The Song Fight Bulletin Board

I am trying to get my work laptop configured for Midi so that I can work on songs from my hotel room. I'm planning on getting a little portable controller (Oxygen 8 or similar) and have installed Sonar on the laptop. I understand I don't need anything to connect the controller to the laptop, just USB, but when I tried to run Sonar (still sans controller at this point), it told me it first wanted me to select Midi outputs. The only one available was the "Microsoft Midi Mapper", (and no inputs at all) but when I selected that, it continued to insist I hadn't selected any Midi outputs. What do I need to do to make this work? (And when I plug a controller into it are Midi inputs suddenly going to become available?) I'm on XP Pro.

Jim of Seattle wrote:I am trying to get my work laptop configured for Midi so that I can work on songs from my hotel room. I'm planning on getting a little portable controller (Oxygen 8 or similar) and have installed Sonar on the laptop. I understand I don't need anything to connect the controller to the laptop, just USB, but when I tried to run Sonar (still sans controller at this point), it told me it first wanted me to select Midi outputs. The only one available was the "Microsoft Midi Mapper", (and no inputs at all) but when I selected that, it continued to insist I hadn't selected any Midi outputs. What do I need to do to make this work? (And when I plug a controller into it are Midi inputs suddenly going to become available?) I'm on XP Pro.

Jim,

Don't worry. When you get the keyboard, which I think should, perhaps (if others with better knowledge have conflict of this opinion state it) have a driver CD matched with your OS (XP) it should recognize it with Sonar when you have it installed and if not then you just have to go to the options selecion in the file menu when you open up Sonar to understand your midi-mapper for your keyboard and sound card that will be, assumedly, built in.(I know when you read the manual - ya right! )

Just hang on to midi-mapper for now until keyboard comes then work it out. No worries man!!!!

- Pablo

Link: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=h ... _id/112971
Edirol keyboard with A to D converter

tonetripper wrote: Link: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=h ... _id/112971
Edirol keyboard with A to D converter

I think that's the same as mine, but mine doesn't have the audio interface.
I would have thought that the midi mapper would have selected the soundcard's basic midi sounds for its midi-out... unless there is no soundcard?
-bill

pretend the midi mapper doesn't exist.
TT is right. when you install the controller, it will show up as a midi device.

-craig

Jim of Seattle wrote:I am trying to get my work laptop configured for Midi so that I can work on songs from my hotel room. I'm planning on getting a little portable controller (Oxygen 8 or similar) and have installed Sonar on the laptop. I understand I don't need anything to connect the controller to the laptop, just USB, but when I tried to run Sonar (still sans controller at this point), it told me it first wanted me to select Midi outputs. The only one available was the "Microsoft Midi Mapper", (and no inputs at all) but when I selected that, it continued to insist I hadn't selected any Midi outputs. What do I need to do to make this work? (And when I plug a controller into it are Midi inputs suddenly going to become available?) I'm on XP Pro.

The important thing that you haven't been told yet is that until you plug the Oxygen8 into your computer, there will be nothing you can do in Sonar to set it up in advance. When you plug the USB device in, it will appear. Make sure that you direct Sonar to use the Oxygen8 as the MIDI Input only. Not that it will even show up as a possible output, but you never know. Output is the thing that's going to generate your sounds. If there's only one option there, then your decision is made for you.

jb wrote:Output is the thing that's going to generate your sounds. If there's only one option there, then your decision is made for you.

The Oxygen-8 does provide midi outputs for hooking up external sound generators, but if you are using only soft synths as plugins within Sonar, then this output is not used.

i think.
-craig

So am I correct in assuming then, that I don't really NEED to map a Midi output unless I plan on sending Midi signals somewhere else? If I'm only going to be receiving Midi In from the controller, and am using soft synths, then the only thing coming out should be audio, which doesn't require a Midi Output? I'm shaky on all this stuff.

that sounds right.

-craig

My experience with the Oxygen 8 has been pretty good, and I never needed to assign a MIDI out to get it to work. Haven't used it with a PC, but the principle should be the same regardless of OS. One thing too, I dunno if this is a problem with Reason or with the controller, but sometimes I have to turn it off and on and unplug the USB and stick it back in a couple times before it's recognized. I don't think that relates to your problem but I thought I'd mention it just for yuks.