Sonar and Midi Device Identification

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johnkeel
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2014/10/20 21:05:44 (permalink)

Sonar and Midi Device Identification

Hi everyone. 
 
I just bought two Midi to USB devices with 4 IN/Outs each. The product is Miditech Midiface 4x4.
 
And the thing is, Sonar somehow is having a hard time managing the two at the same time.
It seems like Sonar only pulls the midi device name, and since both use same names its working erratic. Sometimes it only pulls the inputs from one device and no outputs, other times my friendly names get mixed and are sent to the other device and so on...
 
Well im no expert in this type of stuff but the thing is i actually can use both midi interfaces at same time in most of the software i have, midiox works great, midiquest also works great, and so on...
 
Now, i did some testing and found out that i could, for instance, look for the device in windows registery and change the midi names for one device and it worked fine, but its a pain, it takes a lot of time and every time i restart the computer or i change the devices usb port it is all gone... i think that since these midi devices are Class Compliant (no drivers) somehow, information like the midi port names are pulled from the device firmware every time it is connected, so no matter what registery edits i make it wont stick.
 
So the solution seems to be either Sonar starts taking in account midi device hw route (even if devices have the same name the fact that they are in different usb ports should be enough for Sonar not to mix them up) or the Miditech guys need to supply some kind of firmware update that would change the midi names for the devices. At least this is my understanding, sorry if im way off, like i said, no expert here!
 
BTW, this seems like a problem to other devices too, searching in google i found stuff like this:
 
 
"...Sonar can't differentiate between multiple VMeters... Sometimes it will correctly show the devices, but it behaves inconsistently...  The latest firmware changes the root level USB device name... solving this problem... "
 
Seems the exact same problem. So my question is simple, does anyone have a solution for this? If i get no support from either Sonar nor Miditech is there anything i can do to solve this?
The only idea that comes to mind at the moment is try to find some kind of virtual midi router software that does not suffer from this problem and create routings for everything and use those in sonar... should not be hard since pretty much all software i been trying actually manages to use both interfaces at the same time without problems.
 
Any help or orientation would be welcome.
 
#1

5 Replies Related Threads

    John
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    Re: Sonar and Midi Device Identification 2014/10/20 22:10:40 (permalink)
    I don't know of a way around this. I have aways bought MIDI ports that have enough ports to handle all my gear. 
     
    Until some one else can give a better answer I would look for a MIDI port that had more ports. That wasn't a big problem in the past. Now it is. Also see if there is a way to connect one to the other and only have one connected to the USB.

    Best
    John
    #2
    johnnyV
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    Re: Sonar and Midi Device Identification 2014/10/20 23:37:40 (permalink)
    First with all USB gear you should use the same port as first one you used. This is global to all computers and most USB devices. The drivers will be installed the first time you plug it in . If you change the port or sometimes the USB hub, then windows will install the divers again. 
    Sonar hates anything that uses Class Compliant drivers for some reason. We just have to except this because we like and use Sonar.
    So we make sure any interfaces, midi or Audio, come with good drivers. USB mikes are a good example of this. Will work fine in Audacity but not Sonar.
     
    I think John is right and you might need to shop around for a MIDI patch bay with 6 or 8 ports.
    MIDI is actually only 2 wires and a person can easily build a manual switch box. I built a 2 to 1 selector I use to swap between my Korg o5/rw and my GR 50.  Radio shack project box, SPDT toggle and 3 MIDI ( DIN ) ports. 
     

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    #3
    johnkeel
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    Re: Sonar and Midi Device Identification 2014/10/21 05:13:13 (permalink)
    Well i guess ill have to buy something else.
    It's really not a question of money since this thing was like 30€ or so, is just that feelling you get when you seem to grasp the problem, heck i can even temporary fix it editing registry, you know... its right there so close to get solved, yet, unless i can get a hold of this things firmware and a tool to flash it thereś nothing i  can do... 
    I work for a laptop brand and ive done loads for bios/firmware mods in the past so i think i could do it, the thing is the guys at miditech just gave me a straight answer "you can not use two"... thatś not even true, i can use two with most of my software, the only one that doesnt seem to work is the one who seems to rely only on id name.
    well... its life... 
    #4
    orangesporanges
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    Re: Sonar and Midi Device Identification 2014/10/21 13:33:39 (permalink)
    Read the documentation for the midi devices. does it mention an ID#? In the synth world, if you use more than 1 of the same module, you have to give it it's own ID#. Most devices default to #1 because most people only use 1 device. If your device allows you to use multiples, it will need to know which one is which. Take a look and see if this is the case. I'm just grasping at straws here, but it warrants some investigation before you go shopping for new gear.

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    #5
    johnkeel
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    Re: Sonar and Midi Device Identification 2014/10/21 21:10:57 (permalink)
    Well i actually manage to get a solution, simply by changing one of the units "friendly name" in Windows Registry it now works. It will stick the new name even after reboot, not sure about changing the USB port tough.
     
    I made a post about this product and instructions to use two units with SONAR, not sure if we are allowed to post to our personal websites but here´s my post entry about this:
     
     
    ( Also i still don´t understand how come SONAR is the only software that can´t handle both units at the same time, i keep on trying more and more software and ALL of them can use both and route both with no issue, well i don´t even know if my solution is actually good or not, or if my understanding of the issue is correct, i just know it now works and im happy with it)

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