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MIDI not being sent through Alesis io dock II

Started by supahcraig, March 21, 2016, 09:52:43 PM

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supahcraig

I'm unable to get BandHelper to send data to my Whammy pedal.  The ipad is docked in the Alesis IO Dock II, and I'm "fairly confident" I'm sending the correct program change message. 

Troubleshooting steps:
Using Reaper on my PC & my MIDISport 2x2, I am able to successfully send the program change to the Whammy.   I can also see the MIDISport light up as messages are being sent.  Conclusion:  the Whammy pedal can receive program changes and MIDISport is functioning.

Using the ipad+bandhelper+io dock, I attempt to send program change messages to the Whammy.  The Whammy does not react.  Conclusion:  inconclusive.

Using the ipad+bandhelper+io dock, I attempt to send program change messages to Reaper via the MIDISport.  Reaper does not receive any messages, and the MIDISport does not light up.  Conclusion:  no MIDI messages are being sent.

In all cases I see the correct messages in the activity log, so it would appear like it is an IO Dock problem, but I do not have the equipment to isolate the app from the dock, so I'm hoping there are some additional troubleshooting steps someone can guide me through.


arlo

Are you using the 5-pin MIDI jack on the IO Dock, or the USB MIDI jack? The USB could be a problem.

Otherwise I would make sure you are really sending the same MIDI messages from BandHelper compared to Reaper.

You could test both by connecting your iPad to your iO Dock to your MIDISport to your PC, then using a MIDI monitoring app like MIDI-OX on the PC to display the messages sent from BandHelper.

supahcraig

#2
I will do that tonight.  I should add that I've copied the raw midi data out of Reaper and put that into the raw midi data box in the app, and verified that via the activity log that the same data is being sent.  That the MIDISport isn't lighting up at all in this configuration is troubling.  And to clarify, I am using the 5-pin MIDI jack, not the USB connector on the dock.

I'm willfully ignorant of how the MIDI data gets sent out of the iPad amidst all the other data the tablet is probably sending....if I simply directly USB the iPad into my PC, will MIDI-OX be able to see the messages being generated by BandHelper?  Ideally I would need a troubleshooting step that eliminates the dock from the equation.

arlo

Quote
That the MIDISport isn't lighting up at all in this configuration is troubling.

In what configuration? I thought you weren't using the MIDISport with your iPad.

Quote
If I simply directly USB the iPad into my PC, will MIDI-OX be able to see the messages being generated by BandHelper?  Ideally I would need a troubleshooting step that eliminates the dock from the equation.

No, you can't transfer MIDI between a mobile device and a computer using only standard USB ports. You need either a MIDI-enabled USB port, as is found on some MIDI hardware, or a standalone MIDI interface.

If this doesn't help, please file a help ticket here so I can see the data you have entered:

http://helpdesk.arlomedia.com/arlomedia/add.html

supahcraig

Quote from: arlo on March 22, 2016, 09:25:38 AM
In what configuration? I thought you weren't using the MIDISport with your iPad.

Snip from my original post, one of the troubleshooting steps:
Quote from: supahcraig on March 21, 2016, 09:52:43 PM
Using the ipad+bandhelper+io dock, I attempt to send program change messages to Reaper via the MIDISport.  Reaper does not receive any messages, and the MIDISport does not light up.  Conclusion:  no MIDI messages are being sent.

I'll still try MIDI-OX tonight, but lack of success won't tell me if it is an app, ipad, or dock problem.  Having already proven PC, Reaper, MIDISport, and Whammy are all MIDI-functioning.

arlo

Quote
Snip from my original post, one of the troubleshooting steps:

Then please file a help ticket so I can see the data you have entered.

supahcraig

Thanks, a ticket has been opened.  For anyone following along at home, MIDI-OX is an awesome MIDI tool.  I was easily able to "manufacture" messages to send to my Whammy pedal.  (still no luck getting the app to talk to anything though).