Hauptwerk and Cakewalk

I'm trying to record MIDI from Hauptwerk into a Cakewalk project. I'm able to record and play back the MIDI note data from the keyboards to the appropriate divisions but I haven't been able to record registration changes. I've ticked the "Hauptwerk MIDI recorder/player" row under the Hauptwerk AU/VST Link column on both the MIDI In Ports and MIDI Out Ports screens in Hauptwerk, but to no avail. What am I missing? I can manually enter NRPN data into Cakewalk to effect registration changes but I'd much prefer to record the registration changes as I play.

Thanks,
Gary

[mdyde]

Hello Gary,

With the configuration you describe ('Hauptwerk MIDI recorder/player external MIDI OUT' row ticked in the Hauptwerk VST Link column on the General settings | MIDI OUT ports' screen) Hauptwerk will output MIDI NRPNs from the Hauptwerk VST Link plug-ins to the VST host (e.g. Cakewalk) as Hauptwerk's virtual stops change states.

We haven't tested with Cakewalk, and don't officially support it, and I have no recent experience with using Cakewalk/Sonar myself, so perhaps it doesn't have the ability to record MIDI control change/NRPN output from VST plug-ins, but I would be fairly surprised if that was the case. It might be worth checking whether Cakewalk has any preferences related to recording the output of VST plug-ins and/or related to recording/filtering NRPNs in general. E.g. some VST hosts don't have the ability to record MIDI sys-ex output from VST plug-ins, and some don't have the ability to record MIDI output from VST plug-ins at all. Here's an except from page 256 of the current v6.0.2 version of the Hauptwerk user guide about that:

Although it's the easiest way to connect Hauptwerk with such MIDI sequencers, unfortunately many MIDI sequencers have limited support for MIDI sent via AU/VST, so you might need to use real or virtual MIDI cables instead. For example, at the time of writing, Logic doesn't support any MIDI output from AU plug-ins, and Cubase and Sonar don't support MIDI sys-ex via VST (which Hauptwerk needs to use for a few virtual controls, such as the St. Anne's crescendo pedal). However, Reaper does fully support MIDI, including sys-ex, via AU/VST on macOS and Windows.

For sequencers that don't have full bi-directional support for MIDI via AU/VST you instead need to use two separate real or virtual MIDI cables:
...

If that does turn out to be the problem, you'd either need to use virtual MIDI cable software (or physical MIDI cables) instead of the VST plug-in, i.e. as covered on pages 256-259, or you could try using a different VST host instead of Cakewalk.

However, I'd suggest first:

- Make sure that you have all MIDI IN and MIDI OUT ports completely disabled in Cakewalk, so as to ensure that there's no contention for MIDI ports/data between the two applications (Hauptwerk and Cakwalk). The 'Recording, playing back and editing live solo performances with a MIDI sequencer dedicated exclusively to Hauptwerk ... (Bi-directional control of the sequencer from Hauptwerk)' section in the Hauptwerk user guide (pages 253-259) covers that.

- Also check the points on page 259 (e.g. regarding host preferences):

If using Hauptwerk with a MIDI sequencer (for organists recording, editing and playing back live solo organ performances with a MIDI sequencer dedicated exclusively to Hauptwerk), here are some settings that you might commonly need to verify or adjust in your MIDI sequencer:

• Make sure that 'MIDI thru' (or 'MIDI echo') is disabled (globally for the sequencer, and/or for the project, and/or for the Hauptwerk AU/VST Link plug-in, and/or for each MIDI track).
• Make sure that MIDI NRPNs and MIDI sys-ex are not disabled or set to be filtered out, otherwise Hauptwerk registration changes might not be recorded.
• If the sequencer performs any transformation/re-interpretation of MIDI NRPN or MIDI sys-ex messages, make sure that behavior is disabled (otherwise Hauptwerk registration changes might not be recorded/replayed properly).
• If the sequencer has options to reset MIDI controllers or NRPNs before or after playback or recording, make sure that behavior is disabled (otherwise some of Hauptwerk's registration might reset unexpectedly).
• Make sure no MIDI 'program' is selected for the MIDI tracks (otherwise combination pistons or menu functions might unexpectedly be triggered in Hauptwerk).
• Make sure that 'all MIDI channels' is selected for both MIDI input and MIDI output for each MIDI track, since Hauptwerk will record and replay events on multiple MIDI channels simultaneously.
• If the sequencer has an option to enable/disable MIDI output from AU/VST plug-ins, make sure it is set to allow MIDI output from the Hauptwerk AU/VST Link plug-in.

- Make sure you only have one instance of the Hauptwerk VST plug-in loaded in Cakewalk (not one per track, for example). Only one instance of the plug-in can be used at a time.

- With the St. Anne's organ loaded in Hauptwerk, see whether any MIDI control change output is being recorded into Cakewalk as you click on the virtual stops in Hauptwerk. If so, probably Cakwalk is reordering the control change components of the NRPN messages, i.e. corrupting the NRPNs. Perhaps there's a preference in Cakewalk to avoid that. You could also see whether movements of the swell pedal (which uses MIDI control changes) are getting recorded.

Thanks, Martin. I've been following the instructions in the Hauptwerk User Guide that you referenced, so I guess I'll have to dig deeper into the Cakewalk VST options.

Gary

[mdyde]

Thanks, Gary.

Hope you manage to find a way to get it to work.