Strange plug-in problem: Notes are reset on key release, regardless of ADSR envelope

[Thohi]

First of all, sincerest apologies if I misfired on forum and should move my post somewhere else.

I have this problem with some, but far from all, VSTi plugins, and I can't seem to find a common denominator.

What happens:
Sounds play fine, but the envelope is cut off as soon as the last key on my MIDI keyboard is released. What I mean by that is, if a sound has a ADSR release (like, say, a piano's tone), so long as at least one key is held on the keyboard, every note will sound like it should, but if the last key is released, all sound is completely silenced (including long releases, as evidenced that they don't "reappear" when a new key is pressed). This doesn't seem to apply to effects such as reverb or delay; those will continue. But the raw sound itself stops.
In most cases, this is true even if the sustain pedal is pressed; the sound still stops once no more keys on the keyboard are pressed. The one exception here (that I've found) is the old KOMPAKT player that came with my ancient EastWest Symphonic Orchestra package.

Other than that, I can't find any relations. It doesn't matter if it's sample-based or analog modeling.

A few examples are:
KOMPAKT (as mentioned above): Notes are cut off when last key is released, unless sustain pedal is held.
SONiVOX Orchestral Companion: Notes are cut off when last key is released, regardless of sustain pedal.
KONTAKT and REAKTOR: Work fine. Notes are not cut off.
Uno FM: Notes are cut off when last key is released, regardless of sustain pedal.
KBplugs OB-2: Works fine. Notes are not cut off.

I use Reaper on a Windows 7 system, running an i7 with 32 GB RAM. It's definitely not a harddrive, SSD, or memory problem. Also, I seriously doubt it's a Reaper problem, as the demos I downloaded of Arturia's Farfisa V, Jup-8 V, and Stage-73 V, all did the same thing, both as plugins in Reaper, and in their stand-alone versions.

What I suspect is that it may simply be my audiocard that's too old to work well anymore. 'Cos that thing is OLD. M-Audio Delta 2496. But I'd like to be sure before I rush out and lay down several $hundred on something new.

Anyone experienced this? Anyone know what to do? Anyone even know what I'm talking about?

[SODDI]

Could you possibly be sending an "all notes off" MIDI message? Possible a controller error?

Does Reaper allow you to inspect MIDI tracks entry by entry like Cubase's list editor? (I'd also like that info just for my own purposes.)

[Urs]

What SODDI said - your controller probably sends "All Notes Off" when the last key is lifted. This isn't a bug though, it's a behaviour that many MIDI keyboards have always had, e.g. Roland synthesizers. I assume this was done to prevent note hangers with sluggish MIDI connections in the early days.

The expected behaviour of the VST is then to switch all audible voices to Release phase, which of course would normally and simply be the last one that had its key lifted.

I'd suggest to check the MIDI output of your controller with some MIDI monitoring tool. If it is the All Notes Off, send a bug report to all the plug-in manufacturers who got it wrong.

[Thohi]

Could you possibly be sending an "all notes off" MIDI message? Possible a controller error?

Does Reaper allow you to inspect MIDI tracks entry by entry like Cubase's list editor? (I'd also like that info just for my own purposes.)

Quickly addressing your final question: Yes, Reaper does allow you to view (and edit) your individual instrument/MIDI tracks in a list form (showing all codes/CCs, etc.)

AAAAND... Thanks guys! Turns out you were right on the nose; my controller (for now) is my trusty (if somewhat dodgy) old Roland D-50, and - it certainly does turn out to send an All Notes Off after each last-key-release. I downloaded a freebie MIDI filter which removes any CC I want, set it to the ANO, and voila, everything worked perfectly.

It is a little weird, 'cos I didn't have these kinds of problems back when I used Cubase (maybe Cubase automatically filters out that CC by default?) But, the problem is solved, somewhat. It's a little annoying to have to chain a tiny plugin to filter out that code, but then that's only going to be true until I throw money after a new controller keyboard (hopefully).

Again, thanks! I was getting all gray.