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MIDI output - audio interface??

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Topic MIDI output - audio interface??
HI all.. i'm definitley a newbie to computer music software, but i'm getting quite a collection..

I have an audigy2 zs soundcard that sounds great.. i mostly use ableton live and reason and play guitar with beats that i generate in reason

i recently got an MAUDIO firewire410 audio interface and all my latency issues (which were terrible especially in reason) went away.. works great..

here's the question..i just got sonar to try to put everything together in one place.. when i arm a track in sonar, midi plays out my soundblaster, audio plays out my interface...(my "game speakers" are connected to the soundblaster directly..my "music monitors" are connected to the audio interface).... this doesnt happen in ableton live which mixes audio and midi..it all comes out through my music speakers.

the only way my audio interface connects to the computer is through the firewire port.. do i need to have another type of connection from my sound card to the audio interface??

btw-- i am trying to read the manual to figure this out and i also understand that midi isnt audio until it goes through something like a synth.. :D

anyway..i posted on sonar boards but no help so far :rolleyes: so i thought i would try here

thnx
Ken
2
The Sonar forums can be a great place to be but are particularly hard on noobs who don't have a grasp of midi and their equipment. It is also particularly wary of individuals who use pirated software and believe me, its easy to tell who those persons are. I am a member in that forum as well.

As for your midi conundrum, sonar is most likely defaulting to your audigy for its midi out using your SB Synth A. Since you are using both the Audigy and the 410 simultaneously, its most likely you are using MME drivers. Sonar works better using WDM or ASIO drivers. It would be best to assign Sonar to ASIO and assign the drivers to the 410. Also, make the Microsoft GS Wavetable synth your default midi device - its all detailed in your sonar manual.

best
3
Thanks much for your reply. I definitley BOUGHT my software..just because i'm clueless doesnt mean i stole something! :lol:

I was using the WDM drivers. What is the difference with ASIO (by the way i checked ableton live and its setup using ASIO) I will take a look and doublecheck the manual for advice and let you know if i fixed it. THnx again

One very very basic question i'm interested is that i have the audio interface connected to the computer through the firewire I/O ...no other line in to the audio interface from the soundcard...if thats the proper setup then its all telling the software what to do
4
Sorry if you took it that way, kmika99. Nothing intended. I also bought mine so we can refer to pages if necessary; but experience is the best teacher, don't you think?

Asio's main limitation is that it limits you to using 1 soundcard at a time. MME allows you to use multiple soundcards at the expense of latency. WDM allows you to use multiple soundcards with low latency, but unless you're using identical soundcards, you could run into sync problems running 2 diff cards. You also lose the MS GS Wavetable synth in WDM, but who cares? If you need to have the Audigy and 410 working in sonar simultaneously, choose WDM but better yet, dedicate the 410 to sonar and relegate the Audigy to games. Play around with the latency settings in both wdm and asio mode and see which gives you the lowest possible latency without audio breaking up.

I'm not sure by what you mean 'no line in to interface from soundcard'. Do you intend to connect the lineouts of the audigy to the inputs of the 410?
5
""dedicate the 410 to sonar and relegate the Audigy to games""

That's what i'm aiming at..but then don't i need some kind of synth to get audio from the midi files??

i'm still using the wdm drivers..and here's something interesting..when i load in the "magic" demo it has a TTS-1 midi synth and it plays right though the 410 audio interface!!..

..heading back to manual..

ken


[/quote]
6
If all you need is a midi output device, here's a trick I learned:

In Options > Midi Devices, make sure the checkbox that say "Warn If No Midi Devices" is unchecked. Then make sure there aren't any midi output devices defined. Next, open a midi file or a 16 track midi template. Then open up the DXi rack and load TTS-1. Presto! All tracks are assigned to the TTS-1.

The TTS-1 is based on samples from the Roland SC-88 Pro with GM2 compatibility. If you've got your latency set low enough, you can play it realtime.

Now start making some music dude! :D
7
I forgot to mention, you can also make a template which has the TTS-1 pre-assigned. You can save it as a normal template or let's say, "Normal TTS!" template so that everytime you open sonar, you don't have to assign TTS-1 in the DXi rack.

Also, in the Sounds and Multimedia Control Panel, you can assign your Audigy as the default audio i/o with the MS GS synth as the the default midi device. If you wire the Audigy to one set of inputs on the 410, you will have the Audigy play thru your monitors.

Personally, I have my onboard sound play thru some Altec Lansing multimedia speakers while my 1820 outputs to a set of Fostex monitors.
8
thnx
your tts idea worked

now we're getting somewhere!
9

Quote: I definitley BOUGHT my software..just because i'm clueless doesnt mean i stole something!



That is, however, what many of the s/w forums immediately accuse you of. The Sonar forum just had an entire thread started (and replied to dozens of times) with its only intent being to mock the newbies and the clueless (I qualify on both fronts, BTW). I won't go near that place ever again.

Not all people grasp things in the same way and what may be perfectly clear and concise to one may frustrate someone else. As you said so perfectly: "just because i'm clueless doesnt mean i stole something".

One simple hint expressed in a way that is understood can be worth thousands of pages of impenetrable manual. I am hoping this forum is different and am encouraged by what I've read thus far.

Thanks to all for your patience, understanding and willingness to share.

Q
10
Hello Q!

If it's bad in the Sonar forums, you should try the Cubase forums. They're now requiring that you register your dongle number!

The veteran members on the Sonar forums can be quite jaded and and very impatient with newbie questions. I may be a newbie with either board but I assure you, I'm not a noob with either program using both as far back as 10 years ago.

It can get very tiring, though, to read the same newbie question over and over again. It really strikes me that most questions can be answered just by reading the manual OR refering to the help file. Actually, the most sage advice I can give is 'When in doubt, press F1; it's your best friend'.

Best,