MIDI notes playing infinitely/sticking when playing virtual instruments

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Level 1

12 points

MIDI notes playing infinitely/sticking when playing virtual instruments

I've searched high and far to find an answer to this problem and it continues to be a thorn in my side. Pretty much rendering using Logic Pro X pretty much useless for me in the ways that I use it.

The problem is this: when I am playing a virtual instrument, some midi notes will not release completely at random, and thus will ring out infinitely. I have to stop and start playback again to get them to stop playing. This problem has spanned multiple MIDI keyboards so it is definitely Logic X messing up.

This is particularly frustrating as an organ player as the organ has infinite sustain. Countless sessions have been ruined by this bug and I'm pretty much at wits end trying to get an answer. There have been a couple of solutions posted on this and other forums (one that I will detail down below) but none of them have worked.

Really have found no successful solutions to this problem whatsoever and it's utterly ruining my experience working with Logic X.

Unsuccessful solution posted on Jul 2, 2015 in this forum:

Quit Logic Pro
In the Finder, choose Go to Folder from the Go menu.
Type ~/Library/Preferences in the "Go to the folder" field.
Press the Go button.
Remove the "com.apple.logic10.plist" file from the Preferences folder. Note that if you've programmed any custom key commands, this will reset them to the defaults. You might want to export your custom key commands before performing this step.
Remove the com.apple.logic.pro.cs file from the preferences folder. (Note this is the control surface settings file. You may need to set up your control surfaces again after deleting this)
Restart the computer.

iMac 24″, macOS 13.5

Posted on Oct 25, 2023 06:16 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

theairport Author

Level 1

12 points

Oct 26, 2023 09:45 AM in response to yoyoBen

Hi Ben and thanks for your response.

To your questions.

Yes, this happens with all software instruments and only software instruments. Hooking my midi keyboard up to other hardware instruments does not produce the same problem.
Sustain pedal looks good, and the problem recurs even when a sustain pedal is not plugged in. We can rule that out. The issue is not that all notes are sustaining all the time, it's that I'll be playing for 10 seconds or so and then Logic will decide that one random note must sustain forever/not send a MIDI note off message.
No other midi controllers are connected. I rebuilt the defaults in the control surfaces menu but the problem happened again.
I am 100% convinced that this is not a problem with the midi controller as this problem has spanned several different midi controllers. It just cannot lie with the controller if I can replicate the problem with *every* keyboard I use.
Tried doing the different reset settings and none of them worked.
Tried different chase settings and those did not work either.
Resetting all preferences except key commands did not work either.

Appreciate your help but I'm still facing the same issue.

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Answer 2

yoyoBen

Level 4

3,329 points

Oct 26, 2023 03:10 AM in response to theairport

This is not normal. Does this happen in all projects with all software instruments/external instruments? I have an (old) software instrument which I like really but is buggy and sometimes produces "hanging notes".

And in case of emmergency : to send a quick all notes off, just double-click on the Midi Activity Display in the Transport.

You may check your sustain pedal, if you are using one. There are sustain pedals that send out reversed values. Some have a switch to adjust, the cheaper ones don't. You can verify the values in Logic's Environment. Window > Open Midi Environment > Click & Ports. Watch the Input View or Monitor, while pressing your sustain pedal. Usually it should be : CC 64 pressed = 127, CC 64 not pressed = 0.
Do you have other Midi Conrollers connected? Maybe they are sending some weird messages. Logic Pro > Control Surfaces. You can adjust the values individually or Rebuild Defaults. Create a backup!
It's also possible that a faulty midi comtroller is sending values.
You may try different reset settings: Logic Pro > Preferences > Midi > Software Instruments > Control 64 (off) and Logic Pro > Preferences > Midi > External Midi > Control 64 (off)
You can also try different Chase settings: File > Project Settings > Notes and Control Changes
Logic pro > Preferences > Reset all preferences except key commands

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Answer 3

Oct 28, 2023 08:35 PM in response to theairport

My guess would be the polarity on the sustain pedal. I have two older keyboards I use as controllers (a Technics sp50 and an Alesis QS 8) and a couple of Beringer UMX 61’s The technics sustain input has reversed polarity. My sustain pedal from Best Buy that cost around $30 has a switch on the bottom.

I don’t use sustain pedals at all on the UMX 61’s as I use them with Hauptwerk to practice organ and as my organ teacher always said ‘do you have to do I. Order to play legato and with with correct phrasing lol.

good luck and let us know.

FenderTwin

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Answer 4

theairport Author

Level 1

12 points

Jan 21, 2024 06:38 PM in response to danygirl

Danygirl, I just want to say that there is hope! Fingers crossed, but I think I solved the problem TODAY.

Firstly, the polarity of the sustain pedal is not the issue.

Every single possible solution proffered so far has been incorrect. Despite tickets being filed with Apple and countless screenshots and videos uploaded to Logic's support team, there was no headway being made on my progress. Asking them for a status update was like trying to see the Wizard of Oz. Too many delays and byzantine barriers to count.

I tried one last thing, which was to purchase an iConnectivity mioXC cable. Instead of using the USB outs on any of the given controllers/pianos/synths that I was using, I was just going to go straight out of the MIDI ins and outs to see if that would fix anything. I'm happy to say that the mioXC cable has fixed the issue ... so far. No problems whatsoever using this interface. I've been mashing keys up and down the keyboard for about 20 minutes now expecting something to stick and so far nothing. Maybe this will help solve your problem :)

The cable is expensive ($50) but there are some used ones and, honestly, its worth it's weight in gold if it fixes the problem.

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