posted 11 November 2012 18:44            

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Strange problem today... and maybe in the long past (I seem to remember it cropping up before, but I thought it was a connection issue). Essentially, after some time behaving normally, my MIDI input to the Pacarana will stop working. I'm using the Capybara as my interface and MIDI is being routed through an old Emagic AMT-8 USB interface. I was sequencing in Cubase, using my Synthesizers.com keyboard as the controller. All was well and then... poof! No MIDI input. Oddly enough, the Pacarana still received MIDI via Kyma Control and a wireless router plugged directly into the back of the Pacarana. Thinking this may be confusing the thing, I shut down, unplugged the router and fired it all back up again. It worked fine for a few minutes and then after a weird "stutter" the MIDI dropped again. I'm on an older iMac (OS X 10.5.) and using the latest version of Kyma and Pacarana firmware. I should mention that this happened with a couple of different Kyma Sounds today, so it isn't the sound. Also, it's not the interface, as far as I can tell. Other gear is working fine from the same MIDI track/controller.

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posted 11 November 2012 20:39            

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First thing to check would be the MIDI cable(s). How long are they? Have you used them in this configuration successfully before? Do you have a spare or two so you could swap them out just to double-check?

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posted 11 November 2012 21:11            

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The cables are indeed pretty long and that will be my next step: swapping them out and trying a different MIDI interface. It's a good guess... since it never stopped working with the router. Gonna have to climb behind the rack for that, so I won't know until tomorrow.

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posted 11 November 2012 22:01            

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The fact that Kyma Control was still working doesn't necessarily mean anything either way in this case (Kyma Control sends OSC note and controller messages). But cables are usually the weakest link so that's a good place to start.
Thanks!

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posted 12 November 2012 16:11            

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Another day, another MIDI interface and another MIDI cable. I haven't been able to spend more than a couple of hours with it today, but for the most part, MIDI has behaved (I got a stuck note at one point, but nothing reloading the Sound couldn't fix). This time I'm using the MIDI out from a MOTU 828MkII and only a single MIDI cable running from that to the Capy's MIDI input. So far, so good.

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posted 11 July 2013 09:49            

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Unfortunately, it seems that my problem still persists. I've been in a fit of Kyma creativity lately and this has provided ample opportunity for my MIDI issues to flare up and then some. I swapped out MIDI cables, but to no avail. They are not long cables and I know the ones I put in work. I'm currently going from my 828MkII MIDI output into a MIDI patch bay and then into the Capybara (my interface). Things will be working fine, but after a while, the Pacarana stops responding to incoming MIDI, or responds erratically. Sometimes I can get it back by switching DSPs and re-running the "4-in, 4-out" Sound on the Capy and then switching back over to the Pacarana. Sometimes I can get it to respond simply by re-selecting the Capy as the MIDI interface. Sometimes this stuff results in stuttering audio when playing the Sound over MIDI (any Sound).

I am concerned that there may be a problem with the Capybara. I don't think I have any other interfaces I can use or try at this time, though. I'd really like to get this working smoothly. I have been neck-deep in the preparations for a Kyma-based project and this keeps hobbling my progress. This morning it was constantly ditching MIDI (not audio, though, as far as I could tell. The audio-only Sounds I'm using run fine).

Also, the Pacarana seems to be getting quite warm. I wonder if that is normal. I have had it in a rack with an empty space both above and below. I just removed it from the rack to see if that helps.

I am at a loss, here.

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posted 11 July 2013 10:45            

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Can you send the MIDI over USB? Then you could send USB MIDI directly to the Pacarana via its USB port.

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posted 11 July 2013 10:54            

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I'll give it a shot. Do you mean using the Pacarana directly using a USB controller independent of the computer, or do you mean using a USB interface between the computer and the Pacarana?

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posted 11 July 2013 11:08            

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You can send USB MIDI directly to the Pacarana via the USB port on the back panel.

Another alternative is to use one of the Delora solutions! http://delora.com Then you could send MIDI over Ethernet from your computer to the Ethernet jack on the back of the Pacarana.

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posted 11 July 2013 12:18            

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Ah, okay. I have the Delora stuff. Could this be a symptom of yet another bad Firewire 800 cable connection? Now, having moved my Pacarana out of the rack and onto my desktop, I found that the FW800 cable connecting it to the Mac (older iMac) was incredibly sensitive. It took some fiddling with the cable to get it to make any connection at all.

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posted 12 July 2013 14:31            

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Looks like it might be the firewire connection. I have the Pacarana sitting next to the computer now and the firewire cable is taped to the back of the iMac to hold it in place. I haven't suffered a stutter or drop-out for about 8 hours of constant use. I fear that the iMac case design works against me, the port seems far too loose and prone to gravity on the cable. I have to keep the cable pulled slightly to one side with tape to ensure a connection. It'll work for now - but I hope a new cable will do the trick. If not, I'll keep the thing taped up.

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posted 13 July 2013 15:05            

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Once again, I've spoken too soon. Though yesterday was completely trouble-free - and for something like 12 hours, today has been fraught with MIDI drop outs, stuttering and frustration. I have not moved, nudged, bumped or messed with the firewire connection. When I fire up the Pacarana, it tells me "host computer connected" and then "host computer disconnected" and repeats that a couple of times in rapid succession. This has always been the case since I got it. It seems that MIDI stops working after I have paused for a while. Once it does, I can get it going again by the process described above - switching DSPs to the Capy and back again.

Can this really all be due to a bad firewire connection? Weird, since the audio keeps playing fine. I am still waiting on another Firewire 800 cable to arrive, but I'm afraid it may do no good...

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posted 14 July 2013 23:23            

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It is unlikely to be due to a FireWire cable.

Are you sending only controllers? Or only note events? If you are sending exclusively one or the other, try sending a pitchBend when it gets stuck. This will tell us whether it is a problem with running status.

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posted 15 July 2013 06:29            

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I've just been sending mainly notes. Actually, usually there is nothing sent when it happens. It normally happens when I'm busy doing something else and I only know about it after I return to something that requires sending MIDI notes. Once or twice, though, I've been playing and only some notes would get through, though it was obvious from the other MIDI gear in the studio that the controller was sending out notes to the other devices. A re-initialization of both Capy and Pacarana will sometimes do the trick, other times it won't (and this is when the stuttering often occurs - it sounds as if it is trying to work and after that, it might be okay for a while).

Go figure, I spent all day with Kyma yesterday without it happening once. I'll keep my eyes open though and try the pitch bend when it goes down. I have a short deadline on an article I'm writing at the moment, so I can't get back to Kyma until Wednesday. By that time the new cable will be here, but possibly to no avail, it seems.

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posted 17 July 2013 16:36            

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Unfortunately, it happened again - I went away from the studio for an hour and when I returned, Kyma was no longer responding to MIDI. The audio was fine, but MIDI was a no go. Every other MIDI device in the studio was registering that it was receiving.

Not notes, not pitch bend, nothing. The "m" on Kyma's status window was not coming up and the Sound did not respond, though it had been working perfectly when i went upstairs.

I re-initialized the Pacarana and Capy and it worked after a bit of a stutter. I tried an alternate USB keyboard (little M-Audio o2) plugged directly into the Pacarana and that worked, too, but I have no idea if it will prove any better. Sometimes everything's fine for a day long session only to fail the next day, so there is no way of knowing if the problem will persist with the O2 until it fails.

This poses something of a problem, since I have been planning a Kyma-based performance for this weekend and I don't want any nasty surprises.

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posted 17 July 2013 18:31            

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Sounds like the USB keyboard is more reliable. Maybe stick with that one for this performance.

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posted 17 July 2013 19:06            

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Yeah, that's my plan, but I haven't used the usb keyboard enough to know if it's any more reliable. My plan was to use the keys on a set of transposing sequencers for one piece and then using keys to play synth Sounds on another. I may have to reassess that plan. I don't want to - it all sounds great now when the MIDI doesn't flake out on me. I may be even better off using Kyma Control, but I have been hoping to reserve that for live tweaking. Better change my plans. Maybe it's not a malfunction, but an artistic suggestion...

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posted 19 July 2013 14:47            

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Update: the Pacarana has not dropped the MIDI connection yet using the O2. I get the "stuttering audio" sometimes if I switch between the Capybara and the O2 as my MIDI I/O in the Status window (it always defaults to the Capy), but once it rights itself, it seems to stay put.

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posted 20 July 2013 13:29            

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I am very much beginning to think that has to do with the Capybara. For the most part, I have been using the O2- and no problems there. However, this morning I was using the keyboard on Kyma Control and out of nowhere, I got that stuttering audio. I checked the status window, and sure enough, the Capybara was listed as my MIDI I/O. It's not a show-stopper for now, though, but I'll have to figure this out in the near future, since that is what I use to interface with my DAW.

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posted 21 July 2013 07:46            

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I think that maybe the stuttering and the MIDI issue are two different problems. I don't know for sure though. Today I was back to using the Capy as the MIDI interface (necessary for sequencing). However, when simply playing back a Sound with a MIDI file built-in (Guitar Spectra open strings CLOUD+OSC) it began stuttering for a few seconds. I switched to a keyboard driven sound and that played fine.

I have to confess, I am getting a little frustrated.

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posted 21 July 2013 09:51            

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I don't think I described that clearly... the sound that stuttered was playing fine at first, then stuttered for a few seconds and then played fine after that. It was a sequencer driven sound. I tried another sound, one that used a MIDI input and that played fine. The Capybara was my interface. Also, it may or may not have anything to do with it, but sometimes after switching DSPs I get "silent device" in the Status window, though normally it defaults to the Capy. This has only happened a couple of times in the past two days and may be unrelated.

I think I may get another firewire interface during the next week or so and see if maybe that clears things up. I'd hate to give up my Capybara as my interface, but at least I'd know whether it was the culprit.

Could my Capy be ailing? Could there be a fault in the Flame firewire interface/cable? Would either of those produce these issues? I'm trying desperately to narrow this down - it's been interrupting my workflow a little too regularly. Some days are uneventful, but other days it seems fraught with problems.

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posted 24 July 2013 14:38            

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Is the clock source for your Capybara set to Internal?

How long is the cable that connects the Flame to the Capybara? If you look at the cable where the wire enters the connector, is there any exposed shielding?

Is your Capybara, Pacarana, computer, and other audio equipment connected to the same wall outlet through a power strip or power conditioner?

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posted 24 July 2013 16:08            

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Unfortunately, it simply isn't possible to run all of my gear from the same power strip, but computer, Pacarana and Capy are all on the same UPS. The cable connecting the Flame to the Capy is the one that shipped with the original unit when I bought it from SSC many years ago.

Hmm. I just crawled behind the racks and took a close look at the Capy/Flame cable. It does indeed look as if there is a tiny bit of exposed shielding on the Capy side of the connector. I'm pretty sure that none of that shielding is making contact with anything. Will this result in these issues? Do I (and can I) get a new cable if this is indeed the source of my problems? I was about to buy another interface, but I'd much rather stick with the Capy. It's an old friend!

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posted 17 March 2014 09:10            

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Hello,

I' ve got same problem of midi dropping out.
Pacarana+ windows 7 64 bit .

Midi stop working after a few minutes, and often when I stop using it and I come back... I' ve tried 2 Firewire interface on my laptop, 2 USB midi interface , 1 USB midi keyboard on the Pacarana and many cables.
It seems I always had this problem but as I was using at 99% a wacom tablet to work with, I did' nt pay attention. But now I need to sequence sounds with nuendo , so I need midi.
When midi hangs, I sometimes still have the little "m" on the DSP STATUS blinking, sometimes I don' t see it. I need to halt the control on the DSP STATUS, rescan and choose running and the midi goes back. But sometimes it doesn' t work, I' ve to shut off the pacarana and restart. This is a very boring problem.

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posted 17 March 2014 11:37            

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Hello François,

Are you using the MIDI interface on your FireWire audio interface? Or direct MIDI through USB on the back of the Paca(ana)? Could you please try it using the MIDI on your FW interface?

Thanks!

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posted 17 March 2014 14:47            

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I only use USB audio interface and midi USB interface. I don't own a FireWire midi/ audio interface. FireWire just give me the link with laptop .

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posted 04 April 2014 06:43            

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Hello,

Any idea to get ride of this problem ? a firewire midi interface ?
Could Kyma work with copperlan ( midi over LAN ) http://www.copperlan.org/index.php/copperlan-for-end-users

thanks

[This message has been edited by FrancoisVacherot (edited 04 April 2014).]

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posted 04 April 2014 09:08            

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quote:

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Any idea to get ride of this problem ? a firewire midi interface ?
Could Kyma work with copperlan ( midi over LAN ) http://www.copperlan.org/index.php/copperlan-for-end-users

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Yes, a FireWire MIDI interface would work more reliably. If you prefer to send MIDI over Ethernet, you could use one of Delora Software's connectivity solutions: http://www.delora.com/

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posted 04 April 2014 11:59            

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hi; Delora products are only Osx compliant ;x Nothing for windows 7 ?
regards

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