Vonoom:
In regard to gkellum's post, I discovered that I don't have bluetooth on either my desktop or laptop computer (I thought my laptop did…) so I am currently unable to try that approach.
There's an FAQ item that recommends a few Bluetooth dongles that you could get for under $20.
https://www.eventide.com/AudioDivision/Products/StompBoxes/H9_FAQ1.aspx#H9c3a
Vonoom:
shouldn't the H9 be able to communicate with Control over USB, AND be able to receive midi from a midi device? Why do the two seem to be mutually exclusive for me?
The two are mutually exclusive. USB and MIDI are connected to a single underlying thing that can only be used by either one of them at a time. And Nick can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe the H9 can switch back and forth between the two. Either USB or the MIDI ports are going to be active.
Vonoom:
I'd just like to know if this is common behavior on a PC setup, or if my situation is unique?
Well, what is common behavior on Windows is that two applications can't use the same MIDI ports at once, and what's also common behavior is that a DAW will lock up all of the MIDI ports making it impossible for another application to do anything with MIDI.
