i2m Musicport has never worked properly

The i2M musicport™ MIDI Converter & Hi-Z USB Audio Interface

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Godfrey
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Joined: Sat Nov 16, 2013 7:49 pm

i2m Musicport has never worked properly

Post by Godfrey »

I have had an i2m Musicport for some time but have never been able to use it. I bought it to use with bass but it just does not interpret notes correctly. After many months of it lying idle because I gave up on it, I've just tried it again, still to no avail.
I've tried using several different basses on all kinds of settings. Surely it shouldn't be that hard - why can't I just plug it in and play as all the promotion and video demos that prompted me to buy it suggested?
It has been nothing but a huge disappointment.
This is a last ditch attempt to hopefully find a way to use it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
If it helps, the hardware version is 1.42.02, firmware 1.2.00 and the desktop version 1.3.03.
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james
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Re: i2m Musicport has never worked properly

Post by james »

Sorry to hear that you are still having problems. Often, it really is plug-and-play. But it depends a lot on playing technique, and bass is much less forgiving than guitar for MIDI conversion.

I suggest you update the i2M to the latest firmware, which is version 1.3.02. This ensures it supports all the features in the latest version of the editor (you are already using the latest version of the editor).

So, first check that there are no obvious problems with the i2M. To do this, simply using it as an audio interface. If you can record audio and get good results, the hardware is working correctly.

Next, check if there are latency problems. Do this using the "Latency test mode" on the i2M. Do this from the "setup" page of the i2M editor. In this mode, the i2M will send MIDI notes (and simultaneously flash the logo so you can see the timing of these notes). You can then listen to the MIDI notes played on your sequencer (or whatever MIDI software you are using) and the notes should be perfectly in sync with the flashing of the logo -- if not, this latency will cause problems and you need to check your audio settings on your computer to lower the latency.

Finally, onto playing. Try damping all strings except one string and see if you can get one note to trigger reliably. Problems arise when more than one string is vibrating. Bass strings are big and heavy, so have lots of energy in them when they vibrate; it's hard to stop them quickly.

For lowest latency, and best tracking, notes need to be picked cleanly so that the i2M can see an obvious difference between each note. On higher notes, especially on guitar, notes are very obvious as there is an obvious change in the signal envelope. On a bass, particularly the lowest notes, when notes are picked, often there is no obvious change in signal level so the i2M can't see where the note changes. To improve this, try to briefly stop the string before playing the next note -- don't let the string ring out each time you pick it.

The playing technique required is actually very similar to playing with huge amounts of distortion where you want the notes to ring out cleanly. If you let other strings ring, everything gets muddy. You have to be quite strict in only letting each individual note sound on its own.

Let me know how you get on and we can chat some more.
Godfrey
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Joined: Sat Nov 16, 2013 7:49 pm

Re: i2m Musicport has never worked properly

Post by Godfrey »

Many thanks for your prompt reply.
I've done the latency test and that seems OK.
I hope this is not an entirely stupid question but how do I get it to record audio?
Thanks
G
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james
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Re: i2m Musicport has never worked properly

Post by james »

The i2M appears as a standard audio input device when you connect it to a computer. So, in your audio programs, you should be able to select "i2M musicport" as the input audio device, then record as you would with any other audio input.

Which OS are you using? And what audio/sequencer programs?
Godfrey
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Re: i2m Musicport has never worked properly

Post by Godfrey »

Right, have now updated firmware and found where to select audio.
Tried recording just an eight note major scale. The right channel is just producing and recording dirty noise. The left channel recorded the audio but is very distorted.
The sequencer offered the option of MIDI on a third channel. This recorded 22 midi events of which only four were accurate interpretations of the notes I played.
My system is Windows XP, the sequencer is PG Music PowerTracks Pro Audio. My normal audio interface is an Alesis MultiMix 8 USB 2.0.
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james
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Re: i2m Musicport has never worked properly

Post by james »

The i2M audio is mono, so I would expect if you are recording stereo that only one channel would work -- usually the left channel if stereo is selected. You could try recording in mono to see if that helps avoid any confusion.

The logo on the i2M will light red if the signal is clipping. If that happens, the audio will distort. In the i2M editor, under the Setup tab you can adjust the input preamp to have less gain (move the slider to the left). This will give you more headroom and hopefully avoid distortion and clipping. If this still happens, you may need to turn down your bass (very hot instruments will still clip the i2M at it's lowest preamp gain).

With distortion on the audio, I would expect problems with the MIDI conversion.
Godfrey
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Joined: Sat Nov 16, 2013 7:49 pm

Re: i2m Musicport has never worked properly

Post by Godfrey »

Thanks.
I was recording mono. When I select mono in my sequencer it usually opens two mono audio tracks, one left and one right but only records on the left. The right stays blank and can be used later as another mono or discarded.
It did record the audio only on the left but, as I mentioned earlier, it was very distorted.
I'll try again and watch for clipping and let you know.
Godfrey
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Re: i2m Musicport has never worked properly

Post by Godfrey »

I'm now not able to record audio.
Now when I select i2m as the audio input driver I get "Error starting ASIO driver. If this error persists reboot Windows."
I have done so several times but it's still the same.
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james
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Re: i2m Musicport has never worked properly

Post by james »

You need to check if this is an ASIO problem or a windows audio / i2M problem.

You can record without using ASIO into many windows applications. As an example, use the Windows Sound Recorder. It's very basic, but it will let you know if the i2M is working and that the windows USB audio subsystem is working correctly.

Can the i2M MIDI port still be used? What about the i2M editor?

As an aside, on one computer here, I have problems recording from one particular i2M using default Windows drivers (unable to open the device), but it works fine under ASIO. This is a computer problem -- it has other issues too -- and the i2M works fine on other computers.

So, maybe the i2M has a problem, or maybe it's something in Windows. Please report back on what you find trying to record directly.
Godfrey
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Joined: Sat Nov 16, 2013 7:49 pm

Re: i2m Musicport has never worked properly

Post by Godfrey »

Hope this helps:

The ASIO error message I was getting yesterday has not re-appeared today.

Audio recording in my sequencer software using my normal Alesis ASIO audio interface is still working fine.

Selecting i2M audio in the same software, the moment I plug an instrument cable into the i2m (with or without instrument connected), I get awful noise.

I tried recording i2M audio into different software (Goldwave) and that worked fine.

The i2M is still recording MIDI in the sequencer software but with all the same problems. I played very slowly, picking and damping every note which gave a slightly better result in the sense of less spurious notes but still getting wrong octave etc. Also tried playing with the bass at very low volume with much the same result. Obviously neither of these ways of playing are practical in the real world and a mile away from the demo videos where people are playing quite quickly without any discernibly special technique and apparently getting perfect tracking.

Not quite sure what you mean with "What about the i2M editor?"
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