I'm beginning to see the light

[jjalocha]

Hello all... new (boneheaded) user here!

After more than two weeks of twiddling with different softwares and setups, I finally got Giada to start behaving promisingly. But I still face some major roadblocks.

What I would want:

• I play stuff on my Arturia KeyStep keyboard.
• This gets routed through Giada, where I can record/loop as needed.
• It plays to different software synthesizers (listening on different MIDI channels).

What I do have:

• I can hook up synths to Giada, and play back via different channels.
• I can record notes (actions) from virtual keyboard.
• I can record orphaned MIDI notes from KeyStep.
• Outside of Giada: KeyStep plays perfectly on synths.

What isn't working:

1. Currently the single most important issue: Giada can't record correctly from KeyStep, it only receives orphaned notes.
2. When I hook up KeyStep to synth via Giada, I can't get any direct audible feedback (no MIDI notes sent to synth) when I play manually. This may well be due to the first issue.
3. I didn't delve deeper into this issue, but so far, Giada has not acted as MIDI clock slave to KeyStep. (When I turn the physical Rate knob, I would expect to see bpm change in Giada.

Current setup:

• Arturia KeyStep (firmware up to date), configured to Internal clock, hooked up via USB.
• AV Linux (2019.4.10, 64 bit)
• Giada v. 0.15.4
• I can provide any further details required (I don't really know what may be significant).

I would be very grateful if someone could help me out here, especially point 1, getting the physical keyboard to record meaningful notes!

Thank you!

[FFT]

Hi jjalocha,

Thank you for your feedback! Currently Giada works only as a MIDI clock master, although with some flaws. That said:

1) this is odd. Could you please post here some MIDI debugging output? You can find instructions on how to enable debug messages here.

2) So you're trying to send MIDI messages straight to a VST plug-in. According to the docs, "You can also arm one or more MIDI channels without triggering the main recorder. This way Giada turns into a live FX processor, driven by your MIDI notes in input. This is very useful when you want to live play your virtual instruments through a MIDI controller." Did you arm the MIDI channel first?

[jjalocha]

Hello FFT,
Thank you VERY much for your reply and pointers!

I was out of my home, but I have been doing a lot of reading.

1. KeyStep input to Giada.
I have switched from ALSA to JACK MIDI connections, and the orphaned notes are no more! The connection produces real, usable MIDI actions now.
The viable and repeatable setup for me is as follows (*asterisks indicate JACK midi channels):

1) Turn on computer.

2) Open Patchage:
* system: midi_capture_1 / midi_playback_1

3) Plug in KeyStep:
* system: midi_capture_2 / midi_playback_2

4) Open amsynth:
* system: midi_capture_3 / midi_playback_3
* amsynth: midi_in / midi_out

5) Open Giada:
* Giada MIDI input: system:midi_capture_2
* Giada MIDI Output: system:midi_playback_1

6) Ensure connections via JACK:

• system: midi_capture_2 => Giada MIDI input: system:midi_capture_2
• Giada MIDI Output: system:midi_playback_1 => system: midi_playback_1
• system: midi_capture_1 => amsynth: midi_in

7) Proceed in Giada:
a) Add new channel > MIDI
b) Setup MIDI Output > Enable MIDI output > Channel 1
c) Channel > Arm
d) Channel > Play
e) Sequencer > Record Midi
f) Play notes with KeyStep

(Afterwards, connecting several synths seems to come with its own large host of new issues, not addressed here.)

2. Giada live output to synth.
I am still unable to produce useful live output to synths through Giada. Either from KeyStep or from virtual keyboard.
During recording, yesterday only the first note was played also directly to synth (but it did not shut off afterwards). Behavior was consistent. Today, the second note only gets played to synth (but it shuts off properly). Behavior is consistent.
But the notes I play get recorded correctly, and get played back from the second beat cycle on.

I found this related old forum topic.

Please note that I am not using VST plugin stuff on purpose, since native Linux synths (Helm, amsynth, ZynAddSubFX) are inducing enough headache, without having to deal with Wine and additional complex software requirements.

3. Midi clock.
OK, thanks for confirming this issue.

I tried to attach a log file, but the forum software wouldn't let me.

Anyway, after more than a week tweaking around with this software, I am doubting that this is what I need (as described in my first post): basically a simple connector and looper (on multiple channels) that I could use spontaneously and comfortably. Giada seems to aim at other use scenarios.

Thank you anyway for your kind help and work!

[Perkinson]

Hi jjalocha,

Thank you for your feedback! Currently Giada works only as a MIDI clock master, although with some flaws. That said:

1) this is odd. Could you please post here some MIDI debugging output? You can find instructions on how to enable debug messages here.

2) So you're trying to send MIDI messages straight to a VST plug-in. According to the docs, "You can also arm one or more MIDI channels without triggering the main recorder. This way Giada turns into a live FX processor, driven by your MIDI notes in input. This is very useful when you want to live play your virtual instruments through a MIDI controller." Did you arm the MIDI channel first?

Hello I just started with Giada and I'm loving it! Great work! But I can't conect my MIDI controller to recieve midi notes or midi controller. When I try to set up Input for a channel or set global MIDI input, I get no confirmation of MIDI being recieved. I see my controller on the MIDI tab in te config, but it won't work. WHat am I missing here?

I'm using Giada 0.16.2 on a Mac OSX 10.13.6 High Sierra, the controller is Arturia Minilab MKII

[FFT]

Hello I just started with Giada and I'm loving it! Great work! But I can't conect my MIDI controller to recieve midi notes or midi controller. When I try to set up Input for a channel or set global MIDI input, I get no confirmation of MIDI being recieved. I see my controller on the MIDI tab in te config, but it won't work. WHat am I missing here?

I'm using Giada 0.16.2 on a Mac OSX 10.13.6 High Sierra, the controller is Arturia Minilab MKII

Hi Perkinson,

Sorry for the late reply, I totally missed your post! Quick question: can you post here some debug output when pressing MIDI buttons on your controller? Here is how to enable the debug log.