midi pitch off

[Kawika 9]

Hi,

I haven't recorded in a few months and came back to find all of my midi instruments (e.g., cakewalk, wave piano, Omnisphere) all producing  sounds that are around 1/4 tone sharp to standard 440. I checked it with multiple sources. They are consistent with each other. Is there some sort of global tuning to be found in Cakewalk by Band Lab?

 

Thanks,

 

Kawika

[bvideo 40]

The usual reason is mismatching sample rates between Cakewalk's setting and the audio interface.

[Kawika 9]

Both are at 44.1

[Jeremy Oakes 124]

3 hours ago, bvideo said:

The usual reason is mismatching sample rates between Cakewalk's setting and the audio interface.

I thought it was usually Cakewalk and Windows ?

J

[RobertWS 550]

12 hours ago, Kawika said:

 I checked it with multiple sources.

 

Does that mean you tried more than one midi file?   If it's just one midi file, check in the event list for unwanted control changes.

[David Baay 1,067]

14 hours ago, Kawika said:

...all producing  sounds that are around 1/4 tone sharp to standard 440.

What's the pitch reference? If it's an audio file and all your VSTs are in tune with each other, it's probably playback of that file that's off. And are you sure about the interval? Sample rate mismatch (either between CbB and the audio interface or between the audio file metadata and the actual audio data) is the most likely cause, but the difference between 48kHz and 44.1kHz is more than a half step.

Edited December 29, 2022 by David Baay

[Kawika 9]

Hi, thanks,

All audio files are in tune (checked against multiple sources such as 2 different gtr tuners, youtube-pitch examples, tuning fork etc). I am sure the difference in pitch in the midi instruments is around a 1/4 tone (between a half step such as B and C.)

[SirWillyDS12 33]

Check the midi event list for your tracks for Pitch Wheel controller changes... If you are using a Midi Keyboard Controller perhaps the Pitch Wheel on it is sending a control change... Possibly the Pitch Wheel controller is stuck?

[Kawika 9]

Hi ,

This problem happens even  when triggering a soft synth with the mouse. Does that eliminate the controller as the culprit?

 

thanks,

 

David

 

[Kawika 9]

It happens in all projects, and in all soft synths e.g., cakewalk SI electric piano, and Omnisphere.  It does not seem to matter if it is VST2 or VST3. It happens with the mouse as a trigger. It is consistently 1/4 pitch out. I have wiggled the controller pitch wheel. I am up to date with Windows and CakeWalk band.

 

thoughts?  thanks!

[Kawika 9]

By the way, "Event List" does not indicate any "pitch wheel" activity. Thanks

[John Bradley 362]

You'll only see pitchwheel events in the Event List if they were recorded.

But if the pitchwheel on the controller is not returning to zero, it will make whatever live (unfrozen) soft synth you have currently selected go sharp or flat.

Disconnect or turn off the controller.

 

[Kawika 9]

Thank you all for your time!

I found the problem: Apparently my 2-year old son turned a  pot on the midi controller which is designated to pitch. Bringing it back to 0 solved the problem. I should have looked there first.

 

Thanks again!

[Byron Dickens 1,623]

People always assume it's the software....

[Kawika 9]

oops, I thought I had it. It will be fine for  a few recordings and then suddenly jump up 1/4 tone. I checked event list and there is a pitch wheel notated at the point of departure. I tried using Automap unsuccessfully and am now using ACT.

Edited December 31, 2022 by Kawika

[bitflipper 3,029]

It would appear to be a problem with your controller.

Try this: physically disconnect the keyboard, open a new project, add a soft synth and manually draw in a note in the PRV. This should play back in tune. Make sure you're using an external reference to gauge the tuning, e.g. a tuner app on your phone.

Because of their mechanical nature, pitch wheels are the most common point of failure on keyboard controllers. See how hard it will be to remove the wheel. If it's convenient to get to, have a peek inside. They vary a lot in construction. Yours may be a simple potentiometer that can be cleaned with a spray solvent made for that purpose. Or it may be a mechanical issue where the wheel isn't returning to zero because it's binding or sticking. There will usually be some kind of adjustment in there to let you zero the controller.

Or just buy a new controller.

[SirWillyDS12 33]

Very possible that you can either disable the Pitch Wheel or set it to "Zero" on your controller... If you actually use the Pitch Wheel then that would be a problem... You can also set Cakewalk to not respond to Pitch Wheel control changes in Preferences -> MIDI -> Playback and Record... It will not respond to or record pitch control changes...

You can also install Midi View to see just how much info your controller is sending to Cakewalk... Midi View doesn't show every thing but does show Pitch Wheel controller...

You may also be able in install something like MIDI Patchbay to filter out the control changes into Cakewalk if you can't fix the Pitch Wheel...

Edited December 31, 2022 by SirWillyDS12

[bitflipper 3,029]

Cakewalk also has a MIDI plugin called MIDI Event Filter that, iirc, can filter out just about any MIDI events, including those from the pitchwheel.

[Kawika 9]

Wow, bitflipper and SirWilly!!!

Thanks for all the work-arounds. I have been working on this problem for the last 2 days, 4hours per day. It was very frustrating because of the intermittent nature of the problem: That is, sometimes just playing and/or  recording for  a full 2 minutes without incident and sometimes  the problem happened after 2 notes/events. I did spray -dust the wheel.

Anyway I contacted Novation and we will see what they have to say. Between your plentiful suggestions (thanks again guys/gals) and Novation support, I 'm confident the problem will be solved if only for buying a new controller.

In the mean time, I found my old 2-octave-midiman Oxygen8 in my garage. Surprisingly, I was able to locate a Legacy driver. It works great! I can finally do some music, today.

 

Thanks again,

 

Happy New year,

Kawika

[RBH 266]

Hopefully Novation will have a calibration routine or maybe just a hard reboot step that will re-calibrate the pitch  wheel. Typically the wheel is just a manual potentiometer. How it measures that resistance is the key.  You can also buy contact cleaner for that pot - but it may be tricky getting to it depending on how the unit is designed. The best shortcut is to dis able the pitch wheel from the midi stream through preferences as stated above.

Edited December 31, 2022 by RBH