[solved] No MIDI functionality after upgrading to 5.07

L

l4mpi

Inspired
Edit: the problem was caused by my 5-pin MIDI cable being incorrectly plugged in into the 7-pin MFC MIDI out jack so that the pins were rotated one slot to the left. This caused the MIDI LED to light up although the Axe FX didn't receive the correct MIDI signal. It can also cause the MFC to appear completely disconnected from the Axe FX if it's rotated to the other side.
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I had a very basic MIDI setup with my MFC101 for scenes 1-5, preset up/down, and tuner - enough to get me through rehearsals and gigs until I get my hands on a FC. This was set up two weeks ago on FW 5.02 (the Axe FX is in a rehearsal room so I update it more infrequently) and worked without problems. I had a gig yesterday and decided to upgrade to 5.07 before the show for the improved scene switching speed. After setting up at the venue, I found that the Axe FX no longer reacted to any MIDI commands, even though the MIDI In LED showed that there was a signal coming from the MFC.

I tried the following things to fix it, all without success:
  • Rebooted the Axe FX and the MFC, checked the cable (which shouldn't be an issuse if the MIDI LED is reacting to the MFC switches, right?)
  • Checked MFC basic settings (e.g. Axe FX mode, port) and MIDI channel, switched MFC and Axe from MIDI channel 1 to 2 and back
  • Reassigned a functionality to a different CC# on the Axe FX and the MFC
  • Used "Learn" on the Axe FX and pressed a switch on the MFC (this didn't work even though the LED reacted, doesn't that imply a MIDI channel mismatch?)
At that point I didn't know what else to do, I tried changing a few further random settings on the MFC (e.g. change IA switch mode) and then gave up and resigned myself to play the gig without a footswitch and volume pedal. Now, the unit is back in the rehearsal room and I'm going to try to fix the MIDI setup tomorrow. But except for downgrading back to 5.02 (or 5.06 potentially) I don't really know what else I could try. Is there anything obvious I am missing, or does anyone have some further ideas what to check?

And in the case that this turns out to be a bug, what information should I collect to help find the problem? I'm planning on doing a system backup via fractal bot before any further experiments, would that be sufficient or is there anything else?
 
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Your troubleshooting sounds like what I would have suggested, although I would recommend trying another cable if you have one.

l4mpi said:
I had a gig yesterday and decided to upgrade to 5.07 before the show for the improved scene switching speed.
Click to expand...
There's a lesson to be learned here, even if the FW update wasn't the cause ;)
 
l4mpi said:
I had a very basic MIDI setup with my MFC101 for scenes 1-5, preset up/down, and tuner - enough to get me through rehearsals and gigs until I get my hands on a FC. This was set up two weeks ago on FW 5.02 (the Axe FX is in a rehearsal room so I update it more infrequently) and worked without problems. I had a gig yesterday and decided to upgrade to 5.07 before the show for the improved scene switching speed. After setting up at the venue, I found that the Axe FX no longer reacted to any MIDI commands, even though the MIDI In LED showed that there was a signal coming from the MFC.

I tried the following things to fix it, all without success:
  • Rebooted the Axe FX and the MFC, checked the cable (which shouldn't be an issuse if the MIDI LED is reacting to the MFC switches, right?)
  • Checked MFC basic settings (e.g. Axe FX mode, port) and MIDI channel, switched MFC and Axe from MIDI channel 1 to 2 and back
  • Reassigned a functionality to a different CC# on the Axe FX and the MFC
  • Used "Learn" on the Axe FX and pressed a switch on the MFC (this didn't work even though the LED reacted, doesn't that imply a MIDI channel mismatch?)
At that point I didn't know what else to do, I tried changing a few further random settings on the MFC (e.g. change IA switch mode) and then gave up and resigned myself to play the gig without a footswitch and volume pedal. Now, the unit is back in the rehearsal room and I'm going to try to fix the MIDI setup tomorrow. But except for downgrading back to 5.02 (or 5.06 potentially) I don't really know what else I could try. Is there anything obvious I am missing, or does anyone have some further ideas what to check?

And in the case that this turns out to be a bug, what information should I collect to help find the problem? I'm planning on doing a system backup via fractal bot before any further experiments, would that be sufficient or is there anything else?
Click to expand...
I use the MFC with the III too & haven't had any midi issues with 5.07. You might try reloading a recent backup of your system settings if you have one.
 
Unfortunately I don't have a recent backup of that unit as I didn't even get the Axe FX III drivers to work on the crappy rehearsal room pc before yesterday due to windows 7 complaining about the driver signature. I do have a backup from FW 5.01, can I load that on a newer firmware version? I didn't change anything in the system settings except for input 1 level and disabling cab/poweramp modeling, so I'll try a system parameter reset as well.

unix-guy said:
There's a lesson to be learned here, even if the FW update wasn't the cause
Click to expand...
I know, never change a running system ;) I was careless as I have a second Axe FX III at home which I use as my primary audio interface. That one runs 5.07 since the day it came out, so in my mind the upgrade was already classified as safe. Anyways, I learned my lesson not to update the gigging unit if I don't have enough time to test everything...
 
l4mpi said:
Unfortunately I don't have a recent backup of that unit as I didn't even get the Axe FX III drivers to work on the crappy rehearsal room pc before yesterday due to windows 7 complaining about the driver signature. I do have a backup from FW 5.01, can I load that on a newer firmware version? I didn't change anything in the system settings except for input 1 level and disabling cab/poweramp modeling, so I'll try a system parameter reset as well.
Click to expand...
Come to think of it, the system backup can't be older than the firmware so you could reload 5.01, reinstall the system back up & then try 5.07 again.
 
So the good news is it's working again. The bad news is I have no clue why. I set up the Axe FX and the MFC in the rehearsal room, and this time whatever I did on the MFC didn't even cause the MIDI In LED to light up. So I thought the cable must be defective, switched to another one and lo and behold, everything works. Then I switched back to the old cable on a whim, and now that one works flawlessly as well, even after re-plugging it a few times and screwing around with the connectors to see if it's got a loose contact o_O

As I couldn't reproduce the original problem where the MIDI LED lights up but the Axe FX doesn't react, I have no idea what to do if that issue comes back at the next gig... well maybe I'll try rebooting everything a few extra times and changing cables randomly.

One important piece of information would be what the exact function of the MIDI LED is. The manual says it lights when MIDI is received via the MIDI input or via USB. I would interpret this as it only lighting up when a correct MIDI signal is received, as opposed to if there's simply some random electrical activity on the MIDI input jack. Can anybody confirm this? But if that's correct it seems to imply that the cable wasn't the cause and there was some entirely different issue which vanished on its own...
 
Is it possible you had the midi connector rotated in the jack?

The midi in supports 7-pin cables, so a 5 pin could be incorrectly inserted. Some cables don't have the little center "nub" on them...
 
unix-guy said:
Is it possible you had the midi connector rotated in the jack?
Click to expand...

That possibility never crossed my mind. I can try that tomorrow when I'm back in the rehearsal room. If so, it must have been the MFC end as I never unplugged the cable from the Axe FX and transported it inside the rack case.

Also, whoever edited the title to "solved", please don't. As I wasn't yet able to reproduce the original problem, I currently have no clue if and when it might return or what I would do in that case, so I don't consider this resolved currently.

Edit: I looked up my cable and it indeed doesn't have a nub. But skimming through the MIDI physical interface spec I don't see why the MIDI LED would light up if the cable is connected incorrectly - only two pins (plus an optional shielding pin) are actually used, and rotating the cable by one pin seems to leave the data pin connected to either the shielding pin or a non-connected pin. Anyways, I'm going to try it tomorrow and see what happens...
 
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So @unix-guy was right, incorrectly plugging the 5 pin MIDI cable into the MFC causes the exact issues I experienced. Turning it one pin to the left makes the MIDI LED light up when a switch is pressed, but whatever the Axe FX receives is not the CC configured on the MFC. Turning it to the right instead, the MIDI LED no longer lights up at all, so it seems like it's disconnected. On the Axe FX side it cannot be plugged in incorrectly as it only has a 5 pin MIDI jack.

The stupid thing about this is that I actually unplugged and replugged the cable during my troubleshooting at the gig. Must have plugged it in incorrectly again, and then I was fooled by the MIDI LED and thought the cable can't be the cause.
So the only mystery left is what the Axe FX actually receives on the MIDI port if the cable is off by one pin. Maybe I'll make a wishlist item for a MIDI debug utility that shows the last received CC and channel or something, could be useful for all kinds of troubleshooting... Anyways, hopefully my spot on the EU FC waitlist comes up soon so I no longer need to bother with MIDI at all :)
 
notalemming said:
Just get a midi cable with a notch or mark yours to indicate the proper way to insert them.
Click to expand...

Now that I know what to look for, it's actually easy to spot if my cable is inserted right as there is a screw on the connector which is pointing straight up if it's in the correct position. So I'm going to keep the cable for now, but having one with a notch would definitely have saved me the trouble!
 
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