Please help me make music!

[tridev]

One of those days - well, truth be known - I haven't really had a good day in a while... ever since I attempted to switch to the world of DAWs and software. Maybe it's because I want to be making music more than becoming a troubleshooting guru. Maybe it's because I'm installing too much software without understanding what I do have. Maybe it's because I need to uninstall and reinstall like a moron, hoping I'll get to the point where everything will play nice with each other....

Here's the setup details:
Computer
--------
Mac Pro OS X 10.5.3
8-core Quad Xeon 5400 @ 2.8GHz 2GB RAM

DAW
----
Pro Tools M-Powered 7.4.2
ProjectMix I/O Version 1.3.2 Driver 1.8.4 Build 3
MOTU Ethno
Sylus RMX 1.6.0

Hardware
--------
ProjectMix I/O Firmware 1.25 (not sure)
OWC Elite-AL FW400
MOTU Midi Express XT USB version
Access Virus B
Proteus 2000
Yamaha Motif 6
TC Helicon Voiceworks

So here goes, some venting and an open request to all the messiahs on this forum to help me with the following - the manuals and google haven't done it for me:

WOE#1 Setup: How should I physically wire the gear and how do I setup the Audio Midi Setup utility? Do I need to set the MOTU clockwork utility up a certain way?

My situation - I've tried a couple of different combos. Right now I have Motif MIDI OUT to PMIX MIDI IN; PMIX MIDI OUT to MOTU MIDI (1) IN; MOTU MIDI (1) OUT to Motif MIDI IN, MOTU MIDI (2) OUT to Proteus MIDI IN, MOTU MIDI (3) OUT to Virus MIDI IN

Issues experienced include: Stuck notes (turned Local off as far as I can tell but there still seems to be a faint echo when the sequence plays), No audio output until I start PT and loss of audio output the moment PT is exited (with a little blip)

WOE#2 What I want is to have the Motif record MIDI into PT and once recorded, the sequence to be played back through Pro Tools. Also I'd like to monitor the output as I play (before recording) and be able to choose patches on the Proteus and Virus.

My situation - Things seem to work best when I work with Xpand! but not as smooth with triggering the Motif.

Issues experienced include: Stylus RMX (1.6.0) drag and drop does not work (when I try to drag a groove into Pro Tools, it gives me "An access violation has occurred."), Motif loses audio every once in a while, certain instruments don't play back e.g Track 5 will play but tracks 1 and 2 won't

WOE#3 Want to use S/PDIF to free up one of my stereo analog inputs - how should I configure the M-Audio control panel?

My situation - tried the S/PDIF OUT to PMIX IN, selected s/pdif in the control panel (right radio buttons)

Issues experienced include: a loud crackle in addition to the audio (this happens when I tried the Proteus as well as Voiceworks which to me means, it's the cable or it's the PMIX)

Let's start here - hoping people can help...

[bradch00]

So, I have a similar (but not exact) configuration. A new dual core iMac as opposed to your prodigious Mac Pro. But I do have a projectMix I/O, MOTU MIDI Xpress (128, no clock), however I do use an external clock (Black Lion coax connected to the PM I/O). Proteus Morpheus (It's old as am I), TC Helicon Voice One (I know discontinued, only use it to create whisper tracks... sshhhh). So I'll start with MIDI to the PM I/O, I have at this point never been able to get that to work properly, therefore all MIDI I/O goes through the MOTU MIDI interface which is usb attached to the host (iMac). Crackling, hmmmm is your external FW disk and PM I/O on the same FW bus? Can you do this little experiment. Disconnect the FW disk and try creating a small session on the internal disk (I know... but it's in the name of science)... and see if it goes away? Clicking and popping is usually some time related issue and if you are using an external clock, then perhaps the cable is the culprit. Try using the internal clock (changed from the M-audio FW interface and set the MOTU up to slave from an external device) and see if it improves.

I sometimes use a VOX FX pedal, which is attached to the optical s/pdif input, that sometimes crackles a little (I suspect it's clock), however when I, switch to the internal clock OR the external coax attached black lion clock, it goes away. The TC Helicon Voice One is rca attached to s/pdif (so I can't use it with the vox guitar fx pedal active) and never has given me any grief.

So my first suggestion would be is to process all MIDI I/O through the MOTU interface and set it up accordingly in AMS. Try using just the analog connections at first and make sure that midi is working properly. Once all the midi timing issues are worked out, then work on the digital I/Os.

As for audio stopping when PT is shutdown, I have the same issue, seems to be when linked to the FW driver. Try starting up the FW interface, sometimes that reinitializes it.

I hope a little of my ramblings makes sense...

[DigiTechSupt]

#1 - First, for MIDI, connect the in and out of the Motif, Virus and Proteus to the Micro Express. This will allow you to control all of them and use an editor/librarian if you like, as well as record knob movements from the Virus.

Regarding the 'no audio' - if you want to hear sound outside of Pro Tools, you need to use the M-Audio Firewire control panel to bring up volume levels using hardware monitoring.

#2 - Check out this tutorial, then let's work with 1 instrument at a time, making sure that it's working properly, before moving on to the next one. Start with whichever one you choose.

#3 - Which device are you using coming into the SPDIF input? Whichever it is - keep in mind all digital devices must be resolved to the same clock. So if you use the Proteus, you need to make sure Pro Tools and/or the M-Audio control panel is set to the it's clock source is SPDIF. Either that or you have to have some way for the Proteus (or Voiceworks) to receive clock from Pro Tools.

If you're new to all this, you've got a lot on your plate, but take it one step at a time and you'll eventually get it figured out.

[tridev]

Excerpt from

Originally Posted by bradch00

So, I have a similar (but not exact) configuration. A new dual core iMac as opposed to your prodigious Mac Pro....So my first suggestion would be is to process all MIDI I/O through the MOTU interface and set it up accordingly in AMS. Try using just the analog connections at first and make sure that midi is working properly. Once all the midi timing issues are worked out, then work on the digital I/Os.

As for audio stopping when PT is shutdown, I have the same issue, seems to be when linked to the FW driver. Try starting up the FW interface, sometimes that reinitializes it.

Thanks for the suggestions, Brad. Prodigious - yeah, I'm hoping that's what I can make of it ~:) - I got a good deal on it actually, so I didn't have to fork out a prodigious amount, heh!

I'll have to lookup what the Black Lion coax gets me - don't have enough PT runtime so am not sure at this point if that is a must-have or a nice-to-have based on my workflow. Additional clarification is always welcome.

The S/PDIF crackling stopped when I switched to External in the Sync Source section of the PMIX control panel. H'ray! Happy with the results, I didn't invest any more time in the FW experiment but will bookmark as a troubleshooting tip.

I've attempted to resetup my MIDI. Not quite there yet but things appear to be progressing so will respond to that in detail in my next post.