Wandering Kid
17.12.2004, 10:06 PM
i sent this to m-audio regarding a MIDI sync problem that i believe concerned my delta 1010 and under high cpu loads made my virus play back drunkenly:
M-Audio Technical Support Ticket - 2004-12-15 21:35:23
Date / Time:
Name: Anthony Barnard
E-Mail: anthonyb@eml.cc
Phone: xxxxxxxxxx
Country of purchase: US
Manufacturer: Sony
Model: VAIO PCV RX-201
Desktop/Laptop: Desktop
Mobo/Chipset: ASUS P4B266-LM
Processor: Intel Pentium 4
Speed: 1.6 ghz
RAM: 512 mb
Graphics Card: Sapphire ATI Radeon 9600 PRO
OS:Windows XP
Service Packs: SP1 & SP2
Device: Delta 1010
Other M-Audio products used: only the delta 1010
Have latest driver?: yes.
Driver Version: 5.10.00.0048a
Software involved: MIDI syncing external devices
Other MIDI devices : Access Virus B Desktop
Other Audio Devices: intel integrated 82801BA/BAM AC\'97 Audio Controller v5.1.2535.0
When did problem start : since i got the virus about 2 weeks ago
Upgrades: nope.
Problem:
this problem only started because i got my first hardware synth (access virus b). prior to that i was not using the midi in or the midi out on the delta so i was not aware of any problems with midi. i use fl studio 4.5.1 and have MIDI master sync enabled. MIDI out of the delta goes to the MIDI in on the virus. MIDI out on the virus goes to MIDI in on the delta (although i dont use the virus as a controller, this connection is probably not necessary). the 1st stereo analogue output on the virus (labeled L/Phones R/Mono) is connected to the 1st and 2nd input of the delta via 2 x 1/4 inch TRS to TRS unbalanced cables. the 1st and 2nd analogue outs on the delta are connected straight into my Aiwa Hifi using 2 1/4 inch TRS to RCA phono cables. the buttons on the back of the delta are left in their \'out\' position (-10 dB since this system is totally unbalanced). put simply, the virus does not sync to my host very well. firstly there is latency associated with the playback of the virus. every note that is triggered via midi is delayed very slightly. i verified this by importing recorded audio from the virus (with no external effects on it) into soundforge where there is a brief gap at the start indicating a lag time before the note is triggered. oddly, this is not complete silence though because it is not a flat line. (i also notice that the audio output of th virus is not particularly loud and distorts in playback occassionally when fl studio\'s mixer is set to receive audio via the delta\'s 1st and 2nd inputs although i put this down to the fact that i am not using a preamp in this setup. please confirm if this is the case. i was also under the impression that the virus had its own preamp because you can plug devices like microphones into the analogue in on the virus and use the vocoder straight away.) the more multi timbral parts i play from the virus simultaneously the more out of sync and disorganised the virus is in playback. if CPU load is high (above 50 to 60%) the virus wil also begin to play back \'drunkenly,\' very disorganised with some notes triggering for the incorrect length of time or not at all and out of time. it sounds very choppy and coupled with multiple parts playing from the virus simultaneously + high CPU load it becomes impossible to monitor accurately. under normal to low cpu loads and using single mode on the virus, playing back sound will trigger the MIDI out light on the delta to flash. this flashes on and off rapidly when the delta is sending MIDI data to the virus. under higher CPU loads, this flashing is more erratic, and not as constant and this seems to correspond with the erratic playback on the virus. moving the mouse around on the screen rapidly while the virus is playing back (which consumes CPU cycles) also makes this happen, particularly under high CPU load where the stuttering is much worse. is there a particular reason for why this happens? i have the latest delta 1010 driver. i have contacted access\'s technical support with regard to this issue. the virus is configured, as far as they can tell correctly. i get the constant c symbol on the virus when it receives MIDI in although, like the MIDI out light on the delta, it flickers under high loads and when i move the mouse on the screen and it is playing back through the correct global MIDI channel because there is a little black musical note on the virus which signifies this. i am using the m-audio ASIO driver in fl studio. in the delta control center, under the hardware settings tab, i have set the master clock to \'Internal Xtal.\' codec sample rate is 44,100 hz. DMA buffer size is 512 samples, although i can increase this to the maximum 2048 samples or the minimum 64 samples and the problem still manifests itself. MutliTrack Driver Device in the hardware settings tab is set to \'Single and In-Sync\' this problem is making it very difficult to use the virus and i have spent the past 2 weeks trying to narrow the problem down. i think the problem is with the delta, in particular the ASIO drivers, the way FL Studio manages MIDI in/out or perhaps a combination of 2 or all of the above under high cpu strain. however, playing several multimode parts from the virus on 0 cpu load also produces this drunken effect so it may not be related exclusively to CPU. thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide with regards to this matter.
this was the response:
'Anthony
There could be several reasons for this type of problem, and there has been a known problem with many MIDI interfaces if you are using Cubase SX as your host application, however a call to our tech support department should ensure a quick solution.
They're available in the USA on 626 633 9055
Regards
Richard
UK Tech Support
M Audio - Midiman Ltd
www.m-audio.com'
the fact that he says 'if you are using cubase SX' made me believe that he didnt actually read my problem at all :( the international phone charge associated with that number they supply is scary. if i cant find any other solution to this problem i guess ill have to try it.
i thought initially it may be the virus but i really dont think it is. i get the C symbol constantly. im playing through the correct midi channel i have master sync forced in my host and just to make sure i can even set the tempo on the virus to exactly the same as my host - it still fucks up. i contacted access about this too. they actually read my email but unfortunately their response was basically - have you checked the C symbol is present? :( anyone else have a problem like this?
M-Audio Technical Support Ticket - 2004-12-15 21:35:23
Date / Time:
Name: Anthony Barnard
E-Mail: anthonyb@eml.cc
Phone: xxxxxxxxxx
Country of purchase: US
Manufacturer: Sony
Model: VAIO PCV RX-201
Desktop/Laptop: Desktop
Mobo/Chipset: ASUS P4B266-LM
Processor: Intel Pentium 4
Speed: 1.6 ghz
RAM: 512 mb
Graphics Card: Sapphire ATI Radeon 9600 PRO
OS:Windows XP
Service Packs: SP1 & SP2
Device: Delta 1010
Other M-Audio products used: only the delta 1010
Have latest driver?: yes.
Driver Version: 5.10.00.0048a
Software involved: MIDI syncing external devices
Other MIDI devices : Access Virus B Desktop
Other Audio Devices: intel integrated 82801BA/BAM AC\'97 Audio Controller v5.1.2535.0
When did problem start : since i got the virus about 2 weeks ago
Upgrades: nope.
Problem:
this problem only started because i got my first hardware synth (access virus b). prior to that i was not using the midi in or the midi out on the delta so i was not aware of any problems with midi. i use fl studio 4.5.1 and have MIDI master sync enabled. MIDI out of the delta goes to the MIDI in on the virus. MIDI out on the virus goes to MIDI in on the delta (although i dont use the virus as a controller, this connection is probably not necessary). the 1st stereo analogue output on the virus (labeled L/Phones R/Mono) is connected to the 1st and 2nd input of the delta via 2 x 1/4 inch TRS to TRS unbalanced cables. the 1st and 2nd analogue outs on the delta are connected straight into my Aiwa Hifi using 2 1/4 inch TRS to RCA phono cables. the buttons on the back of the delta are left in their \'out\' position (-10 dB since this system is totally unbalanced). put simply, the virus does not sync to my host very well. firstly there is latency associated with the playback of the virus. every note that is triggered via midi is delayed very slightly. i verified this by importing recorded audio from the virus (with no external effects on it) into soundforge where there is a brief gap at the start indicating a lag time before the note is triggered. oddly, this is not complete silence though because it is not a flat line. (i also notice that the audio output of th virus is not particularly loud and distorts in playback occassionally when fl studio\'s mixer is set to receive audio via the delta\'s 1st and 2nd inputs although i put this down to the fact that i am not using a preamp in this setup. please confirm if this is the case. i was also under the impression that the virus had its own preamp because you can plug devices like microphones into the analogue in on the virus and use the vocoder straight away.) the more multi timbral parts i play from the virus simultaneously the more out of sync and disorganised the virus is in playback. if CPU load is high (above 50 to 60%) the virus wil also begin to play back \'drunkenly,\' very disorganised with some notes triggering for the incorrect length of time or not at all and out of time. it sounds very choppy and coupled with multiple parts playing from the virus simultaneously + high CPU load it becomes impossible to monitor accurately. under normal to low cpu loads and using single mode on the virus, playing back sound will trigger the MIDI out light on the delta to flash. this flashes on and off rapidly when the delta is sending MIDI data to the virus. under higher CPU loads, this flashing is more erratic, and not as constant and this seems to correspond with the erratic playback on the virus. moving the mouse around on the screen rapidly while the virus is playing back (which consumes CPU cycles) also makes this happen, particularly under high CPU load where the stuttering is much worse. is there a particular reason for why this happens? i have the latest delta 1010 driver. i have contacted access\'s technical support with regard to this issue. the virus is configured, as far as they can tell correctly. i get the constant c symbol on the virus when it receives MIDI in although, like the MIDI out light on the delta, it flickers under high loads and when i move the mouse on the screen and it is playing back through the correct global MIDI channel because there is a little black musical note on the virus which signifies this. i am using the m-audio ASIO driver in fl studio. in the delta control center, under the hardware settings tab, i have set the master clock to \'Internal Xtal.\' codec sample rate is 44,100 hz. DMA buffer size is 512 samples, although i can increase this to the maximum 2048 samples or the minimum 64 samples and the problem still manifests itself. MutliTrack Driver Device in the hardware settings tab is set to \'Single and In-Sync\' this problem is making it very difficult to use the virus and i have spent the past 2 weeks trying to narrow the problem down. i think the problem is with the delta, in particular the ASIO drivers, the way FL Studio manages MIDI in/out or perhaps a combination of 2 or all of the above under high cpu strain. however, playing several multimode parts from the virus on 0 cpu load also produces this drunken effect so it may not be related exclusively to CPU. thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide with regards to this matter.
this was the response:
'Anthony
There could be several reasons for this type of problem, and there has been a known problem with many MIDI interfaces if you are using Cubase SX as your host application, however a call to our tech support department should ensure a quick solution.
They're available in the USA on 626 633 9055
Regards
Richard
UK Tech Support
M Audio - Midiman Ltd
www.m-audio.com'
the fact that he says 'if you are using cubase SX' made me believe that he didnt actually read my problem at all :( the international phone charge associated with that number they supply is scary. if i cant find any other solution to this problem i guess ill have to try it.
i thought initially it may be the virus but i really dont think it is. i get the C symbol constantly. im playing through the correct midi channel i have master sync forced in my host and just to make sure i can even set the tempo on the virus to exactly the same as my host - it still fucks up. i contacted access about this too. they actually read my email but unfortunately their response was basically - have you checked the C symbol is present? :( anyone else have a problem like this?