Controller stops working after engaging a preset

Problem

Controller boots up properly but stops working after a Preset is engaged.

Diagnosis

There might be a couple of reasons for this, but the most common reason would be a MIDI loop.

What is a MIDI Loop?

A MIDI loop occurs when the MIDI signal generated by the MIDI controller is sent back to its MIDI Input. If MIDI Thru is turned ON in the MIDI controller, the received MIDI message will be sent back out again, resulting in an infinite MIDI loop. This will cause unexpected behaviour in your devices.

Other reasons

Another reason that may cause your controller to hang is the wrong use of the Engage Preset messages. If a preset (let's call this Preset A) is set up to engage a preset (let's call this Preset B ), and Preset B has another Engage Preset message that engages Preset A again. This results in an infinite loop that will cause the controller to hang.

Solution for MIDI Loop

If there is no specific need to have the MIDI messages routed back to the MIDI Controller, then just remove the cable connected to the MIDI IN port. If, for whatever reason, you want the MIDI messages to be sent back to the MIDI controller, be sure to turn off the MIDI Thru setting so that the incoming messages will not be sent out again.

Updated on: 03/12/2023