How do I prevent TTS-1 to be added automatically to MIDI-files?

[IgoRr]

2 hours ago, Anders Svensson said:

although the core problem still remains.

If you don't need TTS-1 and never use it in your work, there is a guaranteed way to bypass assigning a MIDI output to it:

you need to go to the tab at the top "Utilities" and select "Cakewalk Plug-in Manager - DirectX Instruments (DXI)", select TTS-1 in the right part, and click the button at the bottom left "Exclude Plug-in". After that, TTS-1 will no longer appear in the list of suggested outputs from MIDI tracks. If you need TTS-1 again at some point, you can connect it in the reverse order, I have attached an animated screenshot of the entire operation, it is very simple.

Edited Saturday at 10:35 AM by IgoRr

[Anders Svensson]

1 hour ago, IgoRr said:

If you don't need TTS-1 and never use it in your work, there is a guaranteed way to bypass assigning a MIDI output to it:

Hey! Thanks for an innovative reply! But I do not want to disable the TTS-1 completely. I still use it sometimes, just never for pure MIDI files.

[User 905133]

5 hours ago, Anders Svensson said:

Hey! Thanks for an innovative reply! But I do not want to disable the TTS-1 completely. I still use it sometimes, just never for pure MIDI files.

I cannot answer your question; just trying to clarify: by "pure MIDI files" are you talking about (1) opening a standard MIDI file in a new project? (2) a project that only has MIDI tracks (that is, no instrument tracks at all)? (3) something different?

In my own usage, I haven't looked at the issue of when TTS-1 gets added and when it doesn't.  I have seen difference, but recently if it happens when I am intending to do a project purely on external MIDI sound-producing hardware, I just delete it.

At some point I might want to sort this out for my own needs, but I think by "pure MIDI files" you mean new projects being set up to only send MIDI data to external MIDI sound-producing hardware.

IIRC the last time I did this, I wanted to look at someone's MIDI file (probably *.mid) and play it a Roland M-GS64.

Anyhow, it might be clear to others, but I'd like to try to figure this out for myself sometime and wanted the clarification in case you are talking about something different.  I still have plans to some day set up some hardware and use only those in projects (no in-the-box software instruments).

Thanks.

ADDENDUM: LOL@Self.  I should have tried a simple test BEFORE replying.

• Here's what worked for me:
  • Booted CbB.
  • Powered up my M-GS64.
    • which was already connected to a MIDI Interface port.
  • In Preferences > MIDI Devices changed the devices
    • from   to 
      • since the M-GS is connected to port 2 of my Xmidi 2x2
  • Loaded a *.mid file that someone posted in the forum 
• Results:
  • 6 MIDI tracks loaded into the new project.
  • No software instruments loaded.
    • i.e., TTS-1 didn't load.
  • Since I changed Preferences > MIDI Devices all tracks were pointing to the M-GS64 port.
    • Note: The first time I tried, I had left the Layla MIDI port selected and all MIDI Tracks pointed to that device.
      • That would have required all 6 MIDI tracks to be rerouted from the Layla Port to the Xmidi port, so I did the change in Preferences.
      • In either case, I didn't get TTS-1 added to the project
  • The project played the pure MIDI file on my M-GS64.

 I hope this helps.

Edited Saturday at 03:20 PM by User 905133
Addendum added

[Anders Svensson]

1 hour ago, User 905133 said:

I cannot answer your question; just trying to clarify: by "pure MIDI files" are you talking about (1) opening a standard MIDI file in a new project? (2) a project that only has MIDI tracks (that is, no instrument tracks at all)? (3) something different?

Hey user 905133!
It's (1)! What I meant by "pure midi files" are MIDI Format 0 or MIDI Format 1 files. The problem appears when I open such files through either File->Open, clicking on a recent MIDI file in Cakewalk Start Screen->Recent Projects or dragging and dropping a .mid file into CbB.

I have a General MIDI / Yamaha XG hardware synth which I use for "pure midi files" (.mid). When I open these files (which doesn't support VST plug ins) I simply want the files midi tracks to be output to my hardware synth, without getting an extra track added to the project with the TTS-1 VST synth.

There are no problems at all with standard Cakewalk files (.cwp), which of course can have as many VST plug ins as I like.

[User 905133]

Thanks for clarifying this ^^^^.  I just opened about 15-20 pure midi files with the MIDI Device Preferences as noted above.  They all played on my M-GS64 and TTS-1 didn't show up in the project. The files range from the 1993 classic canyon.mid, to some of my own files, to commercially sold songs (Led Zeppelin), to video game tunes my kids downloaded from the internet a decade or two ago, etc.

My XMidi interface is an older class compliant usb device that supports 2 MIDI Ins and 2 MIDI Outs (5 pin DIN).  I do not have my iConnect MIDI interfaces set up, so I can't test them. 

UPDATE:  I just struck out the long shot speculative ideas after trying all sorts of things--using UWP MIDI Mode, having all MIDI Outputs enabled, adding an audio/MIDI plug-in, etc.  After each change, I loaded (1) canyon.mid or (2) a project from today that contained canyon.mid. In any of the test cases, TTS-1 did not suddenly show up.  In the immortal words of one of Gilda Radner's classic characters, "Never mind!"

I notice that your outputs show: .

Is there any chance that the drivers for some of those ports/devices are not pure external MIDI devices that might be causing something in the connected those devices to be reported as virtual MIDI devices?  Just wondering out loud since I am totally unfamiliar with those devices.

Also, I know for my legacy external MIDI gear, I need to use the MME MIDI Driver Mode.  Long shot: do you use UWP and if so, could that be making some non-legacy gear appear to Windows and hence CbB as non-external MIDI hardware devices?  I discovered that with my gear UWP messes things up, so I absolutely never use it.  Again, this is a long shot and I would defer to others here who know more about UWP MIDI Driver Mode v.  MME MIDI Driver Mode.

All I can say that my tests today are consistent with what I described in 2024 WRT not having TTS-1 show up when I am using MIDI Devices as described. Not doubting that you are getting TTS-1 to show up when unwanted; just trying to offer what little I know in case it helps sort the issue out.

A few weeks ago, I did have a case where TTS-1 showed up when I was trying to do something with external MIDI gear, but IIRC the project already had at least one soft synth in it (or something else such as an Audio/MIDI plug-in that might have told CbB I was using virtual/internal MIDI).  If I can reconstruct what I was doing, I'll give that a try.

Edited Saturday at 06:17 PM by User 905133
added an update

[Kurre]

There is these two files, "TTSseq.ini" "Aud.ini" that can be deleted and will be built again upon Cakewalk start.
But make a copy first anyway.
Sometimes a setting that went wrong get stuck in the ini-file. Letting Cakewalk make a new solves that.

TTSseq.ini is the one that deals with midi.

[Anders Svensson]

2 hours ago, Kurre said:

There is these two files, "TTSseq.ini" "Aud.ini" that can be deleted and will be built again upon Cakewalk start.
But make a copy first anyway.
Sometimes a setting that went wrong get stuck in the ini-file. Letting Cakewalk make a new solves that.

TTSseq.ini is the one that deals with midi.

You sir just solved the problem!
Removing ttsseq.ini cleared my midi device settings. Once I configured my i/o, ttsseq.ini was rebuilt and now midi files open normally, without TTS-1!

I found one small gotcha though. If I change Drive Mode under Playback and Recording from MME to UWP or back - the devices are reset, so I just have to make sure to select i/o again.

Thanks a lot for the solution Kurre! 🤩

EDIT:

Or so I thought...
I just restarted CbB and the problem came back... I'll do some more testing...

Edited Saturday at 08:11 PM by Anders Svensson

[Anders Svensson]

I'm sorry to say, this only solved the problem for one session at a time. If I delete the ttsseq.ini, start CbB, configure MIDI I/O and apply the settings - then MIDI files open without the TTS-1 VST being added. But if I close and restart CbB, and then open a midi file, the problem unfortunately comes back.

I also tried to delete the aud.ini, but this didn't have any effect on the problem.

I've checked the contents of ttsseq.ini before restart (when it works) and after (when it doesn't work) and the contents is the same, so the problem doesn't seem to be this file after all.

Although this is unfortunate, it seems like some kind of configuration problem. It might be that some other config file got messed up over the years. In the near future I'm going to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11, and this means I'm going to have to reinstall all audio software. Hopefully the problem will go away with a clean installation.

If you have any other suggestions, I'm happy to try them out. If not I'll put my trust in the upcoming reinstallation.

Thanks!