Hi,
I am on windows 11 with Cubase 13 Pro latest release with a NI Kontrol S88 mk3. Are there specific settings that I need to set to have the two communicate via MIDI 2.0?
Directly on the keyboard I change it to MIDI 2.0. I open a MIDI track and record automation on a CC channel or watch on a MIDI monitor insert. I was expecting to see values reflecting 32 bit resolution (up to 4, 294,967,295) as I spin the pot or move the expression wheel, but I’m still only getting the usual 7 bit resolution. In setup I am using the MIDI remote that appears for the mk3 keyboard.
It seems that Windows MIDI 2.0 drivers are still in the development phase. Do I need these for the DAW and keyboard to communicate via MIDI 2.0? Are there any other steps in Cubase to set a track to MIDI 2.0?
I usually would use MIDI Ox to troubleshoot. Is anyone aware of a similar tool for MIDI 2.0?
Until Windows MIDI Services are released for Windows 10/11 there is no support for MIDI 2.0 on Windows yet. As DAWs such as Cubase rely on the operating system drivers for MIDI support, they can’t support it either yet.
I’d have thought even if WMS were released by Microsoft tomorrow I doubt Cubase would be able to use it properly until support for it is added by Steinberg, which is probably not trivial.
WMS is open source, more details at their github repository GitHub - microsoft/MIDI: Windows MIDI Services
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Thank you for your reply. I suspected that this might be the case. Your confirmation is helpful. Hopefully Microsoft will get their act together before Cubase 14.
It’s not fully like that, MIDI 2.0 is still compatible with old MIDI protocols, you can send and receive MIDI 2.0 over old MIDI ports. As a software engineer I was able to exchange property capabilities with Korg KeyStage and receive Poly AT using legacy MIDI ports from my Windows code. Moreover if you connect Korg KeyStage to Korg opsix using two legacy midi cables you have full MIDI 2.0 features. The only advantage of new USB MIDI is bidirectional communication trough only single connection (one port) but MIDI 2.0 works fine if you connect two MIDI cables.
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Please bear in mind that the MIDI Association have not defined a standard for doing MIDI 2.0 over a DIN transport, so while you may be able to send certain MIDI 2.0 messages over a MIDI 1.0 link unofficially, there’s no guarantee that will work on all devices or at all in the future.
No serious DAW manufacturer is going to want to unofficially implement MIDI 2.0 in this way, especially when Windows MIDI Services will support extra transports such as Network MIDI 2.0 and Bluetooth LE MIDI 2.0 as well as USB. WMS will be backwards compatible with MIDI 1.0 anyway.
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