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Getting started with MIDI controllers

I did buy an Alesis V49 MIDI controller, so the next step was to hook it up. However, the programs I tried (Reaper, LMMS) did not seem to work with the controller. I was able to see the controller as an option in the Preferences/Settings pages for these apps, and was able to select them. However, when I followed the EXACT instructions from web pages and videos from these companies, there was no sound when I would press a key on the keyboard, and no indication that the program was detecting the key presses. I downloaded the MIDI utility program MIDI-OX, which indicated that my Windows 7 laptop was receiving key-on and key-off data, so it seemed like everything was working – but it wasn’t!

I then went to the store (Guitar Center) and talked with the “Pro Tools” employee, who showed me what a working setup should look like (he was using a different controller than mine and a copy of Ableton Live for the Mac). He said it was likely a software problem (what! I AM a software engineer!), and that it took him several months to get the hang of using digital audio workstation (DAW) software.

Frustrated, I decided to download a copy of Ableton Live Lite (since my MIDI controller had a license code for a free copy), and … after a 20 minute download and a 20 minute installation, I was able to use my controller to play some notes in Ableton Live Lite – FINALLY!

Now, what did I want to do with this controller…..?

 

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  • In an earlier post, I mentioned I bought an Alesis V49 MIDI keyboard controller. However, when I tried to use it with multiple programs, they appeared to recognize it in the settings/preferences area, but would not detect any key-up/key down data. After a lot more experimenting, I figured out that I was selecting the wrong thing in the settings/preferences menu. Here is a screenshot from Reaper:

    The upper part of the window deals with inputs, the bottom part deals with outputs. There were two entries for each part (MIDIXX2 (V49) and V49). I did not have any instructions, so I selected the first one (MIDI…). Well, that was INCORRECT! I needed to select the “V49” entry. Once I stumbled onto that key fact, all of the DAW apps were able to detect key input.
    The moral: keep trying different options until something works!