You can always compare the midi out of one setup to the midi out from another using a midi monitor, and see what the difference is.
I did that as well. MIDI-OX on my PC (through an old Audigy Soundblaster front panel) says my sequencer is sending nothing but note on/off and song start / stop (at the begining and end of the sequence). This was expected because I explicitly turned off active sensing / clock data / aftertouch / CCs on my sequencer's MIDI OUT. SNOIZE MIDI Monitor through a Mio USB MIDI interface cable says exactly the same thing... So I know that my sequencer is not sending any weird MIDI data anywhere, nor is either computer adding / removing MIDI data, it's sending exactly what it's telling me it's sending which is also exactly what I tell it to send.
That's precisely why it's so frustrating, it seems to be just as the wayfar site says it is: some kind of grounding / ac adapter issue... since I'm not doing anything weird at all MIDI-wise, yet piping it through a computer's MIDI IN/OUT fixes the problem entirely, in fact it makes it kick complete ass (we're talking 32nds/64ths at 250bpm on four channels, no sweat).
if it really were just grounding issues, id think id have had more issues with it myself, since the power supply for a gp2x is def not grounded.. i used it both piggy->midi directly connected and with thrus, the only thru situation that caused me issue was passing it through my mopho, but that was probably because it was adding to the midi data (which was just clock, note and cc from piggy, though was sending note data to other hardware besides just midines)
Honestly, this is exactly my thinking too, but like I said above, I've monitored this every which way.. my sequencer isn't pushing anything but note on/offs and start/stop.
The setup works perfectly when I go MC-500 -> (laptop G4 / desktop PC) MIDI IN/OUT -> MIDINES.
MC-500 -> MIDINES chokes and hangs like crazy. As in, completely unusable.
Go figure. But that's why I wondered, WTF is the computer doing exactly? It's not adding/removing MIDI data, so is it amplifying and/or grounding the signals?? If so, there has to be a less cumbersome way to clean/ground/amp the signals without using an entire computer for such a purpose. Which I guess is my only real question at this point since everything is working great now with at least a somewhat portable laptop as a MIDI thru box (it's just kind of ridiculous to have to do that way is all).
]]>I can live with the laptop setup I guess, it's not like my G4 was doing anything useful anyhow. I just kind of enjoyed having a laptop/desktop free rig, fwiw. Now I'm using MIDIPipe to filter just about everything out, and it's working really really well now, which is all I wanted.
Just annoying / confusing as to why looping it through a computer is fixing this shizzz, I get it, grounding whatever, but there has to be a simpler way... hence my posting, there are a bunch of smrts around here. Just figured someone would have more information on it, like a little thru box that can be put together that effectively implements whatever fix the computer is facilitating.
]]>-active sense
-midi clock
-all non midines data (other channels, notes, cc messages etc)
-mtc
-mmc commands
It would still be nice to have a better idea of what is/was going on with the direct connection to my sequencer... 'grounding' and 'cheapo ac adapters' doesn't really explain much, and the suggested solution of subsuming an entire computer to solve a grounding issue seems a little over the top for the problem being solved.
Thanks for everyone's input tho.
]]>If there is a grounding (earthing) problem between the NES and your MIDI Sequencer then, MIDINES can miss data unfortunatley. This occurs usually when both the NES *and* the MIDI Sequencer are using cheapo AC Adaptors.
There is a workaround but it requires a PC with a well grounded (earthed) power supply (which most are). Just run your MIDI controller into your PC's MIDI in, and then back out the PC's MIDI out, echoing the MIDI in to the out in software and Midines will work fine that way.
Despite having the original NES adapter and original ac cord for my sequencer (hence, not 'cheapos') I guess I have to entertain the possibility since my sequencer does in fact only have a two-prong cable/inlet (like most old Roland stuff).
Is it really the sequencer's cord / 2-prong inlet at fault here? If so, is there a way to ground it so that this doesn't hassle the MIDINES? I'm at a total loss here.
]]>(MC-500 Sequencer) -> (Computer / Creative Audigy Front Panel) -> (MIDINES) works great!
What is the difference here? Plugging straight from my sequencer into MIDINES as I sit here results in mostly choking notes and the ones that do play will hang in the end.... Plugging as stated above results in perfection, and no matter how hard I try I can't get a note to skip or hang... the thing smokes!
So I guess I am hoping for some insight as to why this is happening, so I can correct it at my studio somehow. I do have a Raspberry Pi I'd be willing to use for this purpose, but outside of that, I'm not bringing my desktop computer into my studio or buying a dedicated one just to play MIDINES... I need other options that don't involve using my computer as a middle man...
If it's really some kind of 'grounding' issue, there has to be a way to build a cheapo MIDI thru box to replicate the fix that is occuring by using the computer as a thru box... if that makes sense. (though is sure doesn't make sense to me that a shitty soundcard interface from 2003 on my desktop computer somehow works better than dedicated midi hardware!! sigh...)
ANY help is super insanely appreciated... I'm going crazy.
]]>Gonna bring my sequencer home from my studio tonight and plug it into my computer, run it through MIDI-OX -> MIDINES and see what the hell is happening. I'll post updates later.
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