i2M and Microphone - Signal too Hot?

All general pitch-to-MIDI thoughts, suggestions, complaints, etc.

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BeePee
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Feb 19, 2020 12:32 pm

i2M and Microphone - Signal too Hot?

Post by BeePee »

I'm exploring Pitch-to-MIDI solutions for harmonica handheld mics into the iPad. I've been getting pretty good results with the Midi Guitar 2 app, but decided I'd try the Sonuus i2M and see how it compared.

I found the speed and overall accuracy of tracking very impressive! BUT the deal breaker right now is that the MIDI signal randomly leaps to very high-pitched notes that seem to be a couple of octaves up from the pitch of the notes I'm playing. Currently this makes the i2M unusable for me and I'll need to return it - unless someone here knows what's happening and can suggest a fix?

My suspicion is that the USB signal combined with my mic input is is too hot. However when I dialed down the volume of the mic the problem kept happening. To check the signal I opened the Sonuus as my interface in Midi Guitar, and found the input signal was way higher than if I go in to Midi Guitar 2 via the Apple CCK with my regular USB interface (a Korg Pandora PX5D multi FX unit). I've tried other guitar USB interfaces and they also give a regular signal with my harmonica mic that can be dialled into the sweet spot for best MG2 signal processing and MIDI tracking.

However, when I tried a straight handheld USB microphone I found the signal was the same as the Sonuus i2M: very hot, and I got the same high-pitched glitch anomalies happening. As far as I can see there is no ability to dial down the level of the USB signal from these sources in Midi Guitar 2, or the synth apps I also tried them through (eg. Poison). I looked into whether one could buy a signal attenuator for USB devices, but couldn't find one. Maybe they don't exist?

I could be barking up the wrong tree thinking it's a USB signal level issue. Does anyone know how I can fix this high-pitch glitch issue? If it's possible, I think the i2M will work great as a pitch-to MIDI solution for harmonica players.
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