Stuck notes using B2003

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pseudojazzer
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Stuck notes using B2003

Post by pseudojazzer »

Hi,

I've got a strange problem of stuck notes whilst using the B2003, just loaded mr adakins excellent presets and while recording get loads of stuck notes.

The part is simple - just a few sustained chords - not massive extended chords, just 2/3 notes at a time - but it all merges into one with the stuck notes, anyone else had this problem? any ideas how to fix it?

DSP level is running about 60-70 %, using a usb keyboard, via cubase sx 3.

I've had this problem with the noah before - but this is the scope version, and i've never had stuck notes from the cards before.. :(

Thanks,
Tom
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Mr Arkadin
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Post by Mr Arkadin »

Hope it's not my presets to blame :o Do you have any other controller with just MIDI ports rather than USB you can try? Does it happen on recording or playback or both?
pseudojazzer
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Post by pseudojazzer »

Your presets are awesome!
I'm using a slightly tweaked tibetan bells1 :D

Dont think its the usb - i've always used the same port with no trouble, i'll have a fiddle,

Cheers
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astroman
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Post by astroman »

is the controller powered vis USB ? sometimes the optocouplers fail due to lack of power (by part's tolerance) and that can be a source of stuck notes

cheers, tom
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Mr Arkadin
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Post by Mr Arkadin »

I'm using a slightly tweaked tibetan bells1
It's amazing to think that if they'd put an attack control on the original we could have had pads from a B3. It's a surprisingly flexible instrument given the apparent limitations.
pseudojazzer
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Post by pseudojazzer »

Astroman - you could be right!

My Keys are powered by usb, but i got a pretty beefy 650 W PSU.. does that help the octocouplers? any way of fixing them/making sure they dont fail?

Cheers
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astroman
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Post by astroman »

the USB supply power is limited, and entirely different from your main PSU - btw they recently de-valuated the PSU specs (it's like money...), now a 500W is what a 350W once was, a good one is 1KW, LMAO

I noticed the midi failure due to power lack a couple of times.
When the battery power in my midi sax drops, it will produce note-hangers immediately (and reproducable).
I have noticed the same with wallwarts for external keyboards if you picked a replacement that was underpowered.

if you controller draws too much current from the USB (there may be other devices on the same bus), it's voltage may drop below a certain threshold - all other electronic still works, but the optocouplers have signal dropouts - not all of them are created equal.
I'd power the controller externally just to rule this out.

cheers, Tom
dubcotics
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Post by dubcotics »

Hi,

I'm experiencing the same stuck notes issue midi or usb, it happened on my old p3 using b4, with all due respect to everyone ansewering here I think you don't what Speudojazzer means here. If some of you are not experiencing the same issue it's because your machines are well configured. Got a new dual 2 core cpu and still having the same problems , tho times to times, any advises on how your machines are set up will more than welcome,

regards,

didier,

ps: my set up
dual 2 core 1,8 , seagate 80 gb, asus p5b, zalman tnn af case, 1 gb ram and geforce 6200 ndvia,
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astroman
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Post by astroman »

you could be right - I assumed that the controller was powered by USB, but transmits via regular midi cables - sorry, still got that old pattern on my mind ...
Obviously it also transmits midi via USB and then there are no optocouplers of course :oops:
Unfortunately this makes the midi path a bit more complicated, as the signal arrives at the physical connector, is handled by the controllers midi driver, passed on to Cubase and forwarded via the SFP sequencer source into SFP.

cheers, Tom
pseudojazzer
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Post by pseudojazzer »

Ok i dont think its the usb, cos i just programmed the keys instead - and from the simple sequenced pattern in sx to the b2003 in scope (via seq source) it still hangs (ie when i'm not playing..) :-?
i'll try a few other things.

P.S. astroman - i've tried both configurations of midi via cable and via usb and there doesnt seem to be a difference in performance either way, at present its usb'ed...
Really want to try and get a plug for the keyboard but its usb pwoered only.. annoying but it was cheap and cheerful (novation remote 61, got it end of the line just when they were releaseing a newer model ;) )

Anyway, thanks for the replies - if i work it out i'll let you guys know - it'll probably be one of those wierd problems that goes away after a few restarts.
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dbmac
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Post by dbmac »

I've fixed a midi "stuck-note" - (note off missing) problem by removing and reloading the midi and seq source & dest modules in the project.
It's strange, but I've encountered this solution several times over the years with Scope.
Try it.

/dave
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astroman
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Post by astroman »

yes, good point Dave - I've had projects too, that had messed up other things and turned out to be unchangeable, so I trashed them and resorted to a backup.

From time to time I also get these stuck note after a few minutes, but usually after a hardware reset (power down) it's ok again. I've never been able find the source.
In some cases it appeared to be a leak of midi data that kind of 'slipped through' into the wrong buffer.
I remember I once found a temporary workaround by inserting a (additional) midi filter that blocked 'note on' messages before the sequencer destination module.

a clean project start might be a good option to verify the software dependancy

cheers, Tom
pseudojazzer
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Post by pseudojazzer »

Thanks for all the tips guys - seems to be working today! hooray!

I think the reloading modules tip will come in very handy if it happens again.

:)
irrelevance

Post by irrelevance »

I've fixed a midi "stuck-note" - (note off missing) problem by removing and reloading the midi and seq source & dest modules in the project.
It's strange, but I've encountered this solution several times over the years with Scope.
Try it.
Wouldn't sending a midi panic (all note off) message do the same thing? I mean aren't you clearing the buffers of all info when executing this message?
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astroman
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Post by astroman »

if the buffer is setup (and working) properly that would be most likely the case.
but then it wouldn't develope this kind of problem... ;)
it's pretty wiered, as it can annoy you for more than an hour and in the next moment it's gone and everything works as expected.
I have no evidence that it really is a buffer problem, but a 'moving' buffer in memory would explain such behavior ( like shifted 1 byte forward and the last note-off drops out, oops )
it would also (at least partially) explain why Windows hangs or even crashes so easily with midi problems.

cheers, Tom
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dbmac
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Post by dbmac »

irrelevance wrote: Wouldn't sending a midi panic (all note off) message do the same thing? I mean aren't you clearing the buffers of all info when executing this message?
I use a lot of "stock" projects that get resaved many times. Sometimes some of the components in these projects stop working properly
- Six String, Sonic Timeworks Reverb, Asio modules, Warp 69's Chorus-Delay, Midi I/O modules come to mind, though there are other culprits -
Usually removing and reloading the faulty device will fix the problem. I have no idea why this is.

/dave
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