Giving up on Battery 3

Hello,

This is my first post here and i have a problem that i just can not seem to fix


I have tried just about everything i can think of to get this to work with sonar and my alesis dm-10 drum module. I can set it up and get it working but after a while it will just stop working. Sometimes i can see it triggering the cell when i strike the pad with no sound output and sometimes it will not even trigger at all, but when i trigger it by clicking on the cell it works....sometimes not.My setup is sonar 8.5, My alesis dm-10 module interfaces via usb midi via a usb hub(yes i have tried plugging directly and no i do not have a lot of accessories running on usb) this ends up going through my alesis io-26.The longset i can use it for is about 30 minutes then it stops working, then i have to shut everything down ,disconnect my usb then start everything back up to get it working again.

I really want to use it for my e-kit because when it is working it's great and has more functionality than my drum module itself.


If you need more info please ask.

 

I only use Kontakt for drums because of the group and automation abilities. Automation in Battery has always been a disaster in design and execution. I prefer the envelopes and pitch control in Battery (and lower CPU consumption), but that's not enough to make up for the many benefits you gain in Kontakt.

 

I would assume you have all updated drivers for your OS.

It could be bad driver design by your usb hub or midi device.

 

Yes i have the latest drivers and updates from microsoft,ni etc...

I have kontakt but have never really used it, I also have BFD2, superior drummer and Nexus and they are all rock solid as far as stability goes.They all are great at what they do but battery is kind of a combination of those. I have a really large kit so i have good range, so i only use Superior or bfd2 if i want a certain drum sound. Nexus is more of an effects plug and is similar to battery and i end up using these more than anything depending on what i want to do. I am just looking to see if anybody else has had these problems.

My specs/hardware are:
Windows 7 64bit.
dual core 8500 3.2Ghz.
4 gig of ram.
Alesis DM-10 Studio Kit connected via usb.
Alesis IO-26 firewire interface.
Sonar 8.5

 

Have you tried using the power supply or a powered hub?

Some audio/midi devices only work when using the power supply or a powered hub.

 

Originally it was hooked to a powered usb hub and i figured it might be the culprit but still does the same thing no matter what. I figured i had it narrowed down to battery because everything else works fine,and as far as im concerned,nothing else out there does exactly what battery does.What ever is causing it. I'm sure is fixable though.

If you need more info...please ask.

 

Ghostnotes, I'd like to try to help, even though I don't have an Alesis DM10. If, after we check a few things, we still can't get it to work, I'm prepared to solve your problem by buying the DM10 from you for $46. (I know, I know...I'm too generous at times, but I feel bad that no one's been able to solve this, so I've doubled what I usually offer people for things I couldn't otherwise afford.)

Here's a list of questions and comments that could help us here. Please forgive me if you've already answered some in this (or SONAR's) forum. I just want to be sure we're on the same page. If you don't know the answer to some of these or don't know how to find out, just let me know. (And FWIW, I know you said you had the latest drivers, but the Alesis iO|26 drivers were just updated June 16 for Windows 7.)

1. What's your signal path from the DM10 into your computer? I see that the DM10 outputs MIDI and USB, and you mentioned USB and a hub, but have you tried (or can you try) just going directly from the DM10 into your PC with MIDI? If we can remove USB and Firewire from the chain, it might help.
   
2. Are you using ASIO? If so, what are your settings?
   
3. Are you using the iO|26's "Direct Monitoring" or are you using SONAR's?
   
4. Do you have the iO and the DM10 set as MIDI devices in Windows and SONAR?
   
5. You're sure this problem only happens with Battery 3, right? If you could confirm that with Kontakt and/or one of your other VSTi modules, that would help.
   
6. When you say you have to "shut everything down" and unplug the USB to get things working again, are you shutting down the PC, too? Or are you just shutting down the Alesis gear? Depending upon your answer to this and how the audio and MIDI are routed, I'll have a few follow-up questions.
   
7. What other USB devices are you running? I know you've said you've tried connecting it "directly", but did you still have other USB devices connected to the PC's other USB ports, or was the DM10 the only USB device connected (other than mouse and keyboard)?
   
8. Have you tried using Kontakt's "MIDI Monitor" script to see what's coming in to your computer when things are working well and when they're not? Try triggering any Kontakt sound with the DM10 and see if you can reproduce the problem. Try this with and without Battery running in the background (drum kit loaded but not triggered) to see if it makes a difference, please.
   
9. Which brand of Firewire chip do you have on your computer? You'll have to check the motherboard's Web site for that, unless you've added a PCI card for Firewire. Certain Firewire chips can cause all sorts of problems.
   
10. Have you turned off everything you don't need running on the computer and disabled all power-saving features? This isn't easy in Windows 7, but be sure to disable or turn off everything you can, especially anti-virus and automatic updates (anyone's, not just Microsoft's). There's a great utility for running your PC "streamlined" based upon a proven set of minimal services. I can send that to you, if you want. (If it doesn't work for you, you can quickly and easily reset Windows to the services you were running.)
    
11. What's your CPU usage when things start going south? What's your CPU usage on average?
    
12. Have you checked the USB port from within Windows' Device Manager to see what the draw is on the USB port when things start going south?
    
13. Have you disabled the motherboard's on-board sound chip?
    
14. How are you loading the 32-bit Battery VSTi in the 64-bit version of Windows 7?

I know this is a lot, and some of these questions may seem irrelevant or even ridiculous, but they will help us determine where the problem is. I'm not entirely convinced Battery is the problem here, but I won't have a better idea until I hear back from you.

Thanks!

 

Sorry i have not gotten back sooner i have been out of the country for a while and i appreciate the detailed questioning.
---
I also made a mistake. I don't know if it makes a difference but it is actually Battery 3.1

 

Bump

 

Oops! Didn't know you'd replied!

Thanks for the reply...I don't think I got an e-mail on this. Did you reply in the SONAR forum, too?

I have a few follow-up questions, if you don't mind. We'll narrow down the problems using standard troubleshooting techniques, and unless you just have gremlins in your machine, we should be able to resolve this.

To make them easier to find, my new questions are in italics.

 

Bump

 

I am going to look into this this weekend. I have been working around 60+ hours lately but i will have time to do so after Friday.


Thanks for getting back with me.

 

Turn off power management to the USB root hubs; it sounds like they're dropping power.

Go into device manager and right click on a root hub to bring up its properties. Under power management, uncheck any checked boxes. Repeat for each hub and reboot. Done.

ew

 

That was one of the first things i checked when i started having problems. I looked at it again last night and i will more today after everyone gets up but even if i try to load a different file/sound into a cell i lose sound.

 

I think i may have solved it. It might have come down to file location or some kind of corruption.
I uninstalled it but left the library in place but that did not work so i said what the heck and did it again. This time when i did it, i took out the library and installed it in a different location.
It still loses comm if i let it sit or minimize sonar but now all i have to do is a MIDI reset in sonar and so far all is fine and normal i think.
I will keep track of it for a couple of days to see if it has worked or not and get back with you.

Thanks

 

It seems unlikely to me that "file location or some kind of corruption" would cause the problems as you described them--especially if you're still having part of the problem.

That said, if it's working well enough for you, get what you can out of it while it lasts!

 

That must have been it.

I left it on all night and i just got home now,went upstairs and hit my drum pad and lo and behold the sampled strike from a bell tree from YYZ I made played perfectly.

The com issue is,i think, not really a problem but by design. It's only when you minimize it or do any kind of audio switching like opening up another audio app like WMP. After that you just click the rearm/reset MIDI button and all is well.