USB MIDI causing audio noise!!

[Terry]

I am running CWPA9 on a PII 350mHz w/128mb RAM and a SB Live! card. I recently bought an Opcode MIDIport 96 USB interface (I know, they're out of business). The problem is that when I'm recording any audio, if any MIDI data is being sent through the interface at the same time (even a simple click track to my Alesis D4) I get a lot of pops and clicks in the audio track. If no data is sent while recording audio, everything comes out fine. I have performed numerous tests and have found that, indeed, the USB interface is the cause of the problem. I have posted this several times on the Cakewalk Power website, but we haven't come up with an answer yet. Has anybody had this problem when using a USB MIDI interface?? I need help!!! Thanks.

 

[Riverdog]

Is the USB input on your computer a PCI card?
If so the USB card could be hogging a lot of bandwidth on the PCI bus causing the audio from your audio card to stutter...

I don't think it's the MIDI interface itself...
If there are problems with USB - Does the "MIDIPort 96" have an RS232 Connection on the back?

Could you try setting it to go through a Com port?

 

[Terry]

No, my USB port is just a port on the back of the tower itself. I have two of them. It doesn't matter which port I hook it up to. There is no other way to hook up the interface besides USB.

I have checked the IRQ's and everything and there are no conflicts between the SB Live! and any USB hardware.

Currently, I have a work-around that allows me to bypass the USB and run MIDI through the sound card whenever I'm recording or playing audio. I would rather not have to do this, but for now it's fine.

My only step left, since I can't contact Opcode, is to contact Creatice Labs and see if they've ever heard of this.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[bgj]

I have your exact problem and spent two days trying to locate the source of the noise before I realized the midi playback was causing a problem. I’m using a Midiman Midisport 2x2 USB interface. I don’t have a Soundblaster card but I believe my card has the same Yamaha OPL3-SAx chip as the SB. I’ve downloaded an updated driver for the Yamaha chip but I haven’t yet installed it. If you find a solution please let me know.

 

[Terry]

Wow, finally somebody knows what I'm talking about!!! Thanks for the reply, bgj. I've installed the latest SB drivers and it had no effect at all. I'm currently using a work-around so that whenever I do any audio I route the MIDI data through the SB Live! card and switch the path through a MIDIman 3x8 patchbay that I had lying around. When doing MIDI only, which is most of the time, I use the MIDIport 96. I'd rather not have to, but it's a quick fix. Please let me know if you find out anything that will solve the USB/soundcard conflict. I'm dying to know how to resolve this. Thanks!