Strange MIDI problem with H9 (see description)

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    • #116081
      funkyfoe1
      Participant

      So I’ve had this H9 max for about 6 years with no problems. Recently, out of the blue, it stopped listening to MIDI commands. I check all the settings and connections over and over. I finally discovered that it would receive MIDI commands….only if there are no cables connected. as soon as I connect it with a cable…no MIDI. Strange!! I’m guessing I have to send it in right? By the way I’ve installed the latest firmware.

       

      Anyone ever have this happen???

      How much is a repair going to run me????  angry

    • #155711
      nickrose
      Moderator
      Eventide Staff

      Not sure what you mean when you say it will receive MIDI commands with no cables connected. ??

      Either way, try re-initializing it (see UM) and see if that helps.

       

    • #155713
      funkyfoe1
      Participant

      Sorry, should have been more specific. If I plug  a 1/4″ cable in ( anywhere…inputs, outputs), H9 will not respond to MIDI commands. 

      If no 1/4″  cables are  connected= MIDI works fine.

      I know it’s very weird

    • #155716
      funkyfoe1
      Participant
      Yeah, so I re-initialized it… same thing.

       

      What’s really strange is that the MIDI works with certain things connected and doesn’t with others.

       

      For example if my signal chain is-  Guitar>Tumnus> Phase 90 > H9 ……………..it will respond to MIDI

       

      If my signal chain has a second  H9 in the chain, it will not respond   ( Guitar>H9core>H9max) = H9max does not respond.

       

      BTW, I have the H9core set to “Thru”. But that does not matter, because as soon as I unplug any cable plugged in to it, the MIDI works fine.

       

       

       

      Also, if I put it in an effects loop ( which is how I want to run it)  it will not respond.

    • #155724
      Fender17
      Participant

      Couldn’t it be a problem with grounding? Or one of the power supplies? 

      I would start from simplest setup, say H9 Max. Than add H9 Core (try the both, before and after H9 Max), than another effect, and so on.

    • #155797
      jamiexsilver
      Member

      When you have the issue do you have a usb plugged in to one of the H9’s into the H9 app?

      If so unplug the usb lead and try it.

      That happened to me a few months ago and after ripping my board to bits thinking I had a faulty midi cable someone on the H9 Facebook told me to unplug the usb and it worked fine after that! No idea why.

    • #155800
      funkyfoe1
      Participant

      Yes jamiexsilver. You are absolutely on the money. Actually, a USB cable was plugged in my MIDI footswitch for computer editing. As soon as I pulled it out,…. MIDI working on the H9. Some kind of ground issue it seems. Thanks for taking the time to help!

    • #155938
      funkyfoe1
      Participant

      Well, I thought I figured out the problem….just make sure there are no H9 editors open, no USB cables connected and MIDI will work…right?

      Not so much. The H9 has a problem receiving MIDI downstream… period. It can be 2nd inline with an elaborate MIDI setup, and still work, but put it 3rd or 4th in a chain of connected MIDI devices…forget about it.  No program changes! Oh wait, I forgot, you can unplug your 1/4″ cables from it….then the MIDI will work. So you get the joy of seeing the program change. You don’t get to hear anything though, because there are no 1/4 inch cables connected…no big deal. 

      I’ve seen other people online talking about this issue so I know I’m not the only one. Admit it Eventide…you know there’s a hardware issue.

    • #155939
      camn
      Participant

      Did you even actually have MIDI dropout due to 1/4″ connections? That turned out not to  be real, right? Just you being confused?

       

      The USB vs 5-pin thing is not a malfunction. It is normal operation. It is in the manual.

    • #155941
      funkyfoe1
      Participant

      Something to note. H9 core does not have this problem. I can stick an H9 core in the same spot in the daisy chain (  3rd device down) and it will perform flawlessly. 

      That is my work-around.

    • #155944
      Fender17
      Participant

      Is not it that H9 Core and H9 Max are hardwarewise exactly the same units? To my understanding, the only difference is the licence thing.

    • #155946
      funkyfoe1
      Participant

      Yeah, that’s a good point. All I know is that one particular H9 of mine ( that happens to be a Max)  has this issue and the other does not. The Max is quite a few years older. 

    • #155947
      Fender17
      Participant

      We do not have all details. But I asume that he has H9 Max and H9 Core. In that case most userrs would max Core, so in reality he most probably has two identical units in Max configuration.

      So, most probable is kind of hardware (or firmware or setup) problém on his H9 Max.

      Or there might be also problém on the units in MIDI chain before H9. MIDI splitter sould bring the solution. 

    • #158405
      cconte
      Participant

      I have experienced the same problem with MIDI not working with the USB cable plugged in. I’ve only had this unit a few days and I was setting it up via USB. MIDI was sporadic at best and then it stopped working at all. I tried multiple MIDI cables, verified MIDI messages via a MIDI monitor, and the H9 was just not responding to MIDI. I happened to unplug the USB connect then MIDI worked fine. This was very frustrating to say the least. Also, the USB connect is very unstable. Connection is lost all the time. As someone else said, for $700, this should not be happening. Eventide needs to fix this issue. We deserve better.

    • #158409
      cconte
      Participant

      I just posted about Midi not working when the USB cable is plugged in. I thought this was but and need to be fixed. Come to find out, as I read through the manual thoroughly, this is a normal operation. See the attached image from page 27 of the manual….it was still frustrating to go through though. Why wouldn’t the DIN MIDI input work while USB is connected? Not sure, but it is what it is. 

    • #155940
      funkyfoe1
      Participant
      camn wrote:

      Did you even actually have MIDI dropout due to 1/4″ connections? That turned out not to  be real, right? Just you being confused?

       

      The USB vs 5-pin thing is not a malfunction. It is normal operation. It is in the manual.

       

      Oh it’s very real, I assure you. At least with the H9 Max. Go ahead try it. Put you H9 max 3rd down from a daisy chain of MIDI devices ( no USB or editors). I bet it won’t respond to MIDI…Pull out the 1/4″ inch cables and the MIDI data will flow.

      Confused?… You’re damn right I’m confused. That an modern, 700$ pedal can’t do something my 80’s, 30$ Quadraverb can.

       

    • #155945
      nickrose
      Moderator
      Eventide Staff
      Fender17 wrote:

      Is not it that H9 Core and H9 Max are hardware wise exactly the same units? To my understanding, the only difference is the licence thing.

      This is indeed the case. The only possible explanations that I can propose are:

      1) Most likely. His Max unit  has some kind of hardware MIDI problem that the Core unit does not.

      2) Less Likely. Because the Max has many more algorithms than the Core, it is possible that a demanding Max algorithm is slowing the unit down enough to foul up the MIDI. But, if this were the case, problems would vary according to the loaded algorithm.

      Either way, the most likely solution is to use some kind of MIDI splitter or multiple output controller, rather than relying on THRU. It is worth remembering that when the H9 was designed, having MIDI at all on a guitar pedal was advanced. Now, with computer driven MIDI, it is very easy for a 3GHz processor to overwhelm a simple pedal.

       

       

    • #158411
      bohan
      Moderator
      Eventide Staff
      cconte wrote:

      I just posted about Midi not working when the USB cable is plugged in. I thought this was but and need to be fixed. Come to find out, as I read through the manual thoroughly, this is a normal operation. See the attached image from page 27 of the manual….it was still frustrating to go through though. Why wouldn't the DIN MIDI input work while USB is connected? Not sure, but it is what it is. 

      Sorry about your frustration. The USB MIDI precedes the 5-PIN MIDI. You can only use one of them for MIDI communications.

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