Cubase 9.5 problem

14 May 2018, 08:45

Hi. I'm using my FA-08 to trigger various sounds in Cubase/Halion and other VST synths like Dexed on my laptop. Everything seems to work great, except that some notes don't release and just hold indefinitely. It's as if the sustain pedal is being pressed (it isn't) or the release setting has been changed. This problem only happens on certain notes and doesn't happen consistently. As I said, it occurs with various VST synths. Could anyone suggest what the problem is? I am absolutely not an expert on synths and am trying to learn. I do understand the basics of midi and the basic architecture of the FA. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Re: Cubase 9.5 problem

14 May 2018, 08:56

Stuck notes can be a few things, most likely a breakdown in the MIDI data transmission.

Are you using MIDI or USB?

If USB,
Are you in Vendor or Class compliant mode?
Are the cables ok?
Are you going through a USB hub?

If the occurrence is quite significant then my first check would be a different cable, then if you're going through a hub try plugging the FA directly in to the computer to rule that, and also try both vendor mode (Requires roland driver) and/or class compliant modes on the FA to see which work best for you.

Personally, i prefer class compliant mode, and have had no problems, and don't need a driver either.

If that doesn't sort it out then download a free midi monitor tool and analysis that the correct note on/off messages are being received from your FA to the computer.

It can also be the DAW (Cubase) end, if you have long notes that extend beyond MIDI regions, that can cause issues. But nowadays that's quite a rare occurrence as they have midi off messages sent when you stop playback etc.

One other thing, is to ensure that you're using MIDI Local Off on your FA, if you've not disabled the local switch then you will be duplicating the note presses when recording as they play locally and again echo back from cubase.

Re: Cubase 9.5 problem

14 May 2018, 09:11

Thank you for the suggestions, i'll get right on it. Connecting via USB direct to computer.

Re: Cubase 9.5 problem

14 May 2018, 16:49

Also, a lot of times, if you're playing notes and auditioning sounds, if you scroll through the list while a note is holding it will lose the Not Off message.

You can always tell because this will do something like make Middle C always ring, while everything else doesn't.

Look for "Panic" or "All Notes Off" in the MIDI menu in Cubase.

So if you're performing multiple actions - selecting patches while playing, this can happen.

If it happens while you're playing back the sequence, then it either got recorded that way or the Note Off gets separated from the Note On message.

This happens when you're editing if you don't get the entire block in the Key Editor. If you select part of it, and move it elsewhere, you may have not gotten the Note Off part of the message and now the other part has Note On only - and as far as the synth knows, you're still telling it to play the note!