MIDI controller keyboard dropping notes on cubasis

N

nelsondog

New member
Would be very grateful for any help on a slightly strange problem:

Have just started in the whole PC midi thing, and bought cubasis as a first sequencer, connected via an audiotrak midi mate usb cable (running XP Pro, Audigy2 soundcard).

Using a Korg n264 as a controller keyboard, everything is fine, but for reasons of space, I have also got a roland pc-180 to use as a controller.

Now, when I use the roland to control the pc midi, it (apparently randomly) ignores notes (and note offs) for up to a second at a time, so trying to record on cubasis is very frustrating.

I suspected it might be a problem with the roland, so hooked it up as a controller to the korg, and again, everything is fine, no dropped notes etc etc.

So I am stuck. The only thing I can think of is that the usb cable/interface is somehow not up to the job with the roland, but before I splash out on a new interface, would welcome any thoughts, ideas etc...

Thanks. :confused:
 
More info needed

What are the specs of the computer that you're using?
I'm not familiar w/the PC180 - does it have an onboard USB interface or are you using an outboard one?
Are you sure you've set up Cubasis properly? I've used that program and remember it as not having many menu options, but are the ones that it does have set properly?
And what do you mean 'space issues'? Isn't the Korg a reasonably compact keyboard? Have you tried that (set to 'local off') as a controller to get consistent notes into Cubasis?
 
Thanks for the reply... the computer is a Dell/Intel 3Ghz machine, running XP Pro, Creative Audigy2 soundcard (not the platinum) using an outboard usb midi adapter - audiotrak midi mate.

The "space issues" are basically that the korg won't fit in the room where the computer usually is, so I've gone for the much smaller roland, which just has the mid out going into the usb adapter.

And yes, the korg works absolutely fine with cubasis (using the same usb midi adapter and cubasis settings), no missed notes etc, which is why the problems with the roland are such a mystery, especially as that works fine when (separately) used to control the korg.

So basically:

1. the korg works fine as a controller for cubasis

2. the roland works fine when tested as a controller for the korg.

3. the roland has problems working as a controller for cubasis.

Is it a case of having to invest in, say, a serial port midi adapter?

Any help gratefully received!
 
nelsondog said:
Is it a case of having to invest in, say, a serial port midi adapter?
Click to expand...

You COULD go that way, and maybe that will solve the problem. With the advent + popularity (and ease of use) of USB midi interfaces, I'm sure SOMEONE is blowing those old thangs out at firesale prices.

If I was forced to conjecture, I would say that the USB interface you have just expects to see something that it's not getting from the Roland.

One parting thought - does the interface have a control panel you can look at? Is the latency set sanely? Are there any other adjustments/controls you can play around with while twinking the Roland keys?
 
As far as I can tell, there is no way to adjust anything in the midi interface... and have tried with different latency settings inside cubasis, with no effect.

is it possible that the roland has some non-standard midi implementation? Is there any way to find out? If it is, I'd be better off taking it back and getting another controller I guess.
 
nelsondog said:
As far as I can tell, there is no way to adjust anything in the midi interface... and have tried with different latency settings inside cubasis, with no effect.

is it possible that the roland has some non-standard midi implementation? Is there any way to find out? If it is, I'd be better off taking it back and getting another controller I guess.
Click to expand...

I don't see a pc-180 model on Rolands US site.

But I found this:

http://www.rolandus.com/support/support_docs/PCR30&50ts.pdf

Check out the bit about not loading the USB drivers for the controller if you are using another MIDI interface.

Here's another cool site that might be of some use:

http://www.synthzone.com/
 
Thanks for those links - the pc180 didn't come with its own usb interface, just a standard midi/midi cable, which links it to the korg without problem.

have emailed roland/edirol tech support, their only advice so far is to send the unit back for replacement. Given that it works fine with the korg (I hadn't discovered this when I emailed roland) , I can't see that there's necessarily anything wrong with the unit itself. Another email has gone off today - hopefully they'll have some ideas...
 
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