked my connections, and maybe its an issue with this cheap midi to usb cable... it looks like the ones i have seen described with the treble clef stamped on it, but mine only says "USB Midi". I will check it again when i get a good cable to see if it is still routing "note off" to channel 1 and post my results here. it may be a bit, usually when i go to the music store, i intend on spending maybe $30 and somehow end up spending $200 plus, because i found something i just have to buy... and when i do that, i go and get the wife something so she isn't so aggravated with me... a good $30 cable may cost me $300 by the time i get it...lol
 
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