MIDI mute button - what does it do? (PT 9.0.3)

[iain_m]

Hello all,

Sorry in advance if I am missing something very obvious here...

If I create a blank session, and add an instrument track, then insert an RTAS instrument and assign a MIDI input device, clicking the MIDI mute button in the instrument column of the track has no effect on the MIDI signal flow. The instrument continues to respond to notes played on the MIDI input device.

Isn't the button supposed to mute MIDI from the input device to the RTAS instrument?

[cneal92]

An Instrument track is basically a combination of a MIDI track and an Aux Input track. The Mute button on the Inst track is akin to the Mute button on the Aux In track, it Mutes the "Audio" that the track is passing to the output. If you want to mute the MIDI data and stop it from reaching the VI, you have to show the Instrument section on the Mix Window and Mute it there. The Instrument section in the Mix window is where most of the components of the MIDI track part of an Instrument track are located. Or you can show the MIDI Mute from the track view selector on the Edit Window and adjust it there.

[iain_m]

Hi,

Thank you for the reply.

I understand what you mean about the mute button in the instrument track header (to the right of the solo button) muting the audio that the track is passing to the output.

What's confusing me is specifically the MIDI mute button in the instrument section of the track header, to the right of the MIDI input device drop-down menu. Clicking on that mute button doesn't mute the MIDI flowing from the input device to the RTAS instrument on the track. So, if I understand correctly what you're saying, that MIDI mute button is not working as intended -- at least on my PC, in my test session.

But, as I say, maybe I am overlooking something obvious...

[cneal92]

Yes, that Mute button should mute the MIDI data from being sent to the VI. A couple things you might look at: There is nothing to prevent any other MIDI or Inst track from routing it's MIDI data to any other VI (multiple MIDI/Inst tracks can be routed to one VI)); and you could route the MIDI data on an Inst track to the VI on another Inst track (it doesn't have to be routed to the VI on it's Inst track. So I guess I'm saying make sure there are no other tracks sending MIDI to your VI.

[spenner]

You can still playback and record via the MIDI controller with the mute button in the Instrument section engaged. It does, however, mute the VI Instrument recorded performance during playback.

It's basically the same as muting the MIDI region. However, it differs for me in this way... Say I have a session with a lot of MIDI tracks and regions. Sometimes I want to try another way of playing what I've already recorded. Instead of finding and muting the region(s), I mute the Instrument performance via the Instrument mute button and practice the new part during playback along with the other tracks.

[Top Jimmy]

The OP may find this thread regarding the default through instrument helpful.

http://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=303964

[iain_m]

Thank you for the further replies and sorry for the slight delay in responding.

I have done some further testing and am still flummoxed by the function of the MIDI mute button. I just doesn't seem to do what it's meant to do.

Here are the steps I am following:
1) create new blank session
2) create one stereo instrument track
3) in the track header, set MIDI input device to Oxygen keyboard channel 1 (the Oxygen keyboard is the only MIDI device in my system)
4) insert an RTAS instrument on the track (e.g. FM8)
5) play some notes on the Oxygen
---> the notes are heard as intended
6) press MIDI mute button, and play more notes
---> the notes are still heard
7) press track mute (not MIDI mute), and play more notes
---> the notes are no longer heard, but FM8 is still clearly receiving MIDI (the interface is responding and the track meters are lighting)

If I then record a MIDI region and repeat step 6, I find that the region is muted, while FM8 continues to respond to notes played on the Oxygen (as spenner describes).

Perhaps this is as intended, but it seems very counter-intuitive, given that the MIDI mute button is right next to the MIDI input device. One would expect the button to affect MIDI from that input device.

Is there anyway of noting this with Avid as a bug/feature request without having to pay for a support plan?

[dts350z]

Doesn't the midi mute in an intsturment track mute the playback of midi previously recorded or placed in that track?

[iain_m]

Yes it does (as I say in my post above - "If I then record a MIDI region and repeat step 6, I find that the region is muted, while FM8 continues to respond to notes played on the Oxygen (as spenner describes).") But don't you find that kind of back-to-front? Maybe I'm only noticing this because I'm coming to it with fresh eyes. I just would have thought that the MIDI mute button would mute the input device next to it.

FWIW, the reference guide is ambiguous: "Muting MIDI results in no MIDI data being passed to the MIDI output."

[cneal92]

This is NOT a bug. It has to do with the Default MIDI Thru. Did you read the link posted by James above? I'm assuming this thread explains the default thru setting.

If you check your Prefrences > MIDI, I would guess that you have the Default Thru Instrument set to "first selected MIDI track". So what is happening is the Mute will stop the playback of existing MIDI on the track. But the Default Thru is still passing received MIDI thru to the default instrument (in your case the only instrument). You can turn off the MIDI Thru in the options menu if it bothers you. However, then PT will only pass the MIDI to the instrument on playback.

The Default Thru Instrument -> first selected MIDI track is a VERY cool feature. I love it. Once you wrap your mind around all this I think you will too. What I do is create a "Default" instrument placed at the top/left of the session (first track in other words) and load my favorite default instrument for what I'm doing, typically a piano for composing. Then if no other MIDI track is selected the MIDI Thru sends incoming MIDI to my Piano. This feature lets you just select an instrument track and the incoming MIDI is sent to that track, so you don't have to record enable a track to hear the instrument. Again, this is very convenient when you are composing and have many VI loaded.

If you wanted to have the MIDI Thru not send MIDI data anywhere (or really not produce any sound) unless a track is selected, then you can create a "dummy" Instrument track as your first track loaded with a VI and the Audio Mute on.