Midi Lock!

[ernstinen]

Hey Guys,Man, I haven't experienced Midi Lock in years, and now it's happening daily.The Scenario: I'm working on a large orchestral piece. I've got 65 instruments loaded on different computers, and am getting random Midi Lock. I've got it nailed down to Kontakt 2 on a VisionDAW, a killer machine. It doesn't seem to matter what library locks up (EWQLSO Gold, GPO etc.), nor does it matter what interface I'm going through.I'm running 45 Midi channels in Kontakt through a MOTU Midi Express XT, sequencing on a Mac using an old version of Performer. Sometimes I can get through the whole piece (currently 5 minutes) without a problem, while other times it will happen more often. Also, once in a while, for instance, a snare drum will play a hit without it being sequenced. Weird. Any ideas? Thanks in advance,Ern

[sgs4u]

well that sucks,Can you save all your Kontact preferences, then re-install it?

[zircon]

I'm not sure what you mean by "lock". Your program(s) lock up? The MIDI stops rendering? Regardless, this can mostly likely be traced to DFD settings that stream too much. Try loading more into RAM and changing Kontakt's render to "like realtime" instead of offline.

[ernstinen]

Quote:I'm not sure what you mean by "lock"."Midi Lock" is an old term for an instrument getting "stuck," i.e. playing a note indefinitely. When playing back a performance, one instrument locks on a note and won't let go. The rest of the performance sequence continues, but you start going "what the !@#%! is THAT? You stop the sequence and, for instance, a violin is playing a B forever until you go to the "panic" (stop all notes) button on the sequencer. I thought that was a thing of the past, but I guess not! Anyway, the VisionDAW folks are very helpful and their Kontakt expert is calling me tomorrow P.M. (if I don't figure it out by then).Ern

[mazz]

Ern,It sounds to me like some note-offs are not being sent out of the Midi Express. It could be a Performer issue or a MIDI driver issue. Try trashing the preferences and re-launching the applications.It could also be that Kontakt is not registering the note-offs. I wasn't aware of a "like realtime" setting in Kontakt but I'm going to dig deegper on Zircon's suggestion cause this happens to me occasionally as well.Good luck, let us know what you find out!Mazz

[ernstinen]

Thanks Guys!What I can't understand is why this isn't happening with my Giga computer, as well as my Emu6400 sampler and my Proteus 2 (still love the flute and oboe in that old dinosauer ).I'll dig into your suggestions tomorrow ---Ern

[jh]

(I´m not familiar with your interface, so this might sound dumb )If you´re using midi cables, check them first before re-installing anything. I had that exact problem with my keyboard for a long time before I realized it was the midi cable/midi plug. ORTry to mute some channels and if there´s no "locks" after that, there´s probably an overload somewhere. I´ve had that problem with a USB MIDI connection. With older gear (no usb) I´ve had no such problems. (for some odd reason)- JH

[sgs4u]

yes, it's always good to check cables, first. I have also made that mistake...

[zircon]

Yeah, I've experienced similar problems like this and the DFD settings are almost always the root of the problem. As much as I love Kontakt and dislike Gigastudio, the latter's DFD beats the pants off the former.

[ernstinen]

I just talked to the VisionDAW techie. He felt that it was caused by some conflicting info being sent by the MOTU Midi Express XT, such as SMPTE etc.So I look at the XT, and --- DOH! My stupid-ass feet must have bumped a preset button on the front panel and a "Merge All" light was blinking. I changed it to the proper setting and --- PROBLEM SOLVED! (at least for today ).Thanks for all your ideas anyway!Dumb Ern