I have literally changed nothing about my system, yet today all of a sudden I am getting both MIDI notes that don't activate and notes that hang.
I am using Ableton on a Mac Pro, I have tried various soft synths and Kontakt and the problem exists in all of them, although it seems incredibly random when it occurs. I was mostly using my Korg Microkey going in USB to trigger notes and for a while I thought it must be a malfunction with this until I plugged in another keyboard which is going in through a proper MIDI interface. At first I didn't observe the problem and thought that proved it was the Microkey and then I got a random hanging note!
So my problem is what could be causing this all of a sudden if it's not the keyboard? My host and the rest of my set-up has not changed a bit. I can tell right now this is going to drive me insane trying to troubleshoot. Sometimes I can play for several minutes without an aberrant note and then out of the blue there it will be.
Hanging MIDI notes
-
- KVRist
- 223 posts since 19 Apr, 2011
-
- KVRist
- 337 posts since 5 Jun, 2017 from Los Angeles
Yep! I've experienced this issue before...just like you described. The worse part is, you can't reproduce it at a certain bar/time so you just don't know what's causing it. The "normal" version of sticky notes usually happens when you have a thick midi arrangement but for me in this case, it didn't matter what the arrangement was. It would just happen regardless.
I'm not exactly sure what solves it because I do bunch of stuff at the same time and usually it works fine.
I reboot everything, remove anything midi, change the buffer rate...even use different type of midi cable and ...boom!
Wish I could be more of help.
I'm not exactly sure what solves it because I do bunch of stuff at the same time and usually it works fine.
I reboot everything, remove anything midi, change the buffer rate...even use different type of midi cable and ...boom!
Wish I could be more of help.
-
- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 223 posts since 19 Apr, 2011
Ouch, yeah I feel for you.
I am starting to think it is in fact the Microkey though. I only experienced one hang on my other keyboard, and have not been able to reproduce that, and I also had the Microkey hooked up at the same time so I can't entirely rule out that it was that causing some kind of interference.
The strongest piece of evidence is that I booted up my laptop and hooked up the Microkey to that and got some hangs! Seems pretty conclusive to me that it is what is causing it. I am still trying to coax another hang out of my other keyboard hooked to my main rig.. if I can't get one, I will have to assume it's the Microkey shitting the bed on me. Not surprising - I've come to kind of rely on it because I have a small desk space and the octave switches allow me to still access a full keyboard range (albeit not all at once, of course) so it would just figure if I had to find a replacement right now.
I am starting to think it is in fact the Microkey though. I only experienced one hang on my other keyboard, and have not been able to reproduce that, and I also had the Microkey hooked up at the same time so I can't entirely rule out that it was that causing some kind of interference.
The strongest piece of evidence is that I booted up my laptop and hooked up the Microkey to that and got some hangs! Seems pretty conclusive to me that it is what is causing it. I am still trying to coax another hang out of my other keyboard hooked to my main rig.. if I can't get one, I will have to assume it's the Microkey shitting the bed on me. Not surprising - I've come to kind of rely on it because I have a small desk space and the octave switches allow me to still access a full keyboard range (albeit not all at once, of course) so it would just figure if I had to find a replacement right now.
-
- KVRist
- 337 posts since 5 Jun, 2017 from Los Angeles
Does the Microkey have traditional 5 pin midi as well? I'm thinking if you use a different type of connection just to see what happens.
-
- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 223 posts since 19 Apr, 2011
Unfortunately not, it just has the boxy little USB connector (the kind found on the backs of printers, etc - not sure what "type" it is).
I've often been a little dubious of this thing.. the cable fits kinda loosely in there and can easily be rocked back and forth. I suspect this may be where the problem lies, as the hanging notes are almost as though it lost connection with the computer for a split second. That would explain the note trigger failures as well, which are basically the same thing but before the note on message is sent. Since the hanging notes appear to be somewhat random (i.e. it's not always the same note) I have a hard time believing it's a specific key malfunctioning or the whole controller board malfunctioning. Occam's razor says it's probably the connection, but who knows.
Still trying to get a hang out of my other keyboard but at this point it seems pretty certain it's the Microkey, which I'm partially relieved at (the prospect that it was my system in some other way was something I dreaded) but also kinda pissed about. Don't really want to shell out money for another mini keyboard, which apparently are not that reliable.
I've often been a little dubious of this thing.. the cable fits kinda loosely in there and can easily be rocked back and forth. I suspect this may be where the problem lies, as the hanging notes are almost as though it lost connection with the computer for a split second. That would explain the note trigger failures as well, which are basically the same thing but before the note on message is sent. Since the hanging notes appear to be somewhat random (i.e. it's not always the same note) I have a hard time believing it's a specific key malfunctioning or the whole controller board malfunctioning. Occam's razor says it's probably the connection, but who knows.
Still trying to get a hang out of my other keyboard but at this point it seems pretty certain it's the Microkey, which I'm partially relieved at (the prospect that it was my system in some other way was something I dreaded) but also kinda pissed about. Don't really want to shell out money for another mini keyboard, which apparently are not that reliable.
-
- KVRAF
- 1728 posts since 21 Sep, 2007 from USA
You can uninstall (if they are already installed), the Korg MIDI drivers, and then download and re-install the latest MIDI drivers from the Korg website:
Windows: http://www.korg.com/us/support/download ... /285/3541/
Mac: http://www.korg.com/us/support/download ... /285/1357/
The above might not do the trick for you, but it sometimes clears up problems, so it is worth a shot...
Windows: http://www.korg.com/us/support/download ... /285/3541/
Mac: http://www.korg.com/us/support/download ... /285/1357/
The above might not do the trick for you, but it sometimes clears up problems, so it is worth a shot...
[Core i7 8700 | 32GB DDR4 | Win11 x64 | Studio One 7 Pro | WASAPI ]