Getting Roland UM-3G MIDI I/O to work in Win 7

Posted on Mar 01, 2012 11:30 pm
gray b
Member Since: Mar 01, 2012

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this, but I am desperate for a solution. I have Win 7 running on a Gigbyte GA-X58-UDR3 Ver 2.0 motherboard. I have 3 UM-3Gs. I install with the latest Win 7 driver, but Sonar X1 Studio 1(c) can only see 2 of the 3 UM-3Gs. These aren't installed properly as I am unable to permanently assigtn instruments in the Instruments dialogue: after exiting X1 they are lost. I am pulling my hair out. Tried JustAnswer for about 4 weeks with NO useful info at all. IF this is the wrong forum cud you pls direct ne to the correct place. I have a sizeable investment in this music system which is way inferior to Cakewalk Pro 6.0, my old (!) system.

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J-bot
Byte-Mixer
Member
Since: Dec 04, 2007

Mar 02, 2012 02:58 am

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

First off, how do you have the devices connected up? Are they connected to a valid USB 2.0 port on the computer itself, not through a hub or anything?

I'm assuming you have the interfaces daisy-chained together? So the unit that is actually plugged into the USB port should be the master, and the two that are daisy-chained should be the slaves. (I think, at least if it's anything like setting up hard drives, hah)

Also, looking at the unit # on the devices on the product photos, it looks like you can set each unit to a specific number, 1 2 and 3. Are those switches set properly?

I realize I'm just covering the basics here, but it's a good idea to start there and set a foundation before digging in deeper. I don't use Sonar, but there's a few people here who do use that particular DAW, and they can probably help a bit.

gray b
Member
Since: Mar 01, 2012

Mar 05, 2012 09:50 pm

HI, J-bot, I think I lost the last reply I was trying to send you. I am a novice in the forums game, and this is basically my first time. Many thanks for your response so far.

3 UM-3Gs are daisy-chained together. Unit number and master-slave configurations are correct for 3 units, although my system does not detect more thann 2 UM-3Gs anyway. They are connected to one of my 12 USB 2.0 ports and connection is not to a hub. I get the same results regardless of which port I use (having uninstalled the previous port before installing).

Cakewalk told me to use MIDI-OX to view installed MIDI ports and MIDI-OX shows the same config as Sonar X1 does; they say this proves thr problem is not with them. I always thought that USB MIDI boxes were simply plug 'n play, wow, was I wrong!

Is it possible to put me in touch with the X1 gurus? I do appreciate your feed back.

J-bot
Byte-Mixer
Member
Since: Dec 04, 2007

Mar 06, 2012 12:35 am

Yeah, no worries. The thread is public, so they'll see it, and respond once they get a chance, and some free time to do so.

Another thing I didn't think of, was to check each unit individually, to make sure they all show up on their own. And you're right, they should just be plug it in and go, though sometimes Windows USB device detection can be a bit finicky.

If the OX isn't seeing it either, then I can only think the problem is either driver or hardware related. Are they all using their power adapters, or are they running off the USB power from the computer? If it's the latter, it could be that the 3rd device just isn't getting enough juice from the port. Otherwise, it's possible that it could be a faulty USB cable between the 2nd and 3rd device, or the device itself may have an issue. Although my gut feeling is that it's a driver issue, and/or windows USB detection or whatever is being finicky. (my laptop has trouble detecting my HDMI connection if I power it on with the cable connected, so I have to reboot/disconnect/reconnect, bleh!)

You could try completely uninstalling the driver, and I mean completely. If it has an uninstaller, then run that, and clean up/delete any crap/folders it leaves behind. Then, power cycle the computer (turn it off, unplug it, let it sit about half a minute, plug it back in, turn it back on) Then re-install drivers and connect/power on the midi devices 1 by 1. (or whatever the driver install instructions tell you to do...sometimes you really do have to follow the install directions to the letter)

I'll try to do some hunting around and see if anyone else on the 'net has had similar issues as well. I'm sure someone besides me will chime in on this thread soon.

gray b
Member
Since: Mar 01, 2012

Mar 06, 2012 11:04 pm

Thanks for info. Your earlier comments on USB 2.0 hubs might be a good place for me to look at. I did several complete uninstalls/installs on each USB port on the Gigabyte GA-X58-UDR3 PC and recorded Port/Hub numbers. All USB connections (except for 2) refer to Hub #9 and use port numbers of 1 and 2 for UM-3G #1 and UM-3G #2. No reference at all to a third USB port. I need to talk to a USB expert or PC guru. THis lead seems promising! Perhaps I need a dedicated PCIXpress USB card? It might well be that the 3rd UM-3G causes problems with the USB power, although the other 2 seem to be "OK" and accept MIDI traffic. The Roland Win 7 driver hasn't changed for some time and I'm sure I am using the latest one; so USB hardware looks like it could be the problem. I didn't tell you that the USB exercises have actually crashed Win 7 several times and I have struggled to get the sytem to even boot. Is OK for now. Unbelievable.