Strange Timing Issue

Tried everything ! Tried everything I can find on websites, plus the advice kindly offered here.

I’m gutted, seems like I’ve spent £250 on a Soundcard that can’t get something simple like MIDI right.

Cant believe it!!!

Had a computer years ago that used COM1 with a breakout lead to communicate MIDI, and it was solid, this is crazy…

Alas my computer has no COM1 (retro joystick port)!!! Wish it did I still have that breakout lead, I could try it!

Frustrating…

No one else has an un-solvable issue like this so it has to be something specific to your system. I’d do a complete re-install of everything from Cubase to the soundcard drivers making sure to delete the Cubase Prefs files and update all drivers to latest. I’d try it again in a new, blank project to see if something there is corrupt.

$250 is peanuts for a soundcard, so it very well could be junk. Like I said, I’d wipe the slate clean and start from scratch.

Hmm

Well my £130 Edirol behaved with MIDI, and £250 (GBP not dollars), is enough to pay.

Gonna contact Steinberg customer support tomorrow, wait to see what Focusrite say,

Spend £30 on a midi via usb only device to see if theres any improvement, which I can return if it doesn’t work, and go from there.

I’ll do a re install after all that has failed.

I think there’s got to be a simple answer just havent yet found it, for now at least I’ll put up with having to alter things drastically in the Editor to correct the timing until I can rid myself of this problem. But my suspicion is that I should have stuck with USB.

You still haven’t tried switching to the Windows Legacy FireWire Driver?

From the Focusrite website …

I’m not saying it will solve your problems but it’s worth trying. I’m using it for my PRO 40 without any issues.

Hey Scab Pickens - thanks for chiming in, as a focusrite user it helps ? but is your keyboard (the novation) actually hooked up for midi and talking to Cubase via MIDI or is it communicating its note data via USB?

Update
I have just installed the legacy driver (I had already done this at one point and reverted back, but neglected to mention)

I’ve Ticked - use system timestamp for directmusic.

And I’m now plugged back in to my Texas Instruments PCI express Card. (the texas instruments chipset hailed as the best for focusrite)

the results I’m getting now seem more stable, This combination seems to be the best, but not accurate though.

Also in the VST Audio System, under ASIO Saffire (my card), I have ticked ‘externally clocked’…Hmm now from the manual this shouldn’t make any difference to the problem I’m having but hey Its getting better so will leave it that way for now.

I also selected ‘restore defaults’ on the soundcards mixer software.

Want to thank you all for putting solutions forward, keep em coming , I really appreciate your help :wink: Im still not fixed yet… :frowning:

Hi Betamac,

I’m only using the USB connection from my Novation. “Use System Timestamp” is checked (Windows MIDI & DirectMusic). “Externally Clocked” is not checked. MixControl Routing Preset is “DAW Tracking”.

I’m still on Studio 5, but I don’t think anything should be different with 6.

I can’t think of any other suggestions.

Thanks

Got focusrite ticket on tech support

Will update with what they suggest

I most defiantly think this is a Cubase problem as I have suffered with the same problem with Cubase for a while now. I have tested with Reason and Ableton on my system they both worked fine. I have also ran reason as rewire enabled recorded on both programs played in a midi part and Cubase always records the midi early. Reason seems to playback exactly how I played it!

System details and more on your problem or it didn’t happen. Or use Reason seeing as how it works so grreat. :mrgreen:

Towards the end of the article are some ways to isolate whether MIDI timing problems are due to Cubase or other components.

Something I have wondered about on my system, could this contribute (you see I’m trying everything)

in control panel, devices manager i have an entry called

other devices - pci serial port
-pci simple com controller

The computer cannot find drivers for these and there is no detail on them in the properties, so I have now disabled them

web sites say this happens when something is plugged into a PCI slot that the computer cant recognise, now I dont have anything plugged in that isn’t installed properly and working correctly,

I have added 2 drives - these are SATA anyway
a video card = PCI - using 2 slots for 2 monitors, working perfectly
A firewire = PCI express using one slot working with reservations as we know

Am I now looking too deep into things? Clutching at straws?

Focusrite, have replied - ‘sorry explain the problem again, not sure I understand, are you saying notes are recorded before you play them’ - :unamused: ‘yeah the computer knows what Im thinking ha ha’ - I have put them right , now waiting for a proper reply.

Waiting for Steinberg to contact me, have emailed them via ‘my steinberg’

Also - got one of those USB MIDI leads, it doesn’t work for me at all, all the lights blink that its working the computer lists it as a device, so does Cubase, but can’t play/record do anything with it selected as an input…

Could it be my Actual MIDI setup on my keyboard causing this?

Hey Alexis

Thank you for this link to this article (others if having this problem should look too), there’s certainly a lot to go at in the article, I’ll need time to implement some of the tests, but the guy who wrote it has described my problem exactly, and the article was written in 2007! This problem is certainly not unheard of, and the author seems to suggest finding this problem difficult to isolate and fix is not unheard of either.

He suggests some scientific tests to work out the ‘best settings’ - he also makes reference to the fact that some people go from no problems to ‘problems’ when they change some hardware - now that sounds a lot like my situation.

Could also be a crossroads - do I test, get the best settings, hope I get settings that give me solid timing (if I can get solid timing with my setup ) - do I just put the Card on Ebay, get another, but test it as soon as i get it out of the box in case it’s incapable of something simple like recording MIDI notes in time. can hardly believe it.

Did you say you still had your old soundcard at hand? May want to put that back in for a quick re-test … just to be sure that the new sound card hasn’t changed something external to it (which would make buying yet a 3rd sound card possibly not the best option).

I have sold it :frowning:

beginning to wish I hadn’t now!

Sometimes these things can happen because of the many duplicates and errors in the Windows Registry, which you could try cleaning but if Windows has been there for some time gathering registry “dust” the more powerful a program is the more of the dust it may encounter and give these mystery crashes. Sometimes a reinstall of Windows has to be done. I’m about due for a reinstall myself as it’s overdue as I usually do it every couple of years.
Actual dusty dust can do strange things to your system too. The fans slow down and the CPU heats up.

Hmm

but Its a time consuming undertaking with no promise it will change the problem, worth a try, but I’ll have to keep it as a last resort, cos If I’m going to that trouble I’ll have a new motherboard maybe a new processor at the same time (gulp more problems afoot)

I think sometimes as users we accept these problems as part of life too readily, and open our wallets, or invest our valuable time cos we love to solve problems.

Its only MIDI,its 2012,it should just work!! :confused:

:laughing: rant end…

Think I need to look at some screenshots of Cubase on the ATARI, and remind myself I am actually better off by miles in 2012 :confused: Erm I just struggle with…t…i…min…ng