Midi Connectivity Issue

Hello my friends,

I come to you with another odd problem I didn't realize until recently, so I am hoping someone may have had a similar issue to help me solve mine. I'm trying to figure out where the problem resides.

I am using 1.8 with Pro Tools to control my 32 channel mixers. BMT fires up at startup and then I'll open Pro Tools, all works as it should. There is a ping that occurs, sending midi messages back and forth to make PT think it's connected to the mixer. There were 2 instances where this ping would loose sync with BMT, even though it is visually still working in the log window.

I installed a USB driver for the Fractal Axe-Fx, which allows the device to connect to the PC, and creates midi In and Out ports. I can see these available on the list in BMT, if I needed to use them. Their primary function is to send and receive sysex messages to load firmware to the Axe-Fx. At this point nothing seems to cause an issue. I then install a program called Axe Edit, which is an on screen editing software for the Axe-Fx. When I open this software is where the issues begin.

Once I open Axe Edit, it tries to sync with the Axe-Fx via USB midi, connects, and Pro Tools then looses the ping sync with BMT. Now, the Axe-Fx midi ports are closed and not being used in BMT, and they are also deselected in PT. I can't see any weird data in the log window when I open this software either. The ping is still active in BMT, (sending and receiving) I can see in the log window, but its not reaching PT anymore, or something. So, this causes half the functionality to cease working with my mixer. I don't know if the loss of sync is PT related or BMT related.

I also recently tried to use LoopBe30 again instead of the BMT virtual ports, and I am getting the same issue... the midi data isn't sending and receiving through these ports as I image they should.... The odd part is once I uninstall the LoopBe30 ports, and uninstall the Axe Edit software, restart the PC, Pro Tools and BMT just will not play nice anymore. This resorted in re-imaging my PC back to an earlier date to eliminate any incompatible software, registry files or drivers.

So, has anyone got a clue why this would occur? Thanks for reading!

That sounds pretty nuts. I'm going to forward this off to Florian so he can take a look.

Jared

I think Florian hates me... I've been annoying him about so much crap for months like this

Nobody is capable of understanding the insides of MT like he does. And this is a complex issue that will require testing.

And trust me, he doesn't hate you.

Understood! I wish there was a way we could do a remote testing, as in giving remote access to my PC with equipment attached and being present in the room (via Skype for example) so I could give you both a real in depth look at my serial setup. I feel like my setup is particularly unique.

I'm glad he doesn't hate me...

Thanks J

Hi ibanman,
we love all MT users, most of them are some kind of nerd and we can relate well to that!

Anyway, the problem with drivers is that they're managed by Windows and the entire driver system is very complex. We tried to make our MIDI driver as reliable as possible, but when Windows messes up things, there's nothing we can do. One thing you can try next time is to re-run the Bome installer in case of such a problem to see if that fixes at least the Bome ports.

Of course, the problem might also be on PT's side, so next time it would be interesting to see if the virtual ports work with other applications such as Send SX.

Googling this issue does not reveal much, though Fractal audio mention the possibility of conflicts with other MIDI drivers. You may want to contact them, too, to see if they have any experience with that. They can use MT's trial version to test with the Bome MIDI driver.

Thanks!
Florian

Hey Florian,

Thanks for responding. I am reaching out to the Fractal people in hopes that someone will work with me to help resolve this issue. Time permitting, I will troubleshoot different ways to go about using all three software programs together, maybe there is a way to make it work using a specific startup procedure. I'll need to re-image the PC if I keep ending up in the same place, just to eliminate anything left behind after installation. Thank you both for your help.

Just an update, I've tried multiple times to reinstall this software and try different ways to make MT function properly with Pro Tools 11. I've reinstalled BMT again but still no good. I'm leaving this behind for now, using another laptop to control Axe Edit in the meantime.