Active sensing

Gravitas

Does anyone how to block active sensing from the midi input?

I have a microKorg that emits active sensing constantly
when needing to lock to midi clock and it broadcasts it as well.
So when I need to record cc messages , I.e cutoff etc
active sensing sends midi learn into a spasm.

Thank you in advance.

mojozart

I think this is a bug in some of the apps. MIDISpy, e.g., is reporting active sensing as a Note event, which it is not. It is not CC either. It is not any kind of channel message. I reported the bug yesterday!

For every MIDI learn application I can think of, it should be (needs to be) ignored by the learning app.

On some devices it can be disabled, but not microKorg AFAICT. Special hardware filters for this are a thing...

I bet there's a MIDI Filter app that can act as a filter. I'm interested in knowing, too.

Sequencer1

Audeonic Streambyter
https://audeonic.com/streambyter/manual/

# block active sense messages
FE = XX +B

http://i.korg.com/uploads/Support/MK1_633652915168960000.pdf

wim

This line of code in StreamByter would do it I think. I’m a little rusty with StreamByter, so I hope I got that right.

FE = XX +B

Or this Mozaic Script:

@OnMidiInput
  if MIDICommand <> 0xFE
    SendMIDIThru
  endif
@End

@OnSysex
  SendMIDIThru
@End 

Gravitas

@Sequencer1 and @wim

You !!!! stars.

'FE = XX +B', works.

Brilliantly done.

Left is the active sensing from the microKorg and the right hand side is self explanatory.

Sequencer1

Awesome!
I'm surpised that a fairly recent keyboard like the Microkorg still sends active sensing. The early Japanese digital synths did, and it was annoying.
Glad you got it working.

wim

Great. It’s amazing what one simple line of code can do. StreamByter is great for that kind of stuff.

mojozart

@Sequencer1 said:
I'm surpised that a fairly recent keyboard like the Microkorg still sends active sensing. The early Japanese digital synths did, and it was annoying.

I don't think it's going away anytime soon. This year's BOSS guitar processors are still sending it.

https://www.midi.org/specifications-old/item/table-1-summary-of-midi-message

SevenSystems

@Sequencer1 said:
Awesome!
I'm surpised that a fairly recent keyboard like the Microkorg still sends active sensing.

I don't see how Active Sensing could be considered "outdated" It's essentially a "keepalive" signal so that a MIDI interface or DAW can detect a device going offline (timing out) and potentially kill stuck notes, etc... so it's as useful today as it was 30 years ago

Sequencer1

@SevenSystems said:

@Sequencer1 said:
Awesome!
I'm surpised that a fairly recent keyboard like the Microkorg still sends active sensing.

I don't see how Active Sensing could be considered "outdated" It's essentially a "keepalive" signal so that a MIDI interface or DAW can detect a device going offline (timing out) and potentially kill stuck notes, etc... so it's as useful today as it was 30 years ago

Ah good, someone who knows MIDI well (Xequence is fantastic by the way).

Just curious, how many MIDI devices have you used that receive and listen to active sensing messages?

It tends to be more trouble than it's worth, and as Mojozart mentioned, some software and hardware misinterpret active sensing messages as other data, which can cause havoc. One example is the DX7 with early MIDI sequencers, we had a MIDI filter box permanently duct taped to the rear of the DX7.

SevenSystems

@Sequencer1 said:

@SevenSystems said:

@Sequencer1 said:
Awesome!
I'm surpised that a fairly recent keyboard like the Microkorg still sends active sensing.

I don't see how Active Sensing could be considered "outdated" It's essentially a "keepalive" signal so that a MIDI interface or DAW can detect a device going offline (timing out) and potentially kill stuck notes, etc... so it's as useful today as it was 30 years ago

Ah good, someone who knows MIDI well (Xequence is fantastic by the way).

Thanks a lot, appreciate that kind of feedback (and most other kinds too...)

Just curious, how many MIDI devices have you used that receive and listen to active sensing messages?

I'm trying to remember -- I think it was mostly "keyboard" devices, i.e. stuff that was actually playable. I know that my Yamaha SY-85 and AN1x both definitely had it. And I'm sure I saw a third LED blinking all the time on my Unitor 8... can't remember right now what device that was. Ah, yes: Technics SX-PX 227, which was a digital piano. So it does seem to be limited to "performance" instruments.

It tends to be more trouble than it's worth, and as Mojozart mentioned, some software and hardware misinterpret active sensing messages as other data, which can cause havoc. One example is the DX7 with early MIDI sequencers, we had a MIDI filter box permanently duct taped to the rear of the DX7.

Hah, that's funny. Well, as you're rightly saying, Active Sense should be ignored by any reasonable MIDI implementation, or rather, any reasonable MIDI implementation should only listen to message types that are relevant for the current situation. I don't think anyone would want to change a parameter by plugging in a MIDI device so Active Sense should never be learned.

Sequencer1

@SevenSystems said:

@Sequencer1 said:

@SevenSystems said:

@Sequencer1 said:
Awesome!
I'm surpised that a fairly recent keyboard like the Microkorg still sends active sensing.

I don't see how Active Sensing could be considered "outdated" It's essentially a "keepalive" signal so that a MIDI interface or DAW can detect a device going offline (timing out) and potentially kill stuck notes, etc... so it's as useful today as it was 30 years ago

Ah good, someone who knows MIDI well (Xequence is fantastic by the way).

Thanks a lot, appreciate that kind of feedback (and most other kinds too...)

Just curious, how many MIDI devices have you used that receive and listen to active sensing messages?

I'm trying to remember -- I think it was mostly "keyboard" devices, i.e. stuff that was actually playable. I know that my Yamaha SY-85 and AN1x both definitely had it. And I'm sure I saw a third LED blinking all the time on my Unitor 8... can't remember right now what device that was. Ah, yes: Technics SX-PX 227, which was a digital piano. So it does seem to be limited to "performance" instruments.

It tends to be more trouble than it's worth, and as Mojozart mentioned, some software and hardware misinterpret active sensing messages as other data, which can cause havoc. One example is the DX7 with early MIDI sequencers, we had a MIDI filter box permanently duct taped to the rear of the DX7.

Hah, that's funny. Well, as you're rightly saying, Active Sense should be ignored by any reasonable MIDI implementation, or rather, any reasonable MIDI implementation should only listen to message types that are relevant for the current situation. I don't think anyone would want to change a parameter by plugging in a MIDI device so Active Sense should never be learned.

Good to hear from an expert. We used to lug around a few sequencers while installing Yamaha DM mixers and mLAN. The QYs and RS7000 listened for AS, but it rarely worked - pull the MIDI cable, notes still hung 50% of the time. Our customers often brought up other issues with it as well.

We tried our darndest to get the word out to the engineers to please consider making active sensing optional, rather than the nonstop pinging, clogging, and errors with other receivers. Never learned why it's still not an on/off option.