Hy everyone. I'm experiencing problems trying to configure BIAB to use Asio4All, in order to play my VSTi in realtime along with the program.

I'm always getting the "Audio and/or DXi output will be silent. The ASIO4ALL driver is not connected, likely due to your using a softh-synth (like GS-WaveTable) for MIDI. Reboot Windows if persist." message. I think I solved the same problem in the past, but, as in many other ocasions, with so many (often hidden) options, I just can't remember how.

Thanks.

Try, for fun, checking a different synth in the drop down list, EVEN if you have use DXI box checked. For some reason, this worked for me in the past.

I have some gear, I just will NEVER play through the computer again. The interfaces for such stuff are too finicky to be of use for any length of time.

I play the EWI into my mixer to the speakers.

Then I trashed the whole ASIO business, never to return.

Others love it. Go figure. I was always partial to skinny and small and uncomplicated.

Thanks for the suggestion, John, maybe I've misunderstood you, but if you're speaking about choosing another VSTi on the thru channel slot, once choosen the ASIO4ALL driver, it doesn't work either.

In my opinion, ASIO is great and very useful in many situtations, I use Asio4all all the time with other programs, and a lot of modern audio interfaces need it to work properly, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to work very well in BIAB. Maybe it's an area that need some rework in future versions of BIAB.

ASIO does not work properly in BIAB & RB.If I was a betting man I'd say that the ASIO portion of the code for BIAB & RB is at fault and should be looked at very carefully by the programmers.

Remember that ASIO4ALL is not ASIO. It is a WDM driver with a wrapper to make it work as an ASIO driver would.

I am on a MAC now and using BIAB for MAC. On the PC I had the same problems for years. ASIO drivers for the ECHO and M-Audio soundcards didn't work. Same goes for ASIO4ALL. PG has known about these issues for many years and has chosen not to address them. Legacy code I suspect, that is too costly to redo. Best bet is to export your MIDI as fast as you can and bring it into your DAW. That is what I did.

Hi Cerio,

ASIO4ALL does work in Band-in-a-Box and RealBand, but there's often an extra step involved, which isn't obvious.

Basically, ASIO4ALL and the Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth don't get along, so if you have the Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth or the MIDI Mapper selected as your MIDI output driver, ASIO4ALL won't work, and you'll get that error message.

A lot of people don't have any other MIDI drivers available, so the easiest solution we've come up with is to install the LoopBe1 MIDI driver (which is free), and select is as your MIDI Output Driver. After restarting the program, you should be good.

You can get Loopbe1 from this page: http://nerds.de/en/download.html


Thanks
Kent
PG Music

What Kent is suggesting is what I was trying to say. Except for the latter part where you get another synth you don't use to make it work.

It has been that way for a long time.

Somehow the whole thing should go away at the hardware level.

Every time there is an update to the core parts of windows that deals with this it trips all kinds of people and their software.

People are quick to blame the software from PG music when it lacks the setting to run the Tassimo machine by tethering to an open blue tooth connection in another country. I suppose someday that will roast most vendors when the foam dissipates to quickly to decorate the smooth black liquid. Starbucks here I come, Ipad in hand. Or not.

I use MIDIYoke (versus LoopBe) to accomplish the same thing. ASIO4ALL works fine on my system.

Another example of why if you're getting into digital audio you need to read this and other forums to educate yourself about the world of computer nerddom. Nerddom? Is that a word?? Anyway, a lot of people will just say "all I want to do is play and create some music, I don't want to become a Windows expert". Well, you do if you want to keep doing this stuff.

Bob

When your computer is your instrument, you've got to learn how to use that instrument to play it well. Well said, Bob.

Hi, Kent, I've done what you said, and it works, thank you very much. It's strange, I was pretty sure that I could make it work without having to install an extra MIDI output port, but my memory can be wrong.

Anyway, I think PGMusic should change this behaviour, or at least adding the info you gave here to that error message: having no sound output at all (with MIDI or Audio tracks) because you MIDI Out port is incompatible with your ASIO drivers is somewhat strange and counterintutitive. I suspect that here's the origin of a lot of users' headaches!

It is human nature to suspect that a lot of people are having a certain problem that you are having, Cerio.

However, in this particular case, the reports from a single forum user, or even multiple forum users for that matter, likely only represents a fractional percentage of users' experience.

That said, if PGMusic Development Team can duplicate a certain problem on their machines and setups, that problem stands a good chance of getting fixed in future.

Certain perceived problems may also be related to the user's expectation of how something should work, or how they *think* it should work, as well.

And then there's the ever-present problem that MIDI alone can create for folks. We have so many choices as to MIDI synths and types, software or hardware, and not all creations are designed in exactly the same fashion, meaning that it is still going to be up to the End User to sort out the do's and don'ts and learn more about the situation at hand in order to make their music happen. Just how it is. Music making on home computers is still very much in a development phase, some day things might sort out to the point where it is a mature and rather fixed situation where we can count on the vast majority of programs, hardwares, softwares, plugins, etc. to always work in the same expected fashion, but those days are not upon us yet. Those days may also culminate in spelling the END of users even trying to do this thing, only time will tell.


--Mac

Mac, you made some interesting observations, and I can understand your points. However, I would like to clarify some things: I said that "I suspect that here's the origin of a lot of users' headaches!" for several reasons:

First of all, just because I've seen a lot of users reporting ASIO problems with BIAB or RB in this forum.

Second, because I've used Asio4all with other programs without any problem; the only audio program in wich I've experienced problems with that driver is BIAB, wich made me think that the problem was on the particular way that BIAB manages ASIO drivers.

Third, because I still really can't see how some incompatibility between your ASIO drivers and your MIDI Output (wich is by no means PG Music fault) can cause a a total lack of audio output from BIAB. Just before posting that message, I tested the problem in Reaper to see how things worked there: if you use Asio4all there and activate the Microsoft GS Wavetable as MIDI Output, the program will inform you that "The following MIDI Outputs could not be opened: Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth", but after that everything will just work without problems (of course, if you selected the Microsoft synth as a MIDI output for any track, it won't work). The logic here is: since that specific MIDI Output don't work, it won't be availiable. The logic on BIAB, as I see it (please, correct me if I'm wrong) is: since that MIDI output don't work, nothing will work (even if you're not using the problematic MIDI output).

Fourth, because I have some experience in the way people uses to think when trying to solve computer problems (I've worked troubleshooting computers for several years) and, in my opinion, it would be really difficult for the average user (or even for the advanced user) to solve this problem by himself: I think there are just not enough information on the error message and / or some pieces missing in the puzzle.

Fred and Cerio, a couple of points. First ASIO4ALL is NOT ASIO as Matt said. Think about that for a minute. When you say PG has problems with ASIO and then refer to some third party program you download for free off the internet and that program is not real ASIO, then that is not a fair statement. PG doesn't have problems with ASIO if the problem is with ASIO4ALL.

I use an EMU 1820M interface. It comes with EMU's ASIO driver. That is true ASIO and it works perfectly with PG products. I also have a Roland Sonic Cell, it also has it's own ASIO driver and it also works perfectly. Same with M-Audio and many others. Both EMU (now owned by Creative) and Roland are very large companies, their stuff ain't cheap and their stuff works perfectly. See a pattern here? If your interface doesn't come with it's own ASIO driver and yet you need ASIO why did you buy it? I suggest you dump it and get one that does and don't complain because some freebie you download that isn't even true ASIO and PG had nothing to do with doesn't work.

Note I'm using a modern robust machine. If you're using some 10 year old antique computer and complaining about stuff like this, that ain't PG's problem either. The Help box in the audio setup window talks about how ASIO is CPU intensive so you're going to have problems with an old, slow PC.

I agree with the comment those error boxes need work but that's another issue.

Bob

Jazzmammal, you're right when you say that Asio4All is not ASIO, sorry for that. Other than that, it seems (with all my respects) that you haven't read my previous post: Asio4All (wich is not a "freebie", but a serious and very widely used ASIO driver, btw) works perfectly well with other programs, at least in my system, and it seems (I gave the arguments in that post, but of course I can be wrong) that the problem is due to the way BIAB handles ASIO drivers and MIDI Out ports.

Anyway, the solution given by Kent works, it solved my problem and it's a good workaround. If PGMusic decide to address this issue on future versions, I'll be happy; if not, I'll be happy too. In the meanwhile I'm not going to dump my lovely Alesis Multimix, it works really well and I'm very happy with it too!

PS: Yes, I'm using a modern computer (Core i7, lots of RAM...), I'm up to date, etc, etc, etc...

Cerio, you're happy now and that's great. In fact you have a much better system than I do and mine is pretty good. Still, you start out by saying you agree that ASIO4ALL is not really ASIO then you go on to say:

Quote:

---

ASIO4ALL(wich is not a "freebie", but a serious and very widely used ASIO driver, btw)

---

and

Quote:

---

the problem is due to the way BIAB handles ASIO drivers and MIDI Out ports.

---

We're not talking about a real ASIO driver. ASIO4ALL is NOT ASIO and yes it's a freebie, did you pay for it? And, with one simple tweak from Kent everything is good so where's the problem?

I think your problem is with the blurb on Alesis' website describing your Multimix. It's missing one important thing and that is their own ASIO driver. So, what do they do? They put a link to ASIO4ALL and say this: "ASIO4ALL - optional ASIO driver for Windows..." That sounds nice doesn't it? Completely deceiving because it sounds like it's a real ASIO driver that will work with the Multimix. Not so, it's a freebie third party piece of software that usually works ok but no guarantees. That Multimix is causing just as many problems with lots of users as you think PG and ASIO is. I just did a Google search using the words "alesis multimix asio problems" and posts come up from all over the place. Check it out yourself.

The thing is any company is responsible for what they advertise. PG says they're compatible with ASIO and they have been for the last several years now. I admit they were not so great at it 5 years ago. I had a problem with ASIO with my old machine but with my new one, everything is perfect.

If you or anybody else reading this thinks PG has a problem with a real, legitimate ASIO driver post it and we can discuss it. However, in my opinion anyway, if somebody is using a machine more than say 6 years old, don't bother. Of course there's always exceptions with anything (look at Ryszrd's nightmare with his brand new custom built PC) but I'll bet real ASIO works fine for 95% of the users who understand how to set it up properly.

Bob