Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss
Groups keyboard shortcuts have been updated
Dismiss
See shortcuts

PAS16 and Stuck Notes

5 views
Skip to first unread message

Robert Baetke

unread,
Jul 19, 1993, 3:15:33 PM7/19/93
to
I finally got through to the Technical Support people at Media Vision
and they explained to me that if you try to send more than about 6
channels of data simultaneously through the external midi port, the
buffers will get overloaded and you will experience stuck notes on the
synthesizer. This is a limitation of the design and according to them
is common to all of the low cost (<$200) soundcards with midi
adapters. -sigh-~

I still intend to experiment to see if I can determine the threshold
for data transfer and to see if the internal synthesizer responds any
differently than the external sythesizer. I will post the results
when they are in.~

Hope this helps all you other PAS owners.~

Robert

C.J.K.

unread,
Jul 20, 1993, 6:19:04 PM7/20/93
to
bae...@sequent.com (Robert Baetke) writes:

I'm quite interested in knowing what you find out. It happens to me
when sending only two to four channels (as my external keyboard only
sees ch1-4).

--- Cornell
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
What I write does not necessarily represent the view of my employer.

Ian_Cornell DONALDSON

unread,
Jul 20, 1993, 11:45:07 PM7/20/93
to

For interests sake, I've done a litle experimentation with an SB Pro,
Windows 3.1, and an Ensoniq SQ-R+ synth module. I've tried playing the
most complex of MIDI files I could find, using Window's Media Player,
WinJammer, and CakeWalk PRO. Most complex was about 6 channels and
18 simultaeous notes. There were no stuck notes, I could percieve no
slowdown in the music. In other words, try I might, but I couldn't
overload it.

Ian

mary crockett

unread,
Jul 21, 1993, 9:09:07 AM7/21/93
to
In article <cornell.743206744@vivaldi> cor...@syl.dl.nec.com writes:
>bae...@sequent.com (Robert Baetke) writes:
>
>>I finally got through to the Technical Support people at Media Vision
>>and they explained to me that if you try to send more than about 6
>>channels of data simultaneously through the external midi port, the
>>buffers will get overloaded and you will experience stuck notes on the
>>synthesizer. This is a limitation of the design and according to them
>>is common to all of the low cost (<$200) soundcards with midi
>>adapters. -sigh-~
>>
>>I still intend to experiment to see if I can determine the threshold
>>for data transfer and to see if the internal synthesizer responds any
>>differently than the external sythesizer. I will post the results
>>when they are in.~
>>
>I'm quite interested in knowing what you find out. It happens to me
>when sending only two to four channels (as my external keyboard only
>sees ch1-4).
>
I too have found no relationship to the number of channels...1 to 8.
However, it tends to happen more frequently with some patches (pan pipes)
than others (piano). And when my buffers DO get overloaded, my Roland
D-5 just stops playing briefly and displays a message on the LED that
the midi buffers are full...no "sticky notes" at those times. I can't
count the number of recording attempts that have been ruined by the
failure of the note-off signal to make it through MV MidiMate. And
I only use software with "Panic Buttons" for playback so can interrupt
the sticking note without stopping the music or turning off my keyboard.

I wouldn't believe everything MV Tech Support tells you...although
sometimes they are right.

-- maryc
--
=============================================================== :|||:
Mary Crockett, TS @ The Ask Group, Ingres Products Division |||
Internet : ma...@ingres.com |||
UUCP : {sun,mtxinu,pyramid,pacbell}!ingres!maryc ( * )

Jeffrey M. Fried

unread,
Jul 21, 1993, 4:18:04 PM7/21/93
to
bae...@sequent.com (Robert Baetke) writes:

>I finally got through to the Technical Support people at Media Vision
>and they explained to me that if you try to send more than about 6
>channels of data simultaneously through the external midi port, the
>buffers will get overloaded and you will experience stuck notes on the
>synthesizer.

Do they mean 6 midi channels or 6 voice polyphony? I've gotten stuck notes
with just 3 channels, except one of the channels had a keyboard part
(total polyphony > 6).

-- rest deleted --

Jeff Fried.

Jeffrey M. Fried

unread,
Jul 21, 1993, 4:22:51 PM7/21/93
to
ma...@Ingres.COM (mary crockett) writes:

>In article <cornell.743206744@vivaldi> cor...@syl.dl.nec.com writes:
>>bae...@sequent.com (Robert Baetke) writes:
>>
>>>I finally got through to the Technical Support people at Media Vision
>>>and they explained to me that if you try to send more than about 6
>>>channels of data simultaneously through the external midi port, the
>>>buffers will get overloaded and you will experience stuck notes on the
>>>synthesizer. This is a limitation of the design and according to them
>>>is common to all of the low cost (<$200) soundcards with midi
>>>adapters. -sigh-~
>>>


Left out from previous post: I also have a Roland MPU midi i/f and rarely
get a stuck note (I think only when I approach the polyphonic limits of my
synth). Unlike the PAS16 and MidiMate, when I do get the stuck note, its
always in the same place and thus easy to edit out.

Jeff Fried.

Thomas Pfau

unread,
Jul 22, 1993, 11:22:41 AM7/22/93
to

I've had problems with stuck notes as well. Only seen with my external
keyboard. The internal channels work fine. I have a cheap Casio
keyboard which only uses channels 1-3 so it's not likely to be an
overload condition. It seems more likely to happen during complex
passages but also happens in less complex pieces.

tom_p
----------------------------------------------------------------------
pf...@coffee.enet.dec.com | Mapmaker's disclaimer:
16.69.208.195 | 'Not responsible for topographical
Compuserve: 73303,1136 | errors.'
----------------------------------------------------------------------

bri...@binah.cc.brandeis.edu

unread,
Jul 23, 1993, 10:38:36 AM7/23/93
to
Robert mentions that PAS support told him that more than 6 channels of
data causes low-cost soundboard MIDI ports to overload external synths,
making them freeze.

The same thing has happened to me when I've tried to play .MID files
from programs like WordPerfect Presentations through my PC Midicard
made by MusicQuest. It's a dedicated, if low-cost, MIDI card (not a
soundcard) that's connected to my Ensoniq KS-32. So the problem
might not just be with soundcards--it might be with certain MIDI
adapators as well.
0 new messages