Will M-Audio ever support midisport in Catalina?

[Old and Unwise]

Hi all,

I’m a little bewildered by the loss of functionality of the humble M-Audio midisport 2x2 in Catalina. I can’t believe this little metal box is desperately sophisticated - a little point to point wiring and a bit of RC circuitry, perhaps? As you can tell I am no expert, but I wondered what makes it so difficult to pipe it up within Catalina. If it is really quite complex - does anyone know whether M-Audio plan to eventually support it (and how soon)?

Thanks!

[jimjazzdad]

I'm on PC not Mac, but I suspect my observation still applies... I have owned five or six M-Audio interfaces, from PCI to USB versions, and while the hardware has generally been good value IMO the driver support was always problematic. I have always searched user forums, downloaded and tried multiple driver versions, and generally pulled most of my hair out before (sometimes) getting the damn thing working. In contrast, I recently purchased an eight year-old RME Babyface, downloaded the one-size-fits-all driver package from their website, plugged in the unit, and it just worked...flawlessly.

[muzines]

I don't think it's necessarily that it's *difficult* so much, but that supporting old hardware is not only not cost-effective to their bottom line (ie, making stuff people already purchased work longer), it also prevents people making another purchase to buy more stuff.

There's probably a range of *hundreds* of old M-Audio devices that could take their driver team years to go back and make modern drivers for. They don't want to make that kind of bother. My advice - if you have an M-Audio product that's more than a few years old and doesn't have modern driver support - it won't *ever* work on your system, so don't bother waiting - get something else that does work...

[Mixedup]

Bottom line is that if you opt for Apple machines and external hardware, you need to expect to buy new hardware and junk the old every so often. Some of the other MIDIsport units like the 8x8 have not worked with MacOS/OSX for years. The drivers tend to work for longer with new Windows versions without needing to be updated. Or at least they *have* to date!

[Old and Unwise]

Thanks everyone...I guess that puts that one to bed. Any suggestions for a new unit? it’d be nice to buy one that had a few years in it . Cheers

[Kwackman]

Thanks everyone...I guess that puts that one to bed. Any suggestions for a new unit? it’d be nice to buy one that had a few years in it . Cheers

RME have a deserved reputation for supporting their hardware for a very long time.
Not the cheapest out there, but it should last.
I'm still using an original RME Babyface from 2011 (I think) and it's currently running on a Mac using the latest Catalina OS.

[EDIT]
Looks like 2011 is about right. Here's a review of the original.
https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/rme-babyface

It has gone through 2 re-generations at least to the latest one.
But, this old original still works fine.

[muzines]

Note - all the old emagic MIDI interfaces (Unitor 8 MKII and AMT8) are still supported, in Catalina.

I think I got my AMT8 in about 2000 or so, originally with Windows XP I guess..., and have used it from Windows, through the Mac PPC, then Mac Intel, then Mac 64-bit transitions...

So just because it's the Mac platform, doesn't mean *no* old stuff will work...

[resistorman]

Shouldn’t any class compliant midi device work? It shouldn’t even need drivers, right?

[muzines]

Shouldn’t any class compliant midi device work? It shouldn’t even need drivers, right?

Yes, stuff that is class-compliant is not generally a problem.

[James Perrett]

I bought an old MOTU Fastlane USB interface from Ebay and was surprised to find that the driver package for Windows worked in much the same way as RME - the one driver download supports all their MIDI interfaces and even includes a Windows version of Clockworks which used to be Mac only.

The Fastlane appears to be supported on Catalina according to MOTU's web site.

[Tomás Mulcahy]

I can’t believe this little metal box is desperately sophisticated - a little point to point wiring and a bit of RC circuitry, perhaps?

It's a good bit more complicated than that.

Is it actually non-functional on your system right now? That's pretty poor, because the MIDIsport range is still current. If you look at the website, the driver has been updated since 2009, but the site says there is no driver for Catalina. Perhaps it is a security issue and the driver needs to be allowed to install? Try re-installing the driver, with the security pane open from System Preferences, see if it shows up as blocked. You might need to re-start the machine.

That said, M-Audio have a very poor track record when it comes to driver support. Even when drivers were working, they were using outdated/ dodgy code libraries with their FW series of audio interfaces, for example.

[Nazard]

M-Audio have a very poor track record when it comes to driver support

Apart from the 24/96 PCI card, which is the audio equivalent of a cockroach; impossible to kill and been around for ever.

I still have one in an HTPC running Win 10 and running a pair of Mackies.

[Sam Spoons]

I have a 5V one and, frustratingly, missed out on the exchange scheme when they would exchange an old 5V card for a new 3.3V version FOC.

[Mixedup]

So just because it's the Mac platform, doesn't mean *no* old stuff will work...

No. You *can* get lucky. It's kinda like buying a super-expensive lottery ticket.

[innerchord]

Apart from the 24/96 PCI card, which is the audio equivalent of a cockroach; impossible to kill and been around for ever.

I still have one in an HTPC running Win 10 and running a pair of Mackies.

Do you happen to know if the old Delta systems work on Windows 10? I have a couple of those I've not used in years. They should go to a new home if they're still useful.

[jimjazzdad]

Do you happen to know if the old Delta systems work on Windows 10? I have a couple of those I've not used in years. They should go to a new home if they're still useful.

The Delta PCI cards certainly run on W7 and, reportedly, on W8.1. I have been loathe to upgrade my (offline) studio PC from 7 to 10, but I am still using 8 channels of Delta in that machine. As Trevor says, "impossible to kill and been around for ever" and he indicates that he has one running on W10.

[innerchord]

I have been loathe to upgrade my (offline) studio PC from 7 to 10, but I am still using 8 channels of Delta in that machine.

Thanks for that. I might get around to trying them in W10 before I sell them. It might increase their value!

I also don't use W10 in my studio...
There is no reason to if your PC does everything you need, as I'm sure you know. I 'upgraded' to W8.1, actually!

[Old and Unwise]

HI All,

many thanks for all your comments and replies. I have had to relinquish my deep rooted faith in M-Audio - I have bitten the bullet and gone for the ESI M4U eX - hopefully this is modern enough to be supported for a while. Class compliant and launched last year, if that doesn't work I'm packing it all in!!

Incidentally - My M-Audio Oxygen 25 mk 4 is allegedly class compliant, and on M-Audio's list of items that will work with Catalina. I used to use the controllers on it to access my Soft synths in Logic. This functionality has now disappeared. Does anyone know what's going on there? I was a little despondent to discover that 'new feature'.

[muzines]

Incidentally - My M-Audio Oxygen 25 mk 4 is allegedly class compliant, and on M-Audio's list of items that will work with Catalina. I used to use the controllers on it to access my Soft synths in Logic. This functionality has now disappeared. Does anyone know what's going on there? I was a little despondent to discover that 'new feature'.

You'll need to be more specific about what you were doing and how, and what isn't working now.

There has been no significant change in Logic's controller handling or support for a while that would affect this...

[Old and Unwise]

Hi Desmond,

Whilst I don't use it over-much, when I used the Oxygen 25 before Catalina, it seemed that some of the synth controls (the principal ones, I imagined) were mapped automatically to the rotary pot controllers C1 to C8 - not always for every synth, but for most. Now - nothing. I can't be absolute about the when's and what's of this as I don't use soft synths massively, but when I needed to previously (say in a project to write a song requiring certain sounds), I could twiddle and modify sounds - that functionality has gone now. Whether its one of the Logic changes, or due to Catalina, or indeed something else, I don't know. But I was certainly fed up when I went back to utilise this useful feature only to find it to be gone. If I could get it back I would be one happy bunny.

(NB - The pads on the keyboard (1-8) still trigger sounds that seem to automatically configure depending on what soft synth you have in Logic. The octave shift keys and the pitch and mod wheels C15 and C16 continue to function as before. I never used the transport keys C11-14 so I don't know whether these have stopped working now, or never actually worked anyway.)

[muzines]

Whilst I don't use it over-much, when I used the Oxygen 25 before Catalina, it seemed that some of the synth controls (the principal ones, I imagined) were mapped automatically to the rotary pot controllers C1 to C8 - not always for every synth, but for most. Now - nothing.

Perhaps you mean the automatic mapping of Smart Controls for some supported controllers..?

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/l ... 5020b0/mac

[Old and Unwise]

Hi Desmond. We are on the same page now eh . Thanks for your post.

I have tried uninstalling the device, deleting it out of lists in the controllers section, rebooting, replugging...I don't get the message to automatically configure.

If there is some kind of sequence I need to follow, I haven't found it yet.

Sadly I don't have the time to just play with it until it works either. If there's some simple advice you can offer which will magically sort it, brilliant. If not, don't worry, I'll have to figure it out on a needs must basis.

Cheers

[Old and Unwise]

Found this - resets the thing so the keyboard is recognised as a first time connection :

“You can delete your user preferences and see if this will solve your problem.

Before deleting user preferences, note any specific preference settings that you’ve made, and save any custom key commands you've created. Deleting preferences removes any custom preference settings and custom key commands.
To delete the user preferences, do the following:
Quit Logic Pro X.
In the Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder.
Enter ~/Library/Preferences, then click Go.
Remove the "com.apple.logic10.plist" file from the Preferences folder.
If you upgraded from an earlier version of Logic Pro, also remove the "com.apple.logic.pro" file.
Restart your Mac.
After deleting preferences, open your project and try to reproduce the issue that you were experiencing. If the issue no longer occurs, open Logic Pro X preferences, reapply your custom settings, and import your custom key commands.”

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250438384

I think this is reasonably common knowledge amongst the enlightened, I’ve seen people posting about preferences folders before. I hope this helps someone else though.

[TvRMoogMusic]

I have a Midisport Uno which is not supported according to the M-audio website.
I downloaded drivers from Roland (UM-ONE MK2 DRIVER VER.1.0.3 FOR MACOS 10.15) and now it works perfect in OSX Catalina 10.15.7.

https://www.roland.com/global/products/um-one_mk2/downloads/

Perhaps this solution also works for you?

[Liber8]

TLDR: CAUTION with the Roland driver! I installed it and it crashed my laptop.

Appreciating this thread -- I've been trying to figure out why my older Midisport is not working after not having used it in a few years...then I borrowed an Uno, and that still didn't work. Now I know why!

Hopefully the suggestion to install the Roland driver works for some folks, but also be warned: I tried that route last night and ended up with an unbootable laptop. I was able to get it running again by reinstalling Catalina from Recovery Mode, but not until I spent a number of frustrating hours yesterday and today trying to back up my recent stuff using the command line (Terminal) from Recovery just in case I lost everything and had to revert to a Time Machine backup that's a few weeks old. Would rather have just spent the money on a new interface rather than waste all that time...and still have to buy a new interface.

Moral of the story: if you try the Roland driver, be sure to do a full backup of your Mac right before.

I have a Midisport Uno which is not supported according to the M-audio website.
I downloaded drivers from Roland (UM-ONE MK2 DRIVER VER.1.0.3 FOR MACOS 10.15) and now it works perfect in OSX Catalina 10.15.7.

https://www.roland.com/global/products/um-one_mk2/downloads/

Perhaps this solution also works for you?