Hi All, Long time Motif user, first time poster. 

So, here’s a tough one to figure out.  I’m the original owner of my Motif 6 Classic and I’ve used it over the years in my studio to one degree or another.  But I never tried the ThruPort functionality until now.  The ThruPort allows Midi sent from a DAW via USB to be output to the 5pin Midi Out connection on the back of the Motif.  I can select one of the 8 Motif Midi ports in my DAW as a Midi destination.  I chose port 8.  And set the ThruPort on the Motif to 8.  This, combined with the default routings in the USB driver control panel software on the PC, does indeed route Midi as expected.

Probem I’m having is I think I’ve found a bug.  Not sure if its in the Yamaha USB driver sofware or in the Motif firmware.  I’ve tested thoroughly and I’m not a Midi newb.

Using separate keyboard/pads from among the many controllers in my studio, I can play one note at a time from the DAW to the Motif via USB and out the 5pin Midi Out, no problem.  The receiving Midi device connected to the 5pin Midi Out of the Motif indeed receives a Note On and corresponding Note Off as expected.  But if I play more than one note simultaneously (say three notes), only one of those Note Ons will be followed by the corresponding Note Off upon releasing the keys.  The other two Note Ons are followed by another set of two Note Ons instead of Note Offs, which of course results in hanging notes.  Now, if I play each of those hanging notes one at a time, a proper Note Off will be output and the hanging notes stop.

After testing with various devices I attached my iPad to the Motif 5pin Midi Out running an app called Midi Monitor.  Thats how I determined the errant Note Ons.  The errant Note Ons are always at velocity of 64 (instead of 0 as they should be).

So, anyways, I feel confident that I’m not doing anything incorrectly to cause this issue.  But, please, tell me if I am.  I’ve searched these forums and found no mention of the issue.  I’d be surprised if noone’s run into this.

My Motif firmware, USB firmware & USB driver software are all up to date.

My suggestion is to use Ports 2, 3, or 4 for your external device.

Not sure what the issue is but even if it were a bug, there is no hope of getting a fix. The Motif (classic) is now officially ten years discontinued - not that it came out ten years ago, it’s been a non-current product for ten full years now. It came out twelve years ago.

Given the changes in computer operating systems ...changes concerning music, port 8 may indeed be amiss, but I bet 2, 3 and 4 work fine… And since there is no good reason to use 8 over port 4 why would you?

Windows 98 was out when the Motif came out! just FYI… What OS are you running. I’m so sure it is because your software is up to date that is the problem… If you were still running 2001 hardware/software it would probably work… But you are almost bridging back to the last Century!
:-)

Legally Yamaha could have stopped carrying replacement parts for the Motif classic three years ago (but that is not how we roll, we still have DX7 stuff)… Just a reality check… Expect computers to treat your old hardware differently… Unlike MIDI the computer companies did not get it right initially, and they have been tweaking things ever since! Trust me!

Also your problem could be many other things including a faulty cable, or illegal extension… But try port 4, let us know. Illogical behavior as you describe can happen when your cable is too long, you are inserting extensions, you have an under powered hub, etc., etc.,

Thanks for the quick response.  You are clearly a treasured resource. 

I did try other port numbers, but not sure if I tried port 4.  I will go ahead and try that just for the heck of it, but I’m not hopeful. 

Perhaps you’re right that its an issue with new tech talking to old tech.  But the driver does support Windows 7 according to Yamaha… and if the data arriving at the Motif over USB is correct (ie Note Ons followed by proper Note Offs) then that would suggest the Motif has had this issue all along.  But, of course, I dont expect official support/bugfixes for this product considering its age, just thought I’d check if it was a known issue with known solutions.

I’ll try Port 4 and post back… Thanks Again!!

No joy on port 4.  Oh well, not gonna spend any more time on it.