Weird repeating MIDI note problem

[Brad Allen]

I am a total novice with MIDI, so I apologize if this seems like a stupid question.  This may not be strictly a Cakewalk issue - I have no idea.  I've searched these forums as well as a ton of others through googling and haven't seen anything regarding this specific problem.  Posted solutions to sticking note problems haven't helped.  And I should point out it's MIDI through USB.  I have used a couple versions of Sonar in the past, and am just now using the new version.  I have used this keyboard a LOT with Cakewalk for many years without an issue.  With the X2 version I did have this problem and I don't recall whether I got it working or just gave up, since I stopped doing anything musical around then.  If it ended up working, which I seem to remember it did, I wish I could remember how!  It's been a long time and I'm just now starting to try to scratch the creative itch again.

My issue is using my keyboard and trying to use a VST instrument.  When I create the track, it's already receiving a repeating signal, so it hits a note over and over at a regular pace (about 1/2 second) as if I was pressing the key on the keyboard repeatedly.  They keyboard itself isn't being played (I'm not touching the keyboard and it doesn't sound on the keyboard - only in the DAW), and I can play around the repeated note in the DAW - even the same note - but that note never stops repeating.  If the keyboard isn't connected there's no issue, and I can play the virtual keyboard in a VST without this problem.

Here's where it gets tricky (I think): This happens immediately upon creating the track while the keyboard is connected, before any recording.  It repeats the same note when it happens, but the next time it happens it might be a different note that repeats, so it's not strictly one "key" that it happens with.  I can stop the MIDI signal in Cakewalk and it will stop, but when I restart it it still happens.  I can get it to stop if I change the voice on the keyboard itself, but when I touch any key it starts again.  And I did mess around with the buffer speed, as I read elsewhere, to no avail.  I don't know that that would even apply to this situation anyway.

The pertinent info:

Windows 10, fully up to date.

Old Casio keyboard (WK-110) with as up-to-date drivers as I can find.  They were for Windows 7 and other Casio users said the drivers work fine on 10.  Windows seems OK with it, and the previous time I had this problem I was running Windows 7.

Gigabyte motherboard if that matters (GA-970A-UD3).  None of the Gigabyte software is installed (there was an issue with their utilities program and USB audio interfaces).  Not the world's most amazing computer but perfectly adequate.

Thanks for your attention and any ideas you might have :)

[tecknot]

The only thing I can think of is the metronome.  Can  you record this repeating note in Cakewalk?  If so, can you take a look in the Event View and see what kind of note/message it is? 

Kind regards,

tecknot

[Brad Allen]

4 hours ago, tecknot said:

The only thing I can think of is the metronome.  Can  you record this repeating note in Cakewalk?  If so, can you take a look in the Event View and see what kind of note/message it is? 

Kind regards,

tecknot

Thanks for responding!

I was able to record it, and when playing back it is also playing the repeated note along with the playback, so it's doubled up for the length of the recording.  At the end of the recording it's back to just the single repeating note.  If I hit the reset MIDI button it stops, but if I press play for the recorded track, the repeating note starts again as well and continues after the played track ends.  The metronome doesn't seem to be related.  It's not on, and if I turn it on and change the tempo, it has no bearing on the repeating note, but will of course mess with the recorded track's speed.

I assume by "Event View" you mean the Event Inspector module at the top toolbar?  All of the boxes shown (time, duration, etc.) are empty, so apparently it's not registering anything.  I'm at a loss here.

Edited March 30, 2020 by Brad Allen

[User 905133]

Just now, Brad Allen said:

I assume by "Event View" you mean the Event Inspector module at the top toolbar?  All of the boxes shown (time, duration, etc.) are empty, so apparently it's not registering anything.  I'm at a loss here.

Menu Bar > Views > Event List is different than the Control Bar Event Inspector. If you don't see it under views, read this:

 

 

[Brad Allen]

User 905133, thanks for that.  Here's a screenshot of what it says.  Being a MIDI novice, I don't know how to interpret it other than there's a bunch of repeated notes on there.  It's two recordings on the same track.

Edited March 30, 2020 by Brad Allen

[Chaps]

Here is what I would try if I were having that problem. Because there are Patch Change events in the repeated events I would disable the recording of those kinds of events in Preferences/MIDI/Playback and Recording to see if that had any effect when recording. Uncheck the Patch Change Box, and even any other kind of event you don't need to record. That might help to identify the source of the problem.

[David Baay]

Check the section of the keyboard manual on Auto Accompaniment.

[Brad Allen]

I did change out the USB cable - no change.

Auto accompaniment is turned off.

I can't find a way to factory reset - there's nothing in the Casio manual or online that I can find.  Likewise, there are no firmware updates to be found.

I tried changing the MIDI channel on the keyboard and ended up with no signal, even if I told the track in Cakewalk to use that channel.

I tried messing with the MIDI settings in Cakewalk's preferences (patch changes, etc.) with no change, except I did find that if you uncheck "notes" you don't get any notes at all.  So I suppose that aspect is working correctly

I have not really tried another DAW.  It was on my list of things to try, but I don't want to clutter up my computer's registry with a bunch of software I wouldn't otherwise use and deal with the inevitable slowdowns.  I did however give Audacity a try and couldn't figure out how to get a MIDI input to work at all.  I'm not sure what other software to try that won't be a headache for a novice to figure out (that I also don't have to purchase just for troubleshooting).

I also considered trying a MIDI diagnostic tool, but the only one I see any references to is MIDI-Ox, and the most recent Windows version listed for download is XP.  So that seems a bit out of date.

I appreciate everyone's input so far.  Somehow something's gotta work.

Edited March 31, 2020 by Brad Allen

[User 905133]

To rule out the possibility that the Casio is generating the midi data, try a utility like MIDI-OX independently of any other midi software.  I have had it working on Windows 10 for a few years.

Edited March 31, 2020 by User 905133

[Chaps]

On 3/29/2020 at 5:03 PM, Brad Allen said:

Windows 10, fully up to date.

Old Casio keyboard (WK-110) with as up-to-date drivers as I can find.  They were for Windows 7 and other Casio users said the drivers work fine on 10.  Windows seems OK with it, and the previous time I had this problem I was running Windows 7.

 

I was looking for information on the device and on the Casio website it shows that the Casio USB driver is not compatible with Windows 10 and compatible with Windows 7 32bit with some limitations. I don't know that this has something to do with your problem but it is something to consider. There might even be some weird MIDI feedback loop going on. You could try changing the device's MIDI mode to see if that has any effect.

https://support.casio.com/en/support/osdevicePage.php?cid=008002002

[Brad Allen]

OK, now we're getting somewhere.  I don't know where exactly because I don't know how to interpret any of this stuff.

MIDI-Ox does, in fact, work on Windows 10.  So I installed it, pointed it to the keyboard, and without anything playing there's tons of activity.  So I think we can rule out Cakewalk as the problem, and it's either something in Windows or the keyboard.  And I suspect it's the keyboard since as I mentioned earlier this happened with a different version of Windows though I had somehow gotten it to stop but I have no idea how.

But NOW... after figuring out how to log the activity with MIDI-Ox, having to open and close the program and turn off and on the keyboard several times, I can't seem to replicate the problem that's been happening since I started trying to use this thing again for a week.  There's nothing to log.  Try as I might, even through Cakewalk, the repeating note suddenly isn't happening and it appears to be working normally.  And I can't figure out why and I want to be thrilled about it but also worry it'll start again on its own without warning.

So, problem not exactly solved, and I'm more confused than ever, but it seems to be working and my fingers are crossed.  Thanks again for everyone's input so far, and I suspect I may be back on this thread saying it's happening again.

[Brad Allen]

Thank you Chappel for that.  Although the driver does seem to be working, I know that there can be problems that Windows doesn't necessarily realize are problems, and I guess that could be the issue here.  Though as I just mentioned, right now it seems to suddenly be working fine.  So I'm thinking I just roll with it (no pun intended) and if this starts happening again it may be time to just suck it up and look at new keyboard options.  Thanks again!

[User 905133]

I hope its not pre-mature, but congrats! Maybe something you did reset a setting that caused an automatic sequence/patch/etc. to stop playing. Hope the problem doesn't return.

[Chaps]

1 hour ago, Brad Allen said:

Thank you Chappel for that.  Although the driver does seem to be working, I know that there can be problems that Windows doesn't necessarily realize are problems, and I guess that could be the issue here.  Though as I just mentioned, right now it seems to suddenly be working fine.  So I'm thinking I just roll with it (no pun intended) and if this starts happening again it may be time to just suck it up and look at new keyboard options.  Thanks again!

You're welcome, though I certainly can't take any credit for your problem being fixed. If you do end up spending some cash for a new controller at least you'll be able to get one that is made specifically for what you're using it for, it will have newer drivers and more control over different MIDI parameters. Might be a good use for the stimulus check we're supposed to be getting in a few weeks. I'm using mine to build a new computer.