Logic Pro X Hanging Notes with Motu Express 128

Question

Logic Pro X Hanging Notes with Motu Express 128

Hi,

I have Logic Pro X 10.0.7. with Mac OS X10.9.4 @ GHz Intel Core 7 8GB Ram, Mac Book Pro, MOTU Midi Express 128 and various hardware synths.

The Motu arrived yesterday and all the installationseemed to go ok - and MOTO confirm this from looking at the system file. But having set it up in Logic Pro I find that after a few notes playing notes seem to hang and stay on - as though no MIDI off note was sent. This is worse if I send MIDI clock out to my synths. I have no idea why this is so. I'm wondering if there is something that i am missing in setting up MIDI in Logic. I am setting my Outputs and channels appropriately - so instruments are only communicating direct with Logic - no daisy chaining. If I turn everything off except one instrument I get the same problem.

Please HELP!!!!

I'll try anything - and if you need more information to help please ask!!

David

MacBook, MacBookPro, Airport Express, Time Capsule, Mac OS X (10.6.2), Couple of PCs - on their way out

Posted on Aug 8, 2014 9:12 AM

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Answer 1

Aug 10, 2014 7:15 AM in response to David Kellett

I Have now tried running two other midi ports from the computer. Both appear to work fine. It's only the MOTU that can't handle midi clock - or indeed much midi at all. If you try to use a control wheel on a synth the MOTU starts hanging notes. I've now tried the MOTU direct from the MacBook Pro USB3 port and then via two different powered USB2 hubs - as I had read that the MOTU might behave strangely as it was not getting enough juice from the USB3 port - made no difference - notes hand when you try to send midi clock or if you try to send anything more than a few notes at a time.

I have booked a call from Apple Logic Pro Support for tomorrow - maybe they can tell me something I'm doing wrong that will fix it.

Any my help much appreciated,

David

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Answer 2

Pancenter

Level 6

14,638 points

Aug 10, 2014 10:55 AM in response to David Kellett

Hi David,

Unusual for a MOTU device to have these kind of problems, I'm assuming you have the latest driver installed? I think MOTU tech support would be a better call than Apple.

http://www.motu.com/download

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Answer 3

Pancenter

Level 6

14,638 points

Aug 10, 2014 11:14 AM in response to David Kellett

Most of the MOTU Audio/MIDI interfaces have a reset function, while the Express 128 is MIDI only you might want to check and see if it has a reset procedure.

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Answer 4

Aug 10, 2014 11:47 AM in response to Pancenter

I Have the latest drivers loaded from the Motu website three times this last few days. Motu verified via a system file that I sent them that I had the correct drivers. Sadly there their after care and support ended!! They seemed a singularly unhelpful company and at this rate - both for the product and the support I doubt I'll be buying from them again!! I spoke to Motu on the phone - very expensive from UK - and got a chap who sounded very slow didn't seen to know much about Apple either. He wanted me to test the 128 by sending MiDI to it from Garageband - which is actually not possible, only clock from GarageBand. And I have the same problem if using Motu's own software, DP8, notes hang and even worse if I send MIDI clock as well as notes.

I'll look into the reset idea - though I'm not hopeful - I've turned it off and on several times, loaded the drivers three times - so it seems unlikely that a reset could solve the problem.

David

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Answer 5

Pancenter

Level 6

14,638 points

Aug 10, 2014 1:26 PM in response to David Kellett

Yeah, it doesn't look good, some people had luck when using it with a USB 2.0 hub.

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/music-computers/808825-motu-express-128-logic-set -up-advice-please.html

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Answer 6

Aug 10, 2014 2:46 PM in response to Pancenter

Yeah - I'd seen that post after I bought the Motu!! I shall speak to the UK Motu importer tomorrow and see what they say. If I can't get it working I'll try to send it back and then look for something else with 8 ports. But the choice seems very limited!!

David

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Answer 7

Aug 11, 2014 10:33 AM in response to David Kellett

Took the 128 ti Music Track the YK importer for Motu today. They checked it out - worked fine on an older Mac with an older OS but on a Macbook Air with 10.9.4 it behaved exactly how it behaves for me - notes hanging. They tried another unit to be sure but same results. Seems the Drivers don't work as expected on mobile computers with 10.9.4. Would be interesting to know if it's just Macbook Pros and Airs or whether it's anything with OS 10.9.4.

David

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Answer 8

Aug 11, 2014 10:34 AM in response to David Kellett

That was UK not YK!!

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Answer 9

Pancenter

Level 6

14,638 points

Aug 11, 2014 2:26 PM in response to David Kellett

Did the older Mac have USB 3.0 ports, what about the Mac AIR USB 3.0? There has definitely been a change somewhere in the 10.9x series of upgrades but I'm not sure it affects systems that only have USB 2.0. I know that some cheap MIDI devices stopped working with some of the recent Apple USB MIDI changes but as far as I knew this didn't affect any of the MOTU gear. Guess that no longer holds.

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Answer 10

Pancenter

Level 6

14,638 points

Aug 11, 2014 3:28 PM in response to Pancenter

Hey Nigel, you know far more about this than I, do you have anything to add?

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Answer 11

Aug 11, 2014 5:26 PM in response to Pancenter

Hey Clancy,

Not much but one of my clients has an Express 128 running off a MBP with USB3 ports via a Powered USB2 hub with the latest Motu drivers ( v1.6.49190) and isn't having any issues with 10.9.4 and 10.0.7 that Im aware of...

He wanted me to test the 128 by sending MiDI to it from Garageband - which is actually not possible, only clock from GarageBand.

Im not sure what the OP means by that statement but I believe it is incorrect.. However, I really dont use GB that much .... and haven't got a copy on hand to test... but I thought all midi was handled by the device drivers and not the app itself?

Also, as far as I am aware the 128 doesn't have a reset capability..... as per;

How do I reset my MIDI interface?

To reset a MOTU MIDI interface, press and hold the Panic button as you turn on the interface. For our USB bus-powered Micro Express, hold down the Panic button while plugging the interface into the computer's USB port. For a Digital Timepiece, hold down the Source button as you power it up.

The MIDI Express 128, Micro Lite, and Fastlane do not have any sync features and would not need a reset.

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Answer 12

Aug 11, 2014 5:34 PM in response to The Art Of Sound

Looking through my notes I did come across another possibility...

If the OP has an iOS device that they have used for any Midi apps or controller apps for Logic...

Shut down the devices (Not just put to sleep) and test....

Also, while you are at it.. delete the the Main and CS prefs in Logic, if this has not been done already, to exclude any midi/controller conflicts...

Delete the user preferences

You can resolve many issues by restoring Logic Pro X back to its original settings. This will not impact your media files. To reset your Logic Pro X user preference settings to their original state, do the following:

In the Finder, choose Go to Folder from the Go menu.

Type ~/Library/Preferences in the "Go to the folder" field.

Press the Go button.

Remove the com.apple.logic10.plist file from the Preferences folder. Note that if you have programmed any custom key commands, this will reset them to the defaults. You may wish to export your custom key command as a preset before performing this step. See the Logic Pro X User Manual for details on how to do this. If you are having trouble with a control surface in Logic Pro X, then you may also wish to delete the com.apple.logic.pro.cs file from the preferences folder.

If you have upgraded from an earlier version of Logic Pro, you should also remove ~/Library/Preferences/Logic/com.apple.logic.pro.

Restart the computer.

and then test again.....

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Answer 13

Aug 12, 2014 12:18 AM in response to The Art Of Sound

The MacBook Air that Music Track used had USB3 ports the other Mac they used I do not know - I suspect it was USB two. They were running DP8 on both machines. On my machine it is uSB3 - but the problem is still there through a USB2 hub. I have also tried DP8 with the same results - does that rune out the Logic Preferences thing? And can you tell me the file path for the preferences folder - there are several Libraries!

thanks for your help,

I'll keep the results posted here,

David

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Answer 14

Aug 12, 2014 12:45 AM in response to David Kellett

I removed the "com.apple.logic10.plist"- still have the hanging notes problem. But also now I can see a lll my midi ports etc - just as I could before - but if I set a track with the particular port number etc I can no longer play it from my master keyboard. Removing the "com.apple.logic10.plist" file appears to have changed this somehow. Can you offer any advice for this? My Master keyboard comes in on port 8 - the midi is coming in the Motu Express but it does not seem to reach Logic. Any ideas what has happened?

David

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Answer 15

Aug 12, 2014 12:55 AM in response to David Kellett

After another shut down and restart the ability to use the master keyboard came back - but still with the hanging notes problem. I have never used my iPhone for any midi apps - I have used it for some apps that are midi capable so I'll try Logic with the iPhone turned off - though I'm not aware of any interaction,

David

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