7-Pin Midi and Nixie Software

[cgscotto]

First, sorry for another problem post. I am just going through reworking a couple of rigs to make them a bit more efficient by incorporating an Axe-FX III as the effects unit with the amps. So far everything has been great and the two phantom power box I ordered really help make everything much more elegant. Now, to the new issue.

In order to use the MMLT as a midi interface with the Strymon Timeline, I have to connect both Midi in and out on the pedal to the in and out on the Strymon. With this basic connection, Nixie connects flawlessly to the Timeline through the MMLT. Of course, to use all the features of the Axe-Fx III, I also need to connect its midi out to the midi in on the MMLT. I bought a Midi Solutions Merger to merge the outputs of the Timeline and Axe-Fx III and connect a single cable to MMLT midi in. This worked flawlessly as well, but requires running two midi cables to the rig and MMLT. I bought a Phantom box to cut the cabling down to one (yes, one cable makes a difference). Connected the midi out from the merger box to the Phantom power box and the midi in on the Axe-Fx III to the Phantom box, and one 7-pin cable to the MMLT. Axe-Fx III works beautifully.

Here is the problem. The Nixie software now cannot connect to the Timeline. It acts as if the circuit is not complete since it says it cannot find a Strymon device. However, if I connect a 5-pin midi cable to the second output on the merger box and connect the cable to the Midi In on the MMLT, Nixie recognizes the Timeline and all is good. The problem seems to be that Nixie cannot communicate with Timeline through the 7-pin cable. Is this true?

While I could just connect a midi cable to the second output on the merger box and then connect to Midi In on the MMLT when I want to edit presets on the Timeline, it really slows the workflow. Plus, I am using the Midi in on the MMLT as a second midi out, which I have to say is just one of the brilliant features of the MMLT. It allows me to isolate a piece of midi gear that appears to add noise to the rig when connected serially, but behaves when isolated.

So, does midi forward not work when using a 7-pin cable for bidirectional communication? Is this why Nixie cannot connect to the Timeline via the 7-pin cable, but can connect when using two cables connected to midi in and out on the MMLT?

As always, thanks.

 

[cgscotto]

OK, by looking at some older threads from when Nixie was first released, I was able to find a solution to the problem of Nixie not displaying or finding the Timeline when using a 7-pin midi cable from the Phantom power box with both midi input and outputs connected to the Phantom power box. Connecting the Axe-Fx III input and outputs to the Phantom box works perfectly. In order to connect the midi output of the Timeline and the Axe-Fx III midi output simultaneously to the Phantom power box, I have the midi outputs of the Axe-Fx III and Timeline connected to a Midi Solutions Merger whose output 1 goes to the Phantom power box. In this configuration, Nixie does not see the Timeline, which I am assuming has to do with the way the 7-pin cable is wired perhaps specifically for the Axe-Fx III. If I take the second out put from the Midi Solutions Merger box and directly connect it to the Midi in port on the Mastermind LT, Nixie see the Timeline. However, this defeats the purpose of using a 7-pin midi cable (to have only one midi cable from the rack to the Mastermind LT), plus I am using the midi output port on the MMLT as a second output to isolate one piece of midi gear.

The solution, which I found in earlier Nixie threads, was to use a Roland M-one midi interface connected to the Merger box output only using the "to midi output" connector on the M-one. I connect the M-one via USB to my computer and also connect the MMLT via USB to my computer. After you start Nixie, you will see in the Midi Connections display that the program is using the MMLT port for midi input and the M-one for Midi output.
It works perfectly as long as I have both the MMLT and the M-one connected via USB.

To make things even a bit more elegant, I put a small USB hub in my rack, and connect the Axe-Fx III, Ventris Reverb, and M-one to the hub, and the output from the hub connects to the computer. The only other cable I need to connect is the MMLT USB. So with two USB cables, I can edit four pieces of equipment simultaneously, and I have reduced the cabling between the rack and the MMLT.

If anybody has a similar problem, I hope this helps.

 

[cgscotto]

UPDATE: in case anybody is using a similar setup. Also, I should state that I am using the AXFX3 with the 4cm and a JP-2C amp as well as using the AXFX3 output 1 to studio monitors when I want to use amp modeling.

Original setup: I was using a Midi Solutions Merger box to send the output of the AXFX3 and the output of a Timeline to the MMLT and use the MMLT as a mdi interface for Nixie. This worked fine using two 5-pin mid cables to the MMLT. I added a RJM Phantom Power box to cut down on one cable since I needed to use the Midi In on the MMLT as a secondary output. When I connected the output of the merger box to the Phantom Power box, The Nixie software no longer recognized the Timeline anymore. To fix this, I added a Roland UM-One midi interface connecting only the midi out to the merger box and added a USB hub that received input from the AXFX3, Ventris Reverb, and Timeline. Now everything worked fine, again.

New Problem: I tried using the Get Presets and Scenes from the AXFX3 function on the MMLT. However, every time I downloaded the presets the information was corrupt, not displaying correctly and only occasionally getting the scene names.

Solution: turns out the merger box was somehow corrupting the data because when I connected the AXFX3 midi output directly to the Phantom Power box, the Get Presets and Scene function worked perfectly. I then realized I did not need the merger box at all and connected the UM-One interface directly to the midi output of the Timeline and removed the merger box. Nixie uses the MMLT as its midi input port and the UM-One as its midi output port. Now everything works perfectly and is less crowed with fewer cables and boxes: all AXFX3 bidirectional functions work; Get Presets and Scenes works (flawlessly); Nixie see the Timeline; and Neuro software sees the Ventris.

Shout out to Ron: The Mastermind LT is an amazing piece of gear for its size. The Get Presets and Scenes functions give me two workflow options. I can either just add an AXFX3 program number in the MMLT preset or I completely design the preset for the amp on the AXFX3, then download it to the MMLT, and just set a few buttons for the amp on the buttons page. The flexibility of the MMLT allows me to accommodate any kind of routing I need to use to make all the gear work together, and once you get everything set up, it just works. I am actually looking forward to ordering a GT 16 since I anticipate the scribble strips will improve my creative workflow.