John Bowen Synth Design

Hmmmm....I believe the old problem had to do with a MIDI loop happening in the Solaris. This was changed a few years ago, but things are so much better with the current v1.3.1 OS, which I assume you have installed now?

Unfortunately, the things you are describing sound like a hardware issue. I definitely don’t see this kind of behavior, nor have any others reported such to me. Are you seeing these things with the Solaris itself - not connected to anything MIDI?

Did this ever get resolved? I am having issues with strange behavior triggered by my data wheel - unrelated parameters get changed - eg I turn the Filter Freq encoder so it is displayed as the "last parameter" in the central screen. I then turn thr data wheel which should adjust thr Filter Freq. instead my Octave jumps down, FX get by passed and Undo light goes off. Happens after several calibrations, reboots, OS update etc.

[quote="Neil"]I'm using my Solaris in the same manner as you Zahush - also using old school midi with local off & as a controller. My sync works fine (With Cubase 7) so maybe it is your unit.
Did you try downloading & reinstalling the latest system again in case it was corrupted?[/quote]
I had a friend come over with his Nord Stage 2 so that we could run some test and comparison in midi functionality. We connected the Nord in the exact same manner (midi in & midi out) and everything works fine. We move the Nord's modwheel and it's fine. Notes don't freeze or get "sluggish".
We also tried simply connecting the Solaris straight from its midi out into my analog monos, one at a time - not going thru the pc, cubase or anything. The result is the same: i can play the synths, but as soon as i move the modwheel back and forth, or play around with the joystick - the same thing happens. It's as if by moving the joystick or modwheel, my unit is sending something the other synths can't handle. I think i'm pretty certain i can isolate my specific unit as the cause for this specific problem. After seeing my Solaris causing this while not even connected to my PC, i can surely say it has nothing to do with cubase definitions or whatever.

I'm using my Solaris in the same manner as you Zahush - also using old school midi with local off & as a controller. My sync works fine (With Cubase 7) so maybe it is your unit.
Did you try downloading & reinstalling the latest system again in case it was corrupted?

Well, certainly something is not right, so please be patient until we can get a look at the clock issues. There won't be any bug chasing until all the August holidays are done, that I can tell you!

[quote="Zahush76"][quote="Neil"]

Regarding bpm sync - here i can be quite certain that my Solaris unit has a problem. The fact is that all the other hardware synths connected to it (GRP, Vermona, Boomstar) and receive incoming clock from cubase - are in perfect sync. Wether it's the GRP's step sequncer, or lfo - or the lfo's of the Vermona & Boomstar. Perfect sync - even when the bpm info is going from cubase out to the Solaris, and from Solaris out to all the other synths.
Solaris, however, is going in and out of sync - even though it's set to external clock.[/quote][/quote]

I have the exact same problem, and the Solaris is losing the sync even if i don't touch joystick or Wheel, as i report in another thread.

[quote="Neil"]Is this happening when you're routing midi (& our beloved NRPN's) thru Cubase and back to the Solaris? And does it stop when you unplug the Solaris midi input? BTW are you using USB or old school midi?
If you haven't already I suggest until we have resolved the Cubase NRPN issue that you disable NRPN Tx/Rx and just use the 5 assignable CC's for automation as a workaround.
FYI I'm using traditional midi/Cubase/ext BPM sync and tempo is rock solid.[/quote]
Ever since i had problems with the whole NRPN issue - i have both TX\RX set to "off". So Solaris isn't sending or recieving NRPN.
I'm using midi and not usb. Somehow the usb connection is recognizing the Solaris by name, but it's not working so i'm using regular midi. Since i want to use Solaris as a master keyboard as well, i set the LocalOff to "on" - which means it's disconnecting the keyboard from the sound engine. So yeah, i'm routing Solaris into my interface, into cubase and back to Solaris - which shouldn't be a problem and should be pretty standard. People use synths to control and be controlled at the same time.
If this was a problem - than probably just playing the Solaris should have been a problem, but it's a fact that it's not. Problems are only when moving the joystick, modwheel, and while changing presets. And no problems when using aftertouch.

Tomorrow a friend is coming over with his Nord Stage so we'll try the same with the Nord. If it happens with the nord (with its modwheel - and we'll check how it syncs to cubase) than cubase is the problem. If everything goes out smoothly with the Nord than it pretty much narrows it down to Solaris.

Regarding bpm sync - here i can be quite certain that my Solaris unit has a problem. The fact is that all the other hardware synths connected to it (GRP, Vermona, Boomstar) and receive incoming clock from cubase - are in perfect sync. Wether it's the GRP's step sequncer, or lfo - or the lfo's of the Vermona & Boomstar. Perfect sync - even when the bpm info is going from cubase out to the Solaris, and from Solaris out to all the other synths.
Solaris, however, is going in and out of sync - even though it's set to external clock.

Is this happening when you're routing midi (& our beloved NRPN's) thru Cubase and back to the Solaris? And does it stop when you unplug the Solaris midi input? BTW are you using USB or old school midi?
If you haven't already I suggest until we have resolved the Cubase NRPN issue that you disable NRPN Tx/Rx and just use the 5 assignable CC's for automation as a workaround.
FYI I'm using traditional midi/Cubase/ext BPM sync and tempo is rock solid.

[quote="John Bowen"]Not sure why aftertouch is not causing it.[/quote]
Never the less - i checked and checked again, and this does not happen when i engage aftertouch. It's also visible: when i move the joystick or modwhell, the bpm value on the display jumps all over the place even if i don't play a sound. When i apply aftertouch - the bpm value on the display remains the same. How can this be explained?

[quote="Zahush76"]....It's also strange to me that the problems only occur when i move the Joystick, modwheel, or change presets. Otherwise, when the Solaris is routed back to itself and i only play the keys - there are no problems. It's strange that this happens with these controls - and not when i engage the pitch wheel,aftertouch or ribbon controller.[/quote]
This is because of the way MIDI controllers are handled in the stream - the pitch wheel signal gets 'special treatment' in the MIDI spec, and the ribbon controller does not send out MIDI at all. Not sure why aftertouch is not causing it, but the Mod Wheel and Joystick are definitely interacting with the MIDI feedback loop you are experiencing.

[quote="John Bowen"]Because Zahush76 is routing the Solaris MIDI back to itself, there's a MIDI clock loop going on - make sure ClkSrc (Clock Source) in your MIDI page is set to Internal or External - and NOT Send, otherwise the Solaris will be sending and receiving clocks at the same time, which will really confuse things.[/quote]
From day 1 i have set midi clock to "external", so that's not the reason. It's also strange to me that the problems only occur when i move the Joystick, modwheel, or change presets. Otherwise, when the Solaris is routed back to itself and i only play the keys - there are no problems. It's strange that this happens with these controls - and not when i engage the pitch wheel,aftertouch or ribbon controller.

Because Zahush76 is routing the Solaris MIDI back to itself, there's a MIDI clock loop going on - make sure ClkSrc (Clock Source) in your MIDI page is set to Internal or External - and NOT Send, otherwise the Solaris will be sending and receiving clocks at the same time, which will really confuse things.

I think your Solaris is [i]possessed....[/i] :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

You're both correct of course. It's obviousy my fault that my unit came out this way, and it's very clear i'm "enjoying" this situation.
Happy that everything is fine with your perfect solaris units.

Agreed...