Sonar/MIDI keyboard frustration

(Follow-up to previous thread)
 
Just bought a new keyboard. Yamaha 105-b. It uses USB-MIDI interface. My old keyboard used an external Midisport box. I still need that box for my other hardware synth, but not for the new Yamaha. I have been trying for a few weeks now to get this working. Cakewalk tech support was as helpful as they could be, but did not resolve it. I have gone to the Yamaha website and downloaded and installed the USB-MIDI driver, though it did not change anything. I returned the first keyboard I bought because of this same issue, so it is not a hardware problem with the keyboard.
 
I need some patient help. Here are the repro steps. Note that Local Control is turned OFF on the keyboard.
 
1. Create a new default project. This has a single Midi track in it. The Input is Midi Omni, the output is the digital piano.
2. Record something. This is successful. Playback is also successful.
3. Open an existing project which was created before the keyboard was purchased.
4. In this existing project, change the Midi track output from the old Midisport to the new digital piano device. There is now no playback. Recording to the track actually works, in that a clip is created with notes in it, but the keyboard does not make any sound.
5. Double check the output is correctly listed as Digital Piano. No sound.
6. Focus back on the project created in step one. Now there is no playback on that project either. In fact, no matter what, now I cannot make sound come out of the keyboard.
7. Turn keyboard off and back on.
8. Sonar complains that it can't find the midi device. The Digital Piano device is no longer present in Midi Devices in Preferences.
9. Close and re-open Sonar. Return to step 1, repeat.
 
Important: NOT ALL EXISTING PROJECTS OPENED IN STEP 3 CAUSE THIS PROBLEM. Some projects that I open in step 3 work fine. Sometimes an existing project opened in step 3 will cause the above problem. There appears to be no difference in Midi track input and output between existing projects that cause this problem and those that do not.
 
In all cases, creating a soft synth track where my keyboard is the Midi controller works fine.
 
Any questions or clarifications? What's going on here?

Try disabling Zero Controllers When Play Stops in Preferences > Project > MIDI.
 
Keyboard's monitored by input echo on an audio track? does the keyboard have a MIDI IN activity indicator that would help confirm the port is continuing to work?

Seems like something is flaky with the USB-MIDI port driver. Kind of too much going on to diagnose remotely, but if you connect the Yamaha via the MidiSport and everything is normal, I'd say there's definitely something up with its USB MIDI

azslow3
You have not specified your location, but I doubt I am in the near in any case
 
If the difference is in old/new project only, there must be something inside the project which trigger the problem.
You have not mentioned either you have checked either you have some difference in Bank/Patch settings and the Instrument Map for the track in question.
 

You can probably guess my location from my user name (Go Hawks!) but from your English I'm agreeing we are probably very far away. :-)
 
I agree there's something in those old projects which is triggering the problem. 
 
Since the track in question uses the single Midi Channel 1 in/out for the piano, I haven't done anything with instrument bank/patch settings. But wait... that gives me an idea...
 
SUCCESS! (Sort of) Thank you aszlow3! On the piano tracks in question, though the input and output are set correctly, there is channel, bank and patch information attached to the track. I set those all to None for every piano track in the project. I then had to save, close Sonar and reboot the keyboard. When I re-opened Sonar and this project, it again did not remember the keyboard existed, and it found it again anew, but then it played!
 
So.... the channel/bank/patch info was confusing the keyboard. Touchdown, but the game isn't over yet.
 
The keyboard will often be turned off. Why does Sonar forget that it is a Midi Device and have to connect to it anew every time I do that? I am turning the device off and back on only while Sonar is closed for now, but in my normal work I will be doing so at any time. Why does Sonar forget the device if it's turned off, and how can I get it to remain in Midi Devices all the time?

jkoseattle
You can probably guess my location from my user name (Go Hawks!) but from your English I'm agreeing we are probably very far away. :-)

I am glad I still could help a bit from that distance, using a language which "natives" are not going to call "English"
 
About MIDI devices. SONAR recognize them by internal IDs, not by names. In case it "thinks" the device is changed, you are asked to configure it as a "new" device. The IDs are assigned by Windows, so the problem is not SONAR related.
 
There can be several reasons why Windows can assign new id. Far from complete list is:
* you attach device to different USB port
* you switch off device, but driver is not releasing everything successfully. So once it is switched on again, the "slot" is somehow occupied and new ID is assigned. There can be other driver related reasons.
 
In general, if you (always) switch USB device before starting Windows, Windows never sleep and the device is never switched off till computer is off, everything should work as expected. All other combinations are using "Plug&Play" (also known as "Plug&Pray") technology and so the source of troubles.

I'm not familiar with the specific keyboard, however some instruments may have multiple midi devices. I had a similar issue with both my Korg radias and maudio venom. These instruments have a pair of devices for input and output, one in/out pair is for the hardware controls (sliders, knobs, etc) and another pair for the keybed and sound generator. I have, many times, selected the output device that was for the hardware controls instead of the sound generator and had to scratch my head for a few minutes each time. For example, the Radias has a "Synth out" and a "Sound Out" listed as two different output midi devices. The "Radias Sound Out" feeds the sound generator, while the other modifies the knob values from remote.

Double check to make sure you have the correct midi devices selected. :)
 
Have you tried this?
 
http://faq.yamaha.com/us/en/article/musical-instruments/keyboards/digitalpianos/p_series/p-105/10324/4181/?current_page_id=1&sort=best&type=
 

Everyone, I have the same exact issue as jkoseattle. 
 
My MIDI quits working randomly during stops and starts ( of playback).  I use the Cakewalks a-800Pro keyboards in Sonar Platinum with the same results where I have to close the project and re-load it to get my MIDI keyboard working again. 
 
BTW I had the same problem in X3 using the same keyboard.
 
I'm going to try jkoseattles solutions and see if it works. I love this forum.

Do you see your midi drivers present in Windows Device Manager prior to launching Sonar?
 
Also, is it possible you are losing midi devices due to the default Windows setting in Power Management options (under Advanced) for USB Selective Suspend?
 
Or, maybe from Sleep/Hibernate?
 
Bob Bone