midi editor records keyboard strangely

derek wrote on 6/2/2013, 1:42 PM

Hi. I'm using MM17 (basic), Windows 7, 64-bit, and am getting some very strange results when trying to record from a piano keyboard.

The keyboard is connected to the computer with a Uno midi sport cable. I recorded just the basic A-->G scale (7 notes), starting with middle C, and all notes equally spaced apart. When I play it back in midi editor, the notes are correct, but the timing is all wrong. There's a big gap between the 1st and 2nd note. There are other gaps and other places where the notes are too close together. Why is this happening and how can I get it to work correctly? I'm including a screen-shot of what it did.

 

Comments

Procyon wrote on 6/3/2013, 8:59 PM

First of all....thank you, thank you, thank you, for having the initiative and the sense to provide us with a screen shot!   It makes a world of difference when it comes to understanding the question and what's going on.

The reason for this is because the quantization grid is "active". With MIDI, this means that no matter how the notes are played, each note will be set exactly to the nearest grid marking (timing grid).  If the grid is set to 32nd notes, the notes played will be automatically set to start (and end) at the nearest 32nd note.  In your case, it is set to 16th notes.  Your results would be more consistant if you were playing along in time with a click or rhythm track.

This can be helpful for people who can't play fluidly or are using the "drawing" or step input methods.  But this can make the music sound "robotic" or "mechanical" like an unsophisticated drum machine.

For people who can play the keyboard well, and like to impart more "feeling" in their playing, quantization can be a detriment.  To turn off the quantiztion grid, go to the Options menu in the Vita MIDI Editor and uncheck "Quanization grid active (CTRL+G)".  You should also see if "Quantize recording automatically" is also checked or not.

BTW.....I see you have several other programs open and running at the same time as MMM (Internet Explorer, MS Word, etc...).  That is not a good idea.  It is best to turn off ALL other programs when using MMM.  For some people with old and under-powered systems, even anti-virus can be a problem.

derek wrote on 6/4/2013, 7:54 PM

Thank you!!!!!!!! That solved the problem.

 

I had a feeling it was something to do with the grid lines, but I wasn't sure how to explain it. I also feared you were going to tell me that I can't hear it the way it's played because I don't have the premium version. Good to know that's not the case at all.

When I record, I do make sure all other programs are closed. I just had these others open because all I was doing was opening MM17 to get a screen-shot of it. Thanks again.