Sudden inability to get midi controller's midi data in Cakewalk OR SPlat.

[Robert Bone]

Hi - I am suddenly unable to have either Cakewalk or Sonar Platinum 'see' and midi data from my Roland A-800 controller, when everywhere else - Midi Ox running on desktop, stand-alone synths, VST hosting software, all other programs are properly 'seeing' and reacting to midi note on/off events transmitted by the controller.

I have restarted Cakewalk, and Sonar Platinum, no change.  I have physically pulled and reconnected the midi controller's USB cable to the computer, no change.  Also no change turning the midi controller off/on while still connected by the USB cable to the computer.

The midi controller (Roland A-800 Pro) IS selected in Midi Devices in Preferences.

Again, there is no problem with the controller, as far as other programs behaving as expected and reacting to midi note events when pressing keys on the controller.

Lastly, if I play notes with my mouse, in plugin synth instances with keyboards in their UI, the notes trigger proper playing of those note events, so the plugins are working properly in Cakewalk/Sonar, but NOT when I play notes on the midi controller.  And, this all just started happening yesterday.

I am at a loss, and HOPING you folks can help me figure out what the heck caused this, and how to resolve it.

a PROFOUNDLY hopeful - Bob Bone

[scook]

Try renaming TTSSEQ.ini in the CbB and SONAR user folders in appdata.

[Robert Bone]

21 minutes ago, scook said:

Try renaming TTSSEQ.ini in the CbB and SONAR user folders in appdata.

Thanks - did so,  I saw no change.  Midi data IS being generated when I physically depress notes on the Roland A-800 Pro controller, but it is still not being detected in Cakewalk or Platinum.

I am baffled - by the way, I also have Omni set for midi input on the midi track, and on top of the general omni setting, I also have tried selecting omni just for the controller, specifically.  Neither one made any difference, I have no detection of midi controller midi data from withing Cakewalk/SPlat.

Any other things I can look at or try?

EDITED TO INCLUDE UPDATE:

After doing the rename of TTSSEQ.ini, and launching Cakewalk, and as described above, still seeing no reaction to midi controller data in Cakewalk, I decided to look again at everything in Preferences, thinking maybe some global parameter somehow had gotten changed.

Well, once in there, I opened the Midi Devices dialog, and there were no longer any midi devices selected under Inputs.  I selected the A-800 Pro as a device for input, and NOW, there is behavior I would have expected all along - Cakewalk is now properly reacting to 'seeing' the midi note events from the midi controller.  PLEASE NOTE - I did have the same midi device selected prior to the renaming ot the TTSSEQ.ini file, so obviously the renaming of that reset whatever was ailing Cakewalk.

I am not at all understanding what in the world would have messed up that file in both Cakewalk and in Platinum.  (I hadn't even used Platinum for many months, and only did so while doing analysis on why things suddenly quit reacting to midi data).  I suppose some system maintenance to Windows 10 might have done something - but if that indeed can cause the types of problems I was having, I would think more folks would have had similar issues.  Why just MY computer?  (Windows 10 patch current, AMD Ryzen processor, tons of memory, multiple solid-states drive).

Bob Bone

 

Edited April 9, 2019 by Robert Bone
Added content to show problem resolution.

[StarTekh]

Reinstall the  Roland A-800 driver ! 

[scook]

I am guessing the MIDI I/O activity is showing up in the icon in the Windows taskbar.

Do synth play with using the virtual controller?

Is the keyboard also used as a control surface?

 

[scook]

37 minutes ago, Robert Bone said:

I am not at all understanding what in the world would have messed up that file in both Cakewalk and in Platinum.  (I hadn't even used Platinum for many months, and only did so while doing analysis on why things suddenly quit reacting to midi data).  I suppose some system maintenance to Windows 10 might have done something - but if that indeed can cause the types of problems I was having, I would think more folks would have had similar issues.  Why just MY computer?  (Windows 10 patch current, AMD Ryzen processor, tons of memory, multiple solid-states drive).

Both DAWs use similar methods to discover and communicate with MIDI devices.

It is not just your computer. The symptom has been described before on different HW/SW combinations. But the failure does not appear to be easily reproduced. The suggestion to reset the ini file comes from a review of similar threads.

[Robert Bone]

1) The midi controller is class-compliant - it automatically downloads its drivers, as needed, when it is connected, via USB, to the computer.

2) The situation is resolved, but not understood.  Renaming of TTSSEQ.ini , followed by again selecting the midi controller as an Input in the Midi>Devices dialog, made everything start properly reacting to ('seeing') midi data from the controller.  I just do not understand WHY the TTSSEQ.ini file got messed up in the first place, because whatever goofed it up had ALSO goofed up the TTSSEQ.ini file in Platinum, which I hadn't used in several months.

3) Prior to things starting to work again, as noted above, I got expected sound within CBB and SPlat, when using mouse to press notes on the virtual keyboard present in both FM8 and Kontakt, and only did not get any sound PRIOR to my renaming TTSSEQ.ini in both CBB and Splat.

SOOOOO = it is resolved, but I do not understand what would have goofed up TTSSEQ.ini.

Bob Bone

[Robert Bone]

Just now, scook said:

Both DAWs use similar methods to discover and communicate with MIDI devices.

It is not just your computer. The symptom has been described before on different HW/SW combinations. But the failure does not appear to be easily reproduced. The suggestion to reset the ini file comes from a review of similar threads.

Thanks - I just meant my computer, and not others, in terms of whether or not some general Windows 10 maintenance had changed something that more globally would have been reported as problematic.  In other words, if some 'general' failure was due to some Windows maintenance, I would have expected to see more folks reporting similar issues.  As a general observation.

Bob Bone

[scook]

16 minutes ago, Robert Bone said:

Prior to things starting to work again, as noted above, I got expected sound within CBB and SPlat, when using mouse to press notes on the virtual keyboard present in both FM8 and Kontakt, and only did not get any sound PRIOR to my renaming TTSSEQ.ini in both CBB and Splat

This only exercises the plug-in and its audio output. A better test is the virtual MIDI keyboard in the DAW. At least it sends MIDI data from a "device" to the synth. Still the virtual MIDI keyboard does not rely on TTSSEQ.ini so probably would have worked just like the plug-in keyboard.

 

14 minutes ago, Robert Bone said:

I just meant my computer, and not others, in terms of whether or not some general Windows 10 maintenance had changed something that more globally would have been reported as problematic.  In other words, if some 'general' failure was due to some Windows maintenance, I would have expected to see more folks reporting similar issues.

The actual cause is not known. At least, I do not recall anyone being able to reproduce the problem. There may be multiple conditions that cause the problem. The symptom, while rare, has been described well before Win10 and resetting the ini is a frequent suggestion.

[Robert Bone]

1 minute ago, scook said:

This only exercises the plug-in and its audio output. A better test is the virtual MIDI keyboard in the DAW. At least it sends MIDI data from a "device" to the synth. Still the virtual MIDI keyboard does not rely on TTSSEQ.ini so probably would have worked just like the plug-in keyboard.

 

The actual cause is not known (at least I do not recall someone being able to reproduce the problem) but the symptom has been described before well before Win10 and resetting the ini is a frequent suggestion.

OK - fair enough.  I am happy to settle on it working now, and will save off the 'fix' of renaming the TTSSEQ.ini file.

Bob Bone

 

[Robert Bone]

Well, it happened again this evening, with absolutely NO changes by me, whatsoever.  The midi data from my Roland A-800 Pro midi controller was again not being seen by Cakewalk - new project or existing project.

I immediately renamed TTSSEQ.ini again, in AppData, then after re-selecting the midi controller as a midi input device,  once again everything worked fine, but it is a bit troubling to have this unusual and infrequent kind of issue happen again so soon, that is not good.

Bob Bone

[Robert Bone]

By the way - here are the contents of the TTSSEQ.ini file, as it stands now.  I need to also point out that the contents after Cakewalk recreated the file are the same as the contents of the one I renamed, so I am QUITE at a loss as to what is happening or why this keeps occurring.

 

[MIDI Input Devices]
0=3- A-PRO 1
MaxInPort=0
[MIDI Output Devices]
MaxOutPort=-1
[MIDI Echo Devices]
MaxEchoPort=-1
 

Bob Bone

 

[Robert Bone]

OK an update:

I have no idea of this being any sort of actual fix, since the issue has always seemed to be quite unpredictable, according to other posts in the past about this, HOWEVER, I went from this happening LITERALLY every time I launched Cakewalk - since 2 days ago now, it seems as if something in multiple things I tried, MAY have stopped this from happening on my system.

What I did:

So, in the prior posts above, I found short-term success by using the technique scook suggested, of renaming the TTSSEQ.ini file and then launching Cakewalk.  This was working, but ONLY for that session in Cakewalk.  When I later restarted Cakewalk, the issue came back, and I again had no midi data from my midi controller being detected by Cakewalk.  Renaming the TTSSEQ.ini file again would get it to work for just that Cakewalk session. (I would also have to re-select the midi controller as a Midi Input Device in Preferences after I had renamed TTSSEQ.ini)

SO, in my just trying a bunch of things I:

1) I made sure all Windows maintenance was applied.  There WERE some patches requiring a restart to complete, and so I did the computer reboot.

2) I went into my Avast antivirus, and discovered several folder paths that used to be added as Exceptions to being scanned, were no longer in the Exceptions list, so I added them again - drives with nothing but static sample libraries on them, the Cakewalk folder in Program Files, the VST64 plugins folder I have all my plugins in, and the Cakewalk folder in my AppData Roaming folder.

3) I went into Device Manager, and then into the View tab, and checked the box to see Hidden Items, and then deleted ghosted entries in the Sound, Video, and Game Controllers category.  There were multiple ghost entries for my audio interface, and for the Roland A-800 Pro controller listed there, so I uninstalled those.

 

Since making the above changes, I have launched Cakewalk multiple times, (on the 1st launch, I had to select my midi controller again as a Midi Input Device, because I had renamed TTSSEQ.ini), and on every launch, my midi data is happily again being properly detected by Cakewalk, so all seems to be well.

If there is ANYTHING in what I changed that somehow got this to work again, and anyone else is having this issue, you might want to try one or more of the things I listed above, in case it works for you too.

At the moment, I am WAY more cheerful about it all than I was for the past couple of days - hopefully something has managed to get this to stay working properly again.,

A happy, but scratching my head - Bob Bone

 

[pinguinotuerto]

I know I'm very late to this game, but hopefully my reply will help others. I just had this issue happen to me also on Sonar Platinum Producer Edition after years of it working perfectly. I too went crazy trying to figure it out, which luckily I did fairly quickly. The problem in my case started after I unplugged my NanoKontrol2. Just like everyone else experiencing this issue, I could see MIDI activity in the task bar and also stand-alone virtual instruments worked fine outside of Sonar. I've had an AlphaTrack for years and regardless of if it was plugged in or not this had never happened, so it took me a minute to figure out the issue. Now that I think of it, I had also used the NanoKontrol2 before and unplugged it, and I didn't have this issue.

 

In my case the culprit was MMcL Mackie Control which I downloaded and installed a few weeks back. Now, I'm not 100% sure if the problem was caused by this program specifically or if this happens when you're using other control surfaces that use Mackie Control and then disconnect them from your system, but MMcL Mackie Control reassigned its midi input to my USB MIDI cable once the NanoKontrol2 wasn't plugged in. I downloaded the software following a link on this forum from one of our fellow users, msmcleod, and it works beautifully with the NanoKontrol2, so kudos to msmcleod. The solution is very simple. Go to Preferences and under Controller/Surface find MMcL Mackie Control (or any other control surface) and make sure that under input it isn't using the input your MIDI controller is connected to. In my case it was my USB MIDI cable. Like I said, I'm not sure if the issue is specifically with MMcL Mackie Control or with the Mackie protocol in general, but I had used my NanoKontrol2 before and unplugged it and this had never happened until I installed MMcL Mackie Control a few weeks ago. Hope this helps someone and thanks to msmcleod for the NanoKontrol2 software. 

[msmcleod]

10 minutes ago, pinguinotuerto said:

I know I'm very late to this game, but hopefully my reply will help others. I just had this issue happen to me also on Sonar Platinum Producer Edition after years of it working perfectly. I too went crazy trying to figure it out, which luckily I did fairly quickly. The problem in my case started after I unplugged my NanoKontrol2. Just like everyone else experiencing this issue, I could see MIDI activity in the task bar and also stand-alone virtual instruments worked fine outside of Sonar. I've had an AlphaTrack for years and regardless of if it was plugged in or not this had never happened, so it took me a minute to figure out the issue. Now that I think of it, I had also used the NanoKontrol2 before and unplugged it, and I didn't have this issue.

 

In my case the culprit was MMcL Mackie Control which I downloaded and installed a few weeks back. Now, I'm not 100% sure if the problem was caused by this program specifically or if this happens when you're using other control surfaces that use Mackie Control and then disconnect them from your system, but MMcL Mackie Control reassigned its midi input to my USB MIDI cable once the NanoKontrol2 wasn't plugged in. I downloaded the software following a link on this forum from one of our fellow users, msmcleod, and it works beautifully with the NanoKontrol2, so kudos to msmcleod. The solution is very simple. Go to Preferences and under Controller/Surface find MMcL Mackie Control (or any other control surface) and make sure that under input it isn't using the input your MIDI controller is connected to. In my case it was my USB MIDI cable. Like I said, I'm not sure if the issue is specifically with MMcL Mackie Control or with the Mackie protocol in general, but I had used my NanoKontrol2 before and unplugged it and this had never happened until I installed MMcL Mackie Control a few weeks ago. Hope this helps someone and thanks to msmcleod for the NanoKontrol2 software. 

This isn't a Control Surface DLL issue - it's a SONAR issue.

The issue with control surfaces "stealing" MIDI input ports was a problem in SONAR for many years, and was only recently fixed about a year or so ago in Cakewalk by BandLab. CbB now remembers the name of the MIDI port as well as the port number used by a control surface. If the MIDI port for the control surface's port number has a different name, CbB now disables the port on the control surface.

Also, FWIW... all of the functionality contained within the MMcL Mackie Control dll is present in CbB's own Mackie Control implementation.  Unless you've not got CbB installed, or you want additional independent Mackie control surfaces running at the same time as the Cakewalk one, there's no need to use the MMcL Mackie Control version.

[pinguinotuerto]

Thanks for clarifying msmcleod. It's strange that it had never happened in all the years I've been using Sonar. It must have been a coincidence then. Thanks again. Hope my post helps someone because people seemed to be wondering what the issue was and the fix is simple if you're still using Sonar.