Classic MIDI Organ Works Illuminated Rocker Tabs

[mdyde]

Thanks, Scott. You're very welcome. Hope you manage to get them working soon.

I have reached out to Classic MIDI Organ Works twice and have heard absolutely nothing from them.

Since last August I have not been able to get them to work and just gave up.

Is there anywhere I can learn more about MIDI signals going back and forth between HW and devices and try to troubleshoot this mess?

I really don't know that much regarding MIDI, but would really like to understand more and get these to work.

Scott

[mdyde]

Hello Scott,

I'm sorry -- I don't have anything useful I can add that hasn't already been covered in this topic -- I have no knowledge of what their firmware or hardware does apart from what it says in the documentation on their website. Since, as you mentioned previously, you've already tried their instructions that I posted previously (from the documentation on Classic their website) and it still isn't working then I think really you need to speak to them somehow. It's their product, and they will know what it does internally, or whether any extra steps (e.g. setting DIP switches) might be needed, or how best to resolve it if it's malfunctioning, for example.

Their contact page:

https://www.midiworks.ca/index.php/contact-us

... has a form for contacting them, as well as a telephone number (in Canada). In case you've tried both of those and still had no reply then you could perhaps try some guessed email addresses (which may or may not be valid) such as:

info [at] OrganWorks.com
support [at] OrganWorks.com
sales [at] OrganWorks.com

Failing that I'll send you a private forum message with the email address of the last person who emailed me from their company (in 2019), in case that's still valid. (Please don't post it publicly, of course. Also, you won't be able to reply to my message, since I don't have private forum messaging enabled.)

I am trying to go this alone, and now I am getting the following message:

The following audio or MIDI (or USB-MIDI) interface device(s) can't be accessed, but Hauptwerk is configured to use them:
• CLASSIC Lighted Rockers 01-000
The device(s) might be unavailable because either!
* they're physically disconnected or turned off, or
* they're in use by another program, or
* their drivers aren't installed properly.

I have changed the cables, the ports it is plugged into, unplugged and replugged, restarted HW, the computer, etc. and for some reason it is marked as offline.

Any suggestions?

Scott

[mdyde]

Hello Scott,

Perhaps the driver (which may be operating system's default USB-MIDI class-compliant MIDI driver, if that's what the Lighted Rocker Tabs use) has changed the name for the device(s), which will make them appear to be 'new' devices to Hauptwerk. Sometimes computers do that, e.g. after OS updates, or if USB device connections are changed.

First try shutting everything down and removing mains power (including the computer, the MIDI console, and all USB and MIDI devices). Wait at least 15 seconds, then power everything up, and reboot. After logging into Windows, wait at least a minute or so (to make sure that everything has had ample time to finish booting) before launching Hauptwerk.

If you still get the prompt, and if you see (non-offline) columns for the newly-renamed MIDI ports on the MIDI ports screen (in addition to the off-line 'old' names), remap the ports from the 'old' (off-line) columns to the corresponding 'new' (non-offline) ones as described here:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21193&p=158248#p158248

- Select the "Mark the missing device(s) as temporarily offline" option.
- Then on the MIDI Ports screen in Hauptwerk, within each of the rows that are ticked for the previous MIDI port names, move the tick from its previous ('offline') port name's column to the column with the new (non-'offline') name for that particular physical port. Do likewise for all such applicable ports (on the MIDI IN and MIDI OUT tabs).
- Once done, OK the screen, and you should find that all of your existing settings work again via the newly-renamed ports.

Perhaps the driver (which may be operating system's default USB-MIDI class-compliant MIDI driver, if that's what the Lighted Rocker Tabs use) has changed the name for the device(s), which will make them appear to be 'new' devices to Hauptwerk. Sometimes computers do that, e.g. after OS updates, or if USB device connections are changed.

First try shutting everything down and removing mains power (including the computer, the MIDI console, and all USB and MIDI devices). Wait at least 15 seconds, then power everything up, and reboot. After logging into Windows, wait at least a minute or so (to make sure that everything has had ample time to finish booting) before launching Hauptwerk.

Martin,

I followed every step in these two paragraphs and even allowed a little extra time at each step, and nothing has changed at all. It is not recognizing it at all. I see no newly renamed MIDI port for the device.

Scott

[mdyde]

Thanks, Scott.

In that case, probably the computer isn't seeing the device at all for some reason. You could perhaps try making sure it has a reliable power supply (if applicable), try connecting it to a port directly on the computer, try reinstalling the latest version of its driver (if it has one), or try it on a different computer (if available) as a test. If Windows, you could also try looking in Windows Device Manager to see whether it can see the device and gives any clues about it.

If those don't solve it, maybe the device has simply developed a fault.

Martin,

I am running on Mac. There is no power source except the USB and it is getting power because there is a "power beat" light on the board that is working and there are no drivers.

I have a second one that has never been attached to the computer as I wanted to configure the first prior to doing that and I just plugged that one in for the first time and I am getting the exact same message. I don't think the board developed a fault since it happened to another one that has never been hooked up.

Is there a utility on the mac that lets you see devices?

Scott

[mdyde]

Hello Scott,

If I recall correctly, "Apple menu | About this Mac | System Report" lists the USB devices. Also, you could look in "Applications | Utilities | Audio MIDI Setup" (in its MIDI devices window).

Martin,

Thanks!

I pulled up the System Report, and attached the original board and it recognized it by name and saw that it was configured to 12-016, which is what I had it configured to last year when HW did recognize it. I hooked up the new one and it recognized that it was configured to 03-000. So that says the computer is definitely seeing both boards, correct?

So if they are viable boards, and the computer sees them both, why doesn't HW? I am running HW 8 and that was the software I first tried to configure them with. Nothing has changed with either HW or the Mac OS.

I am baffled.

Scott

[mdyde]

Hello Scott,

In case it's relevant, note that Hauptwerk queries the list of MIDI devices from the operating system whenever it launches, and it expects them to remain the same until you exit Hauptwerk; it doesn't support 'hot-plugging' devices whilst its running. Hence you need to make sure that you exit Hauptwerk before plugging in, unplugging, or powering up/down any USB or MIDI or audio devices. Likewise, it's important that the devices (and their drivers) have had sufficient time to finish booting before launching Hauptwerk (which can be important if you've told the OS to launch Hauptwerk automatically upon login/boot).

Please try:

- Exit Hauptwerk if it's running.

- Make sure that your original Lighted Rocker Tabs unit is attached the computer.

- Launch "Applications | Utilities | Audio MIDI Setup" and within it select "Window | Show MIDI Studio".

- Within its "MIDI Studio" window, do you see an entry (rectangle with an icon) for the Lighted Rocker Tabs?

- If so, double-click on it to view its properties. Is its "Device is online" box ticked?

- If so, exit Audio MIDI Setup.

- Launch Hauptwerk. If you get the warning about missing devices, select the "mark as offline" option.

- On the "General settings | MIDI ports | MIDI IN ports" screen tab, is there any column for the Lighted Rocker Tabs which is *not* suffixed as 'offline'? (If so, probably the driver has renamed the device slightly, making it appear to be a different device to Hauptwerk, as I mentioned previously.)

Martin,

Followed everything and had the MIDI Studio rescan and then when I went back into HW there was a non-offline column finally!

Thank you, now I am just back to the rocker tab not lighting up when I select rocker tabs on the touchscreen monitor and a very unresponsive company . . . but the real rockers are toggling the virtual ones for now.

There has got to be something I can do in the manual setup to make this happen, one would think, but doesn't happen on auto-detect.

Thanks again,

Scott

[mdyde]

Thanks, Scott. Excellent.

Hope you manage to get the tabs' lamps to respond correctly to Hauptwerk's MIDI messages somehow, and that Classic MIDI Works eventually get back to you on that if still applicable.

Martin,

Thanks for all your support. I kept going back through the thread and re-reading everything from the beginning.

Finally, I realized that DIP switch 8 was on the ON position, which means it was in Test Mode.

Turned if off and everything works fine. ALL this time for that . . .

Anyway, all is good. Thanks again for your patience and time.

Scott

[mdyde]

Ah! Excellent -- glad to hear it's finally resolved. You're very welcome.