MIDI devices change order

[Skelm]

Hi,

Not a new issue, but it seems to be affecting me more often recently. I'll open Cakewalk & a project, hit Play on my Komplete Kontrol keyboard which is configured as a control surface, and nothing will happen. Checking in Preferences, the In or Out port will have moved one "slot" up or down, leaving the incorrect port selected. I'll change the port to the correct port and everything will be fine, until the next time I switch the PC on. Is there a way to lock these devices in place so that this order does not change unless I specifically want to change it? Thanks.

[ptheisen]

In my experience, this happens more often when some of the midi devices configured in Cakewalk are not turned on when Cakewalk is started. For example, I have about five midi devices configured in Cakewalk. A few of them are USB powered, so they are always on when Cakewalk is started, but I also have two midi devices that are not USB powered. If I consistently turn those two on before starting Cakewalk, the midi ports in Cakewalk are quite stable. If I sometimes don't turn one or both of them on before starting Cakewalk, the midi ports are likely to become jumbled eventually, and it is the first thing I check if a midi device is behaving unexpectedly, because I know I don't always turn on the two externally powered devices.

I'm not aware of any way to lock the midi ports that Cakewalk assigns to devices.

[Byron Dickens]

You should definitely have everything connected and turned on prior to launching CW

[JnTuneTech]

As everyone is saying - having the same MIDI devices plugged into your system, powered on and ready, before starting Cakewalk, is key to maintaining the same routings when a project with settings using MIDI input or output is loaded. Cakewalk gives each one a number, and if one is missing, the numbers shift to fill the gap. If you have a saved project, the actual number that was assigned when you last saved will only be honored, not the actual MIDI device itself.

That being said, I have noticed that the control surface assignment seems to also have its own precedence. If I plug in a different MIDI controller that has transport controls, that seems to change the control surface assignment, even when I add the device after starting normally. -Perhaps it only happens to devices I have previously also mapped as a control surface, I am not sure, but just plugging in a device with no transport functions doesn't seem to "bump" my first control surface offline.

So, do be careful to start all the MIDI connected devices & software drivers you used at the time you originally set up your control surface preference in Cakewalk, in advance of starting the DAW. And beware of plugging in or starting any different MIDI control software after starting Cakewalk, as for me, that often knocks the control surface preference off. 

-BTW - The Komplete Kontrol software can be quite a heavy duty MIDI element on your system, so I would make sure it is up and configured before starting Cakewalk as well. -Just a suggestion!

[Sebastián Cordovés]

I'm trying toCakewlak solves the MIDI Port problems for a long time.

Check this thread, there is some tips there than can help in your sitution:

 

[azslow3]

In short, in Windows device manager switch option to see all (also disconnected) devices and check you don't have "duplicates" in MIDI devices. Always connect USB-MIDI devices to exactly the same USB port. Even short connection ("by mistake") to another port and you have to re-visit device manager and cleanup.
That is not eliminating the problem, but at least reducing a chance of strange mappings.

A bit longer...

• Cakewalk does not use deepest possible way to re-discover devices. They save "names" and "numbers" (as can be seen in INI file), but both are not really persistent in the Windows world of MIDI devices.
• Better way is in fact rather tricky... Not all MIDI devices are USB devices and there is no strait route from USB world to MIDI world. Not only MIDI, but also USB devices are not "unique" (unlike f.e. network interfaces). If some device is "re-connected", it is not possible to  detect it is the same or just similar. In addition, several devices of the same type can be connected at the same time. There is absolutely no way to distinguish between them, f.e. if you swap there cables. So Windows is using the only available "safe" approach, if USB device with the same IDs is connected to the very same USB port, it is matched to previously registered device. If there are any doubts, it is declared and registered as "new" device. One visible "name" will also be "new",  matching by names is more complicated then someone can think.
  To attempt match things better, software should try to detect if some MIDI device is USB device and if so try to track re-connections to different USB port, also doing that at run-time. Windows does not really help in that journey.
• Apart from "known" MIDI devices (with some of them enabled) and assignments to surfaces, Cakewalk project also keeps a sequential list of MIDI devices activated at the time it was saved. So when opened with a "new" list it should be somehow matched. For "known" MIDI devices the goal is just detect any changes and detect what was not changed since the last time. But a project could be created long time ago or even on different computer. On one side users will probably hate explicit re-route MIDI on project open every time after any MIDI configuration change, "I was using a MIDI keyboard for recording on one computer and it is natural another MIDI keyboard is auto-used on another computer, if there is one". But in general such "natural" mappings are failing, especially in case there is more then one MIDI device. What I mean, for that part there is no "right" approach, any particular approach will have some consequences. 

[John Vere]

For me it's become second nature to make sure and turn on things like my Yamaha drums if I plan on using them in a session. It's just part of the routine to fire up the studio for the day. And I don't really find it a bother to quickly re check midi device boxes when needed. Takes less than a minute. 

It is one of the benefits of a simple hardware set up that is only using your audio interfaces midi port. That can be left checked in the midi outputs and midi tracks globally will still find it. Then it's only a matter of the channels used per device. I can't fathom having a midi set up that only used just USB. You would need a couple of USB PCIe cards I guess. But there are some changes slowly happening with Midi 2.0 and it's use of USB C ports. Possibly windows might also incorporate better port management with these changes.   

[JnTuneTech]

The OP was dismayed at how MIDI device order had changed unexpectedly, and I'm sure at some point we all have been. As noted here, there is no single full fix for that. Being aware of what is on your system (MIDI & audio devices) is just as important as, say, what plugins you have added or removed, especially when it comes to opening saved projects. And, when you use different gear altogether, there will simply need to be re-adjustment.

One thing I practice, as best I can anyway, is mapping the devices, and as much as possible - tracking plugins installed or removed, along with my basic backups, regularly. I do screen captures of the Cakewalk audio & MIDI device settings (yes, I know most of that can be found in preference files), and I keep notes in the project of any specific plugins or instruments that may not work on a different system. -This has come in handy many times, for setting up a new system quickly. -For the OP in this thread here, I could say at least checking the MIDI devices list for new or changed listings in Cakewalk Preferences could point out which device(s) are "mysteriously" changing.

Also, if you happen to rely a lot on getting the same settings right away when opening a Cakewalk project, follow the guidance regarding keeping the same system & device setup before starting the DAW. In fact, I have gone as far as creating different project versions, when using different I/O setups for performance, to ensure that for instance, the right keyboard input is patched when I open the project. Yes, it takes time, but thankfully saving alternate project files for performance isn't terribly taxing or resource intensive, compared to rebuilding a complicated project I/O setup while time is a wasting..!  -In my experience, anyway  .

[Skelm]

Thanks for all the responses. I do make sure all devices are switched on before launching Cake, and it mostly works fine, but every 5th or 6th time I open it I will have this issue. I'll try and get in the habit of checking that the correct ports are assigned to the control surface as part of the studio "switch-on", sounds like that is the best way to go. Appreciate the input!