MIDI control surface initialization

[jonathan-g]

I have a weird problem that started recently. I'm using Windows 10 and Voicemeeter Potato (3.0.2.2. 64 bit) and have an Akai MIDI Mix control surface that I'm using with Potato and Macro Buttons. For the past couple of years, everything worked well, but about a month ago, Potato and Macro Buttons stopped working with the control surface when they first start up.

Potato and Macro Buttons start up with the MIDI Mix controller selected but don't receive input or send output (LED state) to it. If I select "- No MIDI -" on Potato and Macro Buttons, and then unplug and replug the USB to the control surface, and then re-select "MIDI Mix" on both applications, everything works fine.

When I boot up and Potato and Macro Buttons aren't exchanging I/O with the MIDI Mix, I can run a monitor such as MIDI Ox and I see that it gets the I/O just fine. But Potato and Macro Buttons won't interact with it until I select "- No MIDI -", unplug and replug the controller, and then select "MIDI Mix" again.

Does anyone have any ideas about how to troubleshoot this?

[Vincent Burel]

you may post a screenshot of your MIDI mapping dialog box, to let us see your MIDI device selection.

[jonathan-g]

vb-mid-map.jpg (172.46 KiB) Viewed 6577 times

[Vincent Burel]

you may select your MIDI device as output MIDI device for Feedback, otherwise there is no way to let Voicemeeter send the current control state to your MIDI controller. (use the 'F' to enable it on each MIDI map item).

[jonathan-g]

The problem I'm seeing with the control surface isn't output from Voicemeeter to MIDI. The surface isn't motorized so there's no point in Voicemeeter sending signals to the sliders and knobs on the control surface.

My problem is that Voicemeeter isn't accepting input from the control surface: when I move the controls on the control surface, Voicemeeter doesn't respond until I select "No MIDI" for MIDI input device on Voicemeeter, then unplug and replug the control surface, and then select "MIDI Mix" in Voicemeeter. After doing that, moving the sliders on the surface adjusts the gains in Voicemeeter.

[Vincent Burel]

ok, for the feedback.

so you mean your midi controller is in fact not connected to Voicemeeter on startup... and you have to re-select again to make it works right ?

[jonathan-g]

Sorry for the long delay in answering.

When I first start Voicemeeter, after booting Windows, the "MIDI Mapping" dialog lists the control surface as connected (MIDI Input Device is set to "MIDI Mix" and MIDI Output Device is set to "Not selected" because I don't want feedback from Voicemeeter to the control surface), but moving the controls on the control surface doesn't have an effect on Voicemeeter.

If I take the following steps, it will work:

1. De-select the control surface from the "MIDI Mapping" dialog (from "MIDI Mix" to "- no MIDI -")

• Disconnect and reconnect the USB cable from the control surface to the computer

• Re-select the control surface in the "MIDI Mapping" dialog in Voicemeeter (from "- no MIDI -" to "MIDI Mix")

After this, moving the controls on the control surface correctly moves the controls on VoiceMeeter that I have mapped them to.

The order of the steps is crucial: I must first de-select the deveice and then disconnect and reconnect the USB cable before re-selecting the device. If I disconnect and reconnect the cable without de-selecting the device, it doesn't work. And if I de-select and re-select the device without disconnecting and reconnecting the USB cable, it doesn't work.

If I configure Voicemeeter to not use a MIDI device by default (the MIDI Input Device is set to "- no MIDI -" on startup), then I just need to disconnect and reconnect the USB cable and then open the MIDI Mapping dialog and select the control surface ("MIDI Mix") and it works.

I wondered whether the problem was with the control surface itself, or the OS device drivers, but when I boot Windows, before I do anything, I can see MIDI output from the control surface on MIDI monitors like MIDI Ox, so I know that the control surface is properly communicating with the OS.

[Bena]

Hello, I have a similar problem.
For about 2 month, my midi stuff are not detected at Voicemeeter startup. I have to restart audio engine after the startup of Voicemeeter to solve the problem. (It worked well before).

My Midi stuff are working (I can see that in MIDI-OX monitor).

I use Voicemeeter potato 3.0.2.8

Best regards.