M Audio Keystation 49 MK3 No Midi Connection

[Loki Harfagr]

Don't use big words that you don't know the meaning of. 'Theo' means 'god' and as far as I'm aware I didn't bring god into it.

Apparently scholarly you is ign

[syserr] Ah darn heating, it's gone caged warping in infinite loop again, emergency reboot activated, now.

[j_e_f_f_g]

You three simply moan without offering solutions.

I did offer a simple solution (which I mentioned previously in this thread, and you have inexplicably ignored). Just because you failed to notice doesn't equate to lack of evidence.

Once more for the peanut gallery... since the problem is the proliferation of conflicting/unnecessary/complicated "audio servers", my solution is:

1) Developers need to stop using things like jack (audio or midi), pulseaudio, pipewire, etc. They need to learn how to use ALSA's API. Granted, the documentation is poor. But that's the only linux audio API you can guarantee will be present, and working (assuming the other aforementioned crap isn't also installed, and therefore inflicting itself upon the enduser). Specifically, if you're writing music software for linux and you're not using ALSA rawmidi (with optional support for Sequencer API) for midi, and MMAP API for digital audio play/record, then you're doing it wrong. Your program needs extra configuration beyond what linux provides, and it doesn't need to do that!

So don't do it.

2) Endusers and distro maintainers need to stop accepting new "audio servers". Don't package the stuff. Don't install the stuff. If a music app doesn't use the aforementioned API's, then don't use it. When the developers of the crap find that people are just not interested in even giving it a try, they'll stop making that crap.

Is the Linux attitude not 'send a patch'?

Not when it comes to audio/midi. The linux attitude is "ALSA is overly complicated, poorly documented, not really designed to do what I want to do. So should I work on making it better? Hell no, let me write something that rides on top of ALSA and tries to take over the entire audio system, just like every other developer is doing, so all our software can make audio/midi setup on linux a nightmare, and prone to breaking".

[merlyn]

I did offer a simple solution (which I mentioned previously in this thread, and you have inexplicably ignored). Just because you failed to notice doesn't equate to lack of evidence.

Is it a practical, workable solution for ... let's say me? Here I am in front of the computer with my guitar plugged into Guitarix, and a keyboard in front of me using fluidsynth, both of which can output simultaneously thanks to JACK. Could I do this in the setup you are proposing? Is a sound server not necessary for me to have Guitarix and fluidsynth at the same time?

[j_e_f_f_g]

Guitarix, and fluidsynth can output simultaneously. Could I do this in the setup you are proposing?

If both are available as LV2 (or some other standard) plugin, it would be trivial. Windows and Mac users employ lots of software effects and virtual instruments simultaneously. And it's very easy for them to do so, because there is one accepted way to do that and therefore everyone (developers and endusers) does it this way. There are not a half dozen different "servers" all fighting to take over the entire audio system, surreptitiously rerouting every application's audio/midi I/O regardless of whether that breaks the app. There aren't "bridges" shuffling data off to... god-knows-where... because there's nothing to prevent a series of bridges from inadvertently rerouting data back to its original source. There are only apps with straightforward "plugin selection" dialogs, and straightforward "audio output/input" dialogs that list the same sources/destinations for every program.

Windows/Mac users don't have to ask how to route their midi and audio paths, because there is only one way to do it, and one software component doing it all. If you successfully do it once on those OS's, then you can successfully do it whenever you need to do it again. With Linux, if you successfully do it once, that's good for at most a year, because your solution maybe is for pulseaudio, and a year later there's something else called pipewire stealing pulseaudio's identity, and claiming to be his compatible replacement. But it's not the same software, and something doesn't work, and now you need to come up with a new way to configure it (which will take at least 2 months off the one year that your solution will work before some idiot writes a pipewire replacement. And there are plenty of such idiots willing to do so.)

[sunrat]

While I bemoan how far this topic has gone off the rails, I just have to make one point for my use case. I have PA > JACK > ALSA working most satisfactorily. I insert LSP IR or Parametric EQ for room correction as last connection in chain before system_out. If it would be possible with plain ALSA I would gladly try it out. No, alsaeq doesn't cut it by a mile.

[merlyn]

Guitarix, and fluidsynth can output simultaneously. Could I do this in the setup you are proposing?

Blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah blah ....

That'll be a no then. No. en oh.

You can probably guess what or who I think should F'off and it isn't JACK or Pipewire.

[j_e_f_f_g]

That'll be a no then.

You obviously have reading comprehension problems. The answer is in my very first sentence. You run the software as plugins, just like folks do on Windows and MacOS.

The reason you're requiring a more complex solution is because you're imposing a process boundary where there doesn't need to be one. And then, rather than availing yourself of the simple, obvious solution, you then compound your mistake by plunging headfirst into a bunch of "servers", "bridges", and other unnecessary crap which reinforces your initial bad choice. I cannot fathom why you just can't grasp this concept when ordinary windows/mac users have no trouble with it.

Why are you having so much difficulty with exceedingly simple concepts/solutions? Is it because you've been using convoluted, complicated, time-consuming linux "solutions" so long now that you can't even conceive of a simple approach like:

1) Click on your host's Plugins menu item.
2) Scroll through the names to find Guitarix and Fluidsynth.
3) Click on them, and click the OK button.

[Linux_Voivod]

Another issue turning up that I've been breaking my head upon, but haven't solved yet.

Since I went all in to ALSA and no longer JACK, my recording on Reaper is plagued by xruns. Mainly with the Native Instruments Kontakt plugin, the DSP load flipping up and down. See screenshot, with the red 100% upper right.

So far I only found solution that would work with JACK. Does any of you know how to tackle this issue with ALSA?

[Linuxmusician01]

Another issue turning up that I've been breaking my head upon, but haven't solved yet.

Since I went all in to ALSA and no longer JACK, my recording on Reaper is plagued by xruns. Mainly with the Native Instruments Kontakt plugin, the DSP load flipping up and down. See screenshot, with the red 100% upper right.

So far I only found solution that would work with JACK. Does any of you know how to tackle this issue with ALSA?

Good question. Would you consider creating new topic about that? Because I think it is a different problem than the one in this topic.

And a question from me: forgive me the stupid question, but even though I've heard the term Native Instruments Kontakt plugin many, many times I still don't know what it is. I've tried the NI Kontact website. But I cant download it easily. What I mean is:

• Is it a Windows VST plugin or VST instrument?
• If Windows VST: do you "bridge" it to Linux with, for instance, yabridge?
• Is it meant to be used in any DAW or only in the DAW that you use (Reaper)?
• Is it a Linux native plugin?

Anyway, I don't know how to connect stuff with Alsa only (I use Jack). Others might know though! For my own reference: topic starter uses Reaper for Linux which, apparently, only works with Jack Midi (not with Alsa Midi via Jack) or Alsa. TS uses Alsa now in Reaper.


P.S. Final tip: the resolution in the screen shots is still too low for me to read the error messages etc.

[Toejam76]

DSP goes boom.

The VST3i has multicore support. Don't know about the VSTi. You can check under "Engine" if that's enabled and maybe also enable Overload protection to kill voices before "redlining". The high usage could be that library. Some are really demanding. Just a wild guess.

[Toejam76]

I hope you don't mind if I chime in here. I am bored...

• Is it a Windows VST plugin or VST instrument?
  A VST instrument. I would say it's a sampler with synth features that can provide all kind of functionality depending on the library.
• If Windows VST: do you "bridge" it to Linux with, for instance, yabridge?
  Yabridge works fine.
• Is it meant to be used in any DAW or only in the DAW that you use (Reaper)?
  Any DAW or other app that can run wine bridged plugins
• Is it a Linux native plugin?
  Nope.

[Impostor]

Hi there,

Just bought a M Audio Keystation 49 MK3, only to find out that it doesn't work as my Nektar does. That's just plugging in, running a2jmidid -e &, fixing 2 connections in the Qjackctl graph and everything works fine.

In the terminal I now get the following error message:
a2jmidid -e &

ERROR: a2j_port_create: jack_port_register() failed for 'Keystation 49 MK3 [24] (capture): Keystation 49 MK3 Keystation 49'
ERROR: a2j_port_create: jack_port_register() failed for 'Keystation 49 MK3 [24] (playback): Keystation 49 MK3 Keystation 49'


Someone got a clue?

Bit of a necro, but yes, I may have a clue. I have the same midi keyboard, and using a2jmidid gives me the same error (although I do get a (single) working alsa2jack midi port for the MK3).

I'm guessing you're running a kernel >5.11. Try 5.11 or below and see if that fixes the issue. See the thread "Alsa midi port name" in the MusE Sequencer forum for more info.

Probable cause if kernel 5.11 solves your problem: The keystation provides the exact same names for its two midi-out ports, which Alsa (with newer kernels) does not append with "midi 1" and "midi 2" anymore, and certain applications have issues with that.