"midi overload" in usine

[mat]

i was thinking (and testing) a long time before writing this post, cause i was not shure at all about what happens. but its obvious for me now:

usine sometimes gets a "midi overload". it stops responding to midi input. then i stop drumming. then i can watch faders move and knobs being pressed just the way i did it before, but MUCH later, like a "automation delay" of 10 or 20sec. and the sync goes crazy, going up and down in tempo.

i use my e-drum as midi input device, for triggering sounds in battery and for controlling 3 or 4 faders for reaktor ensembles with the ribbon controller on the e-drum. i have about 6 reaktors with up to 3 instruments each in different channels running.

i testet all possible settings in asio tab. now it runs with 8 threads (have 8 channels in wkspace), 256samples bloc and 25ms refresh. so no extreme tight settings. usine runs on max. 25% processor load and 60% memory as the meters in dashboard show.

i send midi clock from the drumkit. then i discovered that when i step on the hihat pedal exzessive that usine gets weird. but i cant stop that as a drummer, left foot always active. and i can not turn this off (eg. not sending foot control).

so i set the HPD to "thin out midi cc" to max. still same.

so now i set in usine setup "ignore midi time clock" to reduce the amount of midi for usine. can not turn it of in the e-drum, because then i can not start/stop usine remotely. no knob left on the drum for triggering the start button via midi.

still after some time of playing usine stops responding to midi, and then faders move by itself till the last move i made before.

i am struggeling with this since a long time now, testing all possible settings in usine. now i have no idea left.

it is not live usable with this issue.

i have a very clean installed and configured win7 64 laptop, lots of power and ram. a roland UM-2G midi interface, i think thats no crab. most recent drivers. no network/w-lan/bluetooth/anti virus ... etc.

when i run midi-ox to monitor the midi input of the interface before (paralell to) usine, everything is great. very reactive and no weird timing or messages. so i guess it is a usine issue.

usine provides no possibility to filter out a midi cc complete for the entire program. that could help. and i just dont want to use midi yoke plus midi-ox to filter, because its 2 more things in the way to make other problems, and i need very fast midi for drumming.

ok, a long post with a very individual setup, but maybe someone has had simular experiences to enshure me i am not crazy ... i am about to loose my patience. cause it runs for some 20min or so

and then - ahhrrg!

everything else runs great and it would be my dream mashine for live. but - it keeps nagging me.

ah - i dont use the sequencer at all, i dont want a timeline to be free to improvise. and the seq is empty - no automation data in there. (or maybe its somehow hidden, accidently recorded?).

any help in the usine universe?

[nay-seven]

mm, have you try with 128 or even 64 as block size...?
maybe Heliouk6 can also tell us how he work , cause it's a midi drummer too...

[mat]

yes, i testet around with the blck size.

64 starts crackeling. 128 did not solve.

i know its difficult with so much possible combinations of hardware to exclude all problems. but i realy did spend lots of time with this.

i was hoping to get some general hint on how midi is treated in usine to narrow out (like: "yeah, midi gets complicated with low refresh speed" or something like that). you can (i did)spend days of testing combinations of settings and patching/routing/filtering.

but its all blind testing. can be anything. it could even be reaktor making strange things. who knows. maybe a 32/64 bit problem. or elsewhat.

if noone ever had a simular thing then it might be just my setup. maybe usb-controller/interface combination. its endless

[Floego]

try this (it requires usine v5.50.45 or later):

create a midi reset button using the inlet "reset all midi devices" of the dashboard module. Manually use that button everytime midi clock gets crazy.



or (way more complicated):

create a logic rule for that button, so everytime the "receive midi clock" gets unstable, let it automatically press the "reset all midi" button.

[senso]

Unfortunately is not the only source of troubles in midi management.
The midi overload is often caused by the driver or windows especially in hi (but not only) CPU load.

You can try the following wkp. I just connect the midiin to the midiout of my sound card (with a single wire)

http://www.sensomusic.com/forums/upload ... erload.zip

This patch send hundred of midi codes each seconds, and seems to perfect with my RME card but not with my AudioKontrol.

Moreover, if I voluntary overload the cpu (Cltr+alt+R several times on a big patch patch for instance) it seems to kill the driver (or windows).
This also append in other hosts like Ableton, etc...

But in the latest version I have implemented a 'reset all midi drivers' function (available in the dashboard module) to reset the drivers and restart with a fresh midi In buffer. Personally I use it a lot.

[woodslanding]

Wow, that is great!!!!

I have had to restart usine so many times because of this prob, usually once a day!!

Now it's just a button press in the UI. Excellent.

[mat]

yes, thanx alot for this! days of anger and testing are gone (hopefully)

so its not a problem in my workspace!

sad that i cant use my RME multiface for live, my thinkpad is to slow for that, thats why i never tested this in there and the acer only has usb.

but woodslanding says he has the same issue with the RME...

i definitely wil test the reset midi thing! and i would be very thankful if anybody could create the logic module mentioned by floego, cause i cant do it ...artists and logic - natural enemy

today i want to get the brand new "komplete audio 6" of NI to test it. they say it has new circuits, so maybe its working and i dont need the fireface uc. i will post my review within some days.

[woodslanding]

Well, I actually use two midi interfaces live, so it may be the Novation X-station acting up. I've had a history of problems with its drivers.

As long as I don't have to restart, it's a much more managable problem, tho.

[mat]

so, yes, it was my midi hardware. who would expect that from a device with "roland" and "cakewalk" printed on it...

with the Komplete Audio 6 it runs perfect, both my wkspace and the midi overload uploaded by senso after 3-4 hours testing.

could not overload usine by sending midi clock + hihat control + 1/64 rolls on 2 pads + moving faders fast on my wkspc.

sensos wkspace runs with:

64 bloc (current and best), 5ms refresh

with the soundcard on 48000 with 64 smpl latency and a "USB-Buffer" (not described in the manual of the card) of 1ms (lowest setting), the control panel says 5.7ms output latency.

with max. 42% processor and 35% memory in dashboard. in task manager max. 65% processor. on the acer.

with 88200 the audio files run to fast... thats strange.

i did raise the IRQ priority of the usb-hub.

usine rules!

if anybody is interrested in a short refiew on the komplete i can post one.

[nay-seven]

cool, that's good news !

And about a review about the Komplete audio 6, yes i suppose some users here( me included ) will be happy with...

[mat]

ok, review (with "v") soon

[seamus]

it seems strange that an audio interface as well made as the Fireface uc is not ideal for Usine.
I have been trying the babyface and still have the ghost midi problems. The reset all midi devices works ok. I never had problems with this interface on my mac with ableton, mainstage, digital performer. Maybe the issue is that os x midi support is just better?

[nay-seven]

yes, something to investigate here...

[cmodica]

Great this ''reset all midi device'' !!! I have the same problem for a long time with my rme multiface ... and sometimes it happens in a live sesssion and it is not very cool ...

I will test it.