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Bamboozled about MIDI & Chords


CG_UK

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I have a Roland D5 which works great, and it also works with my Roland U-220, single notes and chords work as expected, here's my dilemma, when I hook the Roland D5 Keyboard up to the pc Via the 5 pin to USB, I can play single note relatively ok, but it won't let me play chords in to cakewalk at all, and when i try to a single note will stick and keep on humming away? like I'm still pressing the keys, I Bought the MIDI to USB from the So called "e" Auction Bay, and wondering if its this cheap tat I bought or can't 5pin midi do chords to the pc and i can to the U-220 with no problems, sorry for the long winded ask, but it's been quite a while singe I did use MIDI like back in the days of the amiga :S.

 

Kind Regards

 

CG ?

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Although those USB to MIDI "cables" are notoriously bad due to their small buffer size, I suspect what you're getting  in this case is a MIDI feedback loop - i.e. the D5 sends MIDI to Cakewalk, which sends it back to the D5, which sends it back to Cakewalk etc...

There's a couple of options here:
1. Within Cakewalk, turn MIDI echo off for the D5's MIDI port - first you need to turn "Always Echo Current MIDI Track" off in Preferences, then you can enable/disable echo on a track by track basis:

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2. Alternatively, switch the D5 to "Local Off" if it has this option.

Note: You should choose one or the other option, not both otherwise you'll get no sound at all.

 

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You can test the quality of the 5 pin DIN to USB interface/converter by installing MIDIOx. If your chords are coming through on that you know the keyboard and inteface are doing their job. Realize that MIDI, being a serial protocol, sends chords as a series of closely spaced single notes so do not expect to see a "chord" displayed in raw MIDI.

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If you record and then you look in the Cakewalk piano roll, do you see the sustained note as you hear it?

Or does it cut off when you stop playing?

Do the chords appear as a stackof notes or only a single note?

Edited by twelvetone
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hi and yes to answer your question, when the midi hangs it also records the note hanging, and I can not get chords to show, I'm thinking it's this cheap midi cable as both midi keyboards do the same, on is my Rolan D5 and the other is a Yamaha Porrtasound PSS-680, anyone got an idead on which midi interface device to buy, I would like a few suggestions if possible also with optional audio plugins for mic ect..

 

CG xD

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