One more PFM (midi trouble though [fixed in 1.70])

[mimhakkuh]

I finally made it to build my PFM Kit  yay ...



Plugged it in and it even plays the welcome sound - but i wonder why it wont play anything via midi in ... is there some tweak i might have missed in the configurations? probably not - xavier - do you have any ideas, why midi might not work?

Best & thx for all the efforts Felix

[Xavier]

Hi Felix,

Congrats for you PreenFM it looks Nice 

Here are the verification you should do for your midi problem :
(I assume you don't see circle blinking on the LCD when you send midi to the PreenFM).

. In "menu->Conf->midi>Midi Channel" : Check you have 'All'.
. On the attached picture, I've colored all the connections involved in the Midi input.
. Check that all point of the same color are connected.
. When powered, the red color should be at 3.3V, the white one at 0V.
. Check twice you inserted the 6N137 in the right direction
. Be sure the diode is not inversed.

Let me know,

Xavier


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[mimhakkuh]

Yo xavier - thanks for the quick reply, you named it - problem was the optocopler ic which i had put into the wrong direction ... now it runs perfectly ... and i was quite surprised to have a visual midi feedback on the display - nice one - i did not expect that! All in all i have to thank you again - for support and designing this awesome box - decent usability and quite the sound i was looking for - good times ahead

Felix

... ps - is it possible to order spare parts of the plastic box side panels? seems one of them broke during the transport ;(

[Xavier]

Felix,

I'm glad it works... Congrats 
I'll send you a spare side panel tomorrow or saturday. It's part of the support   

Xavier

[r01]

Hi,

i've also assembled my preen fm, but unforunately i also have a midi problem.
my machine gets midi signals and shows the circle on the screen but it randomly ignores note on/off messages...
i've updated the firmware to version 1.5 but it didnt help, so i guess its some problem with my soldering or something..
(everything else, sound, screen, menus is working fine)
any idea what i could check to find the cause of the problem?

thanks,

[Xavier]

r01, have you checked all the bullets of my second message in this thread ? specially the connections defined by the colors on the attached picture.

Does it receive wrong midi informations when plugged on a keyboard on on a sequencer ?
What if you unplug the midi cable ?

Have you tried with another midi cable ? i have one cable that does not fit very well the PreenFM midi socket....

Xavier

[r01]

it works now!
i think you were right about the midi cable.

thanks a lot! i love this synth!
lukas

[Xavier]

Great 
I love reading message when a problem is fixed...

Don't hesitate to try the last Beta firmware...
Playing with LFO and step sequencer synchronized with a drum loop is very fun !

Xavier

[mimhakkuh]

Felix,

I'm glad it works... Congrats 
I'll send you a spare side panel tomorrow or saturday. It's part of the support   

Xavier

Panel arrived today - thx so much for teh support!!! Best, Felix

[mimhakkuh]

Okay, so it seems i killed the 6N137 during troubleshooting (didnt get any more midi feedback since the .61 Update).

I think this one would fit as a replacement? http://de.farnell.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?sku=1021197&CMP=KNC-GDE-FDE-GEN-SKU-MARGIN&s_kwcid=TC|13114|6n137||S|p|8788799707 (I'm not quite sure if theres variations on this one out there).

. Check twice you inserted the 6N137 in the right direction

[Xavier]

Okay, so it seems i killed the 6N137 during troubleshooting (didnt get any more midi feedback since the .61 Update).

I think this one would fit as a replacement? http://de.farnell.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?sku=1021197&CMP=KNC-GDE-FDE-GEN-SKU-MARGIN&s_kwcid=TC|13114|6n137||S|p|8788799707 (I'm not quite sure if theres variations on this one out there).

. Check twice you inserted the 6N137 in the right direction

I would double check all the solder junctions/connections before ordering a new 6N137..
All the way, from the midi cable to the maple mini.

If you want a new one this one is perfect (as any other 6N137).

Let me know,

Xavier

[mimhakkuh]

So it turned out the 6n137 was broken. Got another one for less than 1€ and this one fits perfectly

Since midi is working again, i did some testing and i was surprised that i am having note off/polyphony issues very much like those described in the bug that led to fix 1.61 (i am running this version, so i guess it cant be the exact same bug). Every second note played on top of a running note wont play, but causes the first note to get stuck. A third note will play simultaneously with the note that is stuck (first one). Whenever ill hit the key of the stuck note again, it stops playing.

The preenfm is connected to a motu ultralite mk3 & akai lpk8, the motu might be causing this issue too so ill do some comparison with other midi devices.

Best, Felix

[Xavier]

So it turned out the 6n137 was broken. Got another one for less than 1€ and this one fits perfectly

Thanks for letting me know. That's good to know.

Since midi is working again, i did some testing and i was surprised that i am having note off/polyphony issues very much like those described in the bug that led to fix 1.61 (i am running this version, so i guess it cant be the exact same bug). Every second note played on top of a running note wont play, but causes the first note to get stuck. A third note will play simultaneously with the note that is stuck (first one). Whenever ill hit the key of the stuck note again, it stops playing.

The preenfm is connected to a motu ultralite mk3 & akai lpk8, the motu might be causing this issue too so ill do some comparison with other midi devices.

Best, Felix

Aouch !!! 
That sounds much worst than the one i fixed.
Unfortunately, I cannot reproduce this... but i'll really do my best to fix this.

Could you confirm what you get :
. play and hold a note A
. Play a second note B. => B don't play.
. Release B.
. Release A.
. A keep on sounding

Please could you confirm it works correctly with firmware 1.60, that would be very helpful. ?
http://xhosxe.free.fr/PreenFM/firmware/

Any additional information would also help me, is this behaviouor depends on the patch you use ? or do you always have it ?
If you record in a sequencer and play it from it, does it sound the same ?
If yes, could you share the midi file ?

Thanks,

Xavier

[mimhakkuh]

Hello Xavier and thx for yr quick response ...

the behaviour as you put it is exactly what i am trying to describe. Note B locks note A and a second hit on note A ends it.

I just checked again with version 1.61, 1.60 and 1.51, the issue remains on all 3 versions.

I checked with another controller, the issue occurs with both the akai lpk8 and the lpk25 (have to check with direct midi as soon as i find a non usb controller)

The behaviour is also the same on both ableton live 8 and cubase sx 4le. It does not make a difference, if i use a controller playing the keys or if i play back notations drawn inside the sequencer, still the same issue.

Setting release values to zero on the preen also makes no difference.

Hope those infos make a difference. Midi file is on the way

Best, F

[Xavier]

Thanks for all the testing and the file (i'll try it tonight).

I tried these different keyboards:
. My novation Compaq SL through USB
. My novation Compaq SL direct midi to PreenFM
. My synthstation 25 USB
. My korg nano key USB

With the midi interface :
. safire pro 24.
. Emu xmidi 2x2

All works :-(

Another guy have a similar problem on a french forum.... I need to understand.

Do you have another midi sound module that works correctly in the same configuration.

Do you preenFM send midi correctly ?
Check in menu-> config -> midi that you send CC or nrpn.. then change let's stay the env1 attack.


Xavier