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MIDI problem with GarageBand in Leopard: HELP!!

J

jimmcnicholas

macrumors newbie
Original poster
I'm new to this community and hope that you can help me out!

I just bought a new imac with Leopard, and upon hooking up my Alesis io14 interface (which had sortof worked with my G4, albeit with LOTS of latency), i have not been able to get midi working.

I've updated to the latest Alesis driver from their website (for Leopard.) My system IS recognizing the Alesis and I THINK i have the correct combination of settings re: Audio IN/OUT in both Garageband AND in the control panel for sound. (I have ALESIS set up as the audio IN and OUT). As for Audio/Midi Setup -- i might have something set incorrectly there, not sure. The whole thing is quite a puzzle, isn't it!!? I can't remember the exact combo that worked on my last setup!

PLEASE HELP -- what is going on here???!! The yellow lite on my Alesis, recognizing firewire connection, IS ON...and my midi cables are connected FINE (in to out, out to in) --- i have no idea what to do, and can't make music!!!!
 
Go to Applications/Utilities and open the Audio MIDI Setup. Once you are there, you can click on "test setup" and see if it can diagnose the problem. Chances are you'll need to simply drag connections in "MIDI Devices" between your driver and your keyboard (click on "add device" if the latter isn't already showing) to get everything working properly.
 
hey, thanks for your reply. when i click on TEST SETUP, that little icon turns blue but nothing happens...if i click it again, it goes gray. what's happening?
j
 
jimmcnicholas said:
hey, thanks for your reply. when i click on TEST SETUP, that little icon turns blue but nothing happens...if i click it again, it goes gray. what's happening?
j
Click to expand...

Hmmmm - I can't say I know what it going on there. Let me ask you this: when you select the "MIDI Devices" pane at the top of the Audio MIDI Setup, do you see icons for both your MIDI driver and your keyboard?
 
yes...and i just discovered the "drag wires" tool so i have it set up as out--->in and in---->out. still nothing. there's something that's called IAC driver, and when i make it be "online," it says ONE midi device detected (here, AND in garageband). So that's ONLINE...

??hmmmph!
 
jimmcnicholas said:
yes...and i just discovered the "drag wires" tool so i have it set up as out--->in and in---->out. still nothing. there's something that's called IAC driver, and when i make it be "online," it says ONE midi device detected (here, AND in garageband). So that's ONLINE...

??hmmmph!
Click to expand...

It doesn't sound like your MIDI interface isn't being recognized (its icon should also show up in the "MIDI Devices" pane). What interface do you own and have you gone to the company's website to check to see if they have a new driver that is Leopard compatible? I hope I'm wrong about this, but music companies are notoriously slow to update their drivers when new versions of an OS come out. Leopard hasn't even been out 3 months, so I'll be surprised if there is an updated driver for your interface. Having said that, I'll cross my fingers for you . . . .
 
yes i got the leopard driver from the website....still nothing. what a nightmare. thanks so much for your help. j
 
jimmcnicholas said:
yes i got the leopard driver from the website....still nothing. what a nightmare. thanks so much for your help. j
Click to expand...

What interface are you using and what website did you just visit (if you could provide a link, that would help me in sorting this out)?
 
Wow, I'm really happy to see I'm wrong - Alesis is on the ball with their Leopard update.

Dumb questions - have you restarted your machine since you installed the Alesis driver?

Second dumb question - did you have an Alesis driver installed before 12/05?
 
First I would suggest trying up pump some audio through the Alesis, just to see if the audio i/o is functioning under the new drivers.

Next, double check the MIDI settings on your MIDI device to make sure nothing got changed inadvertently.

If all of that looks ok, do a "re-scan MIDI" via Audio MIDI setup. If the Alesis appears properly, check the GB MIDI settings again, especially since you originally said you are unsure of these settings.
 
yes i restarted, and no i didn't have driver (or anything) before 05.

i just tested audio (vocals thru mic) and it's fine.

my keyboard midi settings are just local "on" and "off", and neither works. there's never anything special i had to do before, on my old g4 setup...

midi re-scan and "test setup" both don't do anything on my default setup on the midi panel.
 
Looks like the drivers are at least functioning on the audio side, so that's good.

What kind of MIDI device are you trying to use? You may want to "Add Device" in Audio MIDI Settings, double-click it, name it, set the manufacturer's name, etc. (not sure if the naming really does anything, but it makes it easier to sort if you use different devices).

Once that is made, create the drag lines between it and the Alesis icon and re-test GB. If that fails, restart GB and try.
 
done already...named the yamaha dgx-500 keyboard, connected the on-screen wires (in to out, out to in) and restarted and relaunched garageband and everything. can you tell me EXACTLY what the settings should be on "system settings" in the "audio devices" tab -- input/output? should everything be Alesis? I've tried pretty much every which way already....
 
The audio settings should have no effect on the MIDI issue, and the audio settings themselves are dependent on what you are doing. The safe bet is to have them all set to "Alesis".

One option is to try MIDI Monitor. I have not used it, but it should show you any incoming or outgoing MIDI messages.
 
no luck. midi monitor opens, but does nothing. it seems like if the midi WERE working, it would keep a log of the info, but alas, it's not working.

is it possible my keyboard is now no longer compatable with my leopard system?
 
jimmcnicholas said:
is it possible my keyboard is now no longer compatable with my leopard system?
Click to expand...
That should not be the issue. MIDI is just a standard set of instructions (numbers) that the computer converts to pitch, volume, on/off, etc., so upgrading to Leopard shouldn't be an issue.

Try switching your keyboard into Global MIDI (sometimes referred to GM) mode and try. Also try loading a MIDI file into GB and see if it will play on your keyboard.

This reminds me why I hate MIDI so much.😛
 
Keyboard Works

I went crazy trying to get it to work...Here is what you have to do..If you have a M-AUDIO USB Midisport Uno MIDI Interface, which is the cables going from the keyboard to the computer link below for image. Update the driver to that device...After the update restart machine and it will work/keyboard with garage band

http://www.amazon.com/M-AUDIO-Midisport-Uno-MIDI-Interface/dp/B00007JRBM

Driver Site
http://www.maudio.co.uk/index.php?do=support&tab=driver

For this one it is the MIDI_USB_OSX_3.2.3.dmg

http://www.m-audio.fr/index.php?do=...57d1a31a74a42bcb466298353d69&serie_ID=4&OS=53
 
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similar problem

One option is to try MIDI Monitor. I have not used it, but it should show you any incoming or outgoing MIDI messages.
Click to expand...

I'm having a similar problem. MIDI monitor shows my ibook is receiving data from my MIDI device via a Roland UM-1, but Garage Band doesn't let me select anything other than "Build-in Audio."
Audio MIDI Setup tests correctly.

What am I missing?
 
please read!

Hello

I have a brand new imac with snow leopard (i don't know if it is 32 or 64 bit), a m-audio firewire interface 410 and a technics keyboard which i am attaching to the m-audio interface with midi cables.

I got this working after installing a new driver for 64bit and recorded a song. When i returned to the mac later that day the computer ceased to pick up a signal from the interface. the blue light was flashing where it had been solid that morning.

i tried to do the following

1. go to audio midi setup, show midi window, there was an icon for the firewire 410 but it was dimmed, i rescanned the midi and did a test but to no effect. I double clicked the 410 icon and went to its properties. The apply button and other functions were dimmed and unusable.
2. When I clicked onto the firewire 410 icon in the applications folder, i was told that there is no firewire device connected even though there was.
3. I played with the audio midi set up, tried to add a device and name it etc. switched the computer off, plugged out the interface, booted it up again
4. Uninstalled all the firewire drivers, icons, everything to do with it and downloaded another driver. switched the machine off, switched it on, still not recognizing.
5. Uninstalled again, put the original software disc back into the mac to download to old drivers. The installation wizard wouldn't let me continue. Abandoned that.
6. Reinstalled the driver from m-audio website, switched off, back on, light still flashing, still saying that no firewire 410 is connected.
7. Read the 410 manual.

I've gone around in circles. I can't figure it out. Please help!!!!

Aoife

Mac OS X
Version 10.6.2
3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 duo
4 GB 1067 MHz RAM
M-Audio Products- Firewire 410 (1.9.3 driver)
Technics SX-P50 keyboard
 
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