https://www.motunation.com/forum/viewto ... 53#p253653
As the MOTU MIDI Express 128 does not have an internal battery, I am wondering what happens when Apple Audio MIDI Setup encounters several MOTU MIDI Express 128 interfaces? Does anyone have any experience of such a set-up? I get the impression that, when using identical battery-less MOTU interfaces, the same problems that dog the PC will surface on the Mac.
From my own efforts, I know that configuring multiple MOTU MIDI Express 128 interfaces is a nightmare on Windows, as the USB port enumeration is volatile on start-up. The host DAW frequently ends up with say, interface 2 assigned to where interface 4 should be and vice-versa, and often things end up more jumbled than that. This is hopeless, as the DAW has no way of knowing that the unit assignments have shifted, and dumbly connects to this new ordering of interfaces, assuming it to be the same as previously configured.
Does Audio MIDI Setup on the Mac fare any better with multiple identical MOTU MIDI interfaces that have no battery? I can’t see how it can work its magic and remember the hardware assignments without establishing some kind of identifier for each unit that survives a shutdown. And with no battery within the interface to allow the storing of this identifier, then this seems unlikely.
I maybe wrong, if so, please tell me I am, but presumably battery-less devices on the Mac will behave the same as Windows, which just sees lots of the same device and has no way of determining which is which, as the USB Vendor Identifier (VID) and Product Identifier (PID) are identical for each interface. As far as I can tell, there’s no facility to embed identifying information unique to each device that survives a shutdown. Hence, there’s nothing to discriminate between identical devices on start-up to replicate the previous order of MIDI interfaces.
If being bettery-less means that Audio MIDI Setup has no way of storing a unique identifier when using multiple MOTU Express 128 interfaces, then I'm guessing that random hardware assignments blight the Mac too. Does anyone know for sure?
I ask because a MOTU Tech recommended getting a Mac to resolve the assignment problem in Windows – buy another computer, stellar advice, right? But I can’t see how this would make any difference. Indeed, I’m assuming that he’s thinking about how the Mac behaves with multiple MIDI Express XT interfaces, which feature the all-important battery, as covered in Magic Dave’s enlightening post.
If Audio MIDI Setup has some additional tricks up its sleeve to a enable reliable configuration with multiple battery-less MOTU MIDI interfaces, then I’d be very interested to learn more. However, postings on Gearslutz and some older ones here complain of random assignments on the Mac using several MOTU Express 128 interfaces, so if this problem affects both Mac and Windows, then there is little incentive to change platforms.
For me, the only workaround that delivers stability on Windows 10 is to use a USB hub with individual port switching. With the computer booted up and ready, power the MOTU MIDI Express 128 interfaces up in an orderly sequence, with a 30 second gap between devices and, with any luck, you will end up with the desired configuration. Your mileage may vary. Indeed, there’s a load more I could say about that workaround but it’ll keep. And if Macs are similarly affected, I would expect the same approach to work.
The question of reilability with multiple MOTU MIDI interfaces may not appear on MOTUnation that often because it’s assumed to be fairly uncommon – everyone uses virtual instruments, right? I’m not so sure, and I’m more inclined to think that those with multiple interfacing are likely to have professional leanings and will contact MOTU directly for tech support, where they are likely to be told: buy a Mac buy a hub or buy a multiple MOTU Express XTs instead, which is expensive and wasteful.
Of course, there may be many MOTU MIDI Express 128 users who simply suffer in silence or others who have a mix of MIDI interfaces, possibly different brands, and don’t encounter these issues. We can never know for sure. Still, it is an ongoing issue and the fact remains that MOTU marketing continues to claim that using multiple MIDI Express 128 interfaces is easy to configure on macOS and Windows:
https://motu.com/products/MIDI/128Expansion - MOTU MIDI interfaces grow with you. Expansion is simple. Add additional MIDI ports by plugging in another MOTU MIDI interface.
It should really read: Add additional MIDI ports by plugging in another MOTU MIDI interface EVERY TIME you start up and make sure you do it at the right time and in the right order.
Experience of the MOTU Express 128 suggests that this claim amounts to misinformation (certainly for Windows, and most likely for the Mac too, which is why I'm writing this, I want to know) and the statement should be withdrawn, or better still, the issue should be remedied. I’m not being too serious here but it might wake the company up a bit if there was a hint of class action law suit on this matter. Perhaps then we might get close to finding out how many of us out there are using multiple identical battery-less MOTU MIDI interfaces and have to live with this unstable port assignment drudgery, all because we believed a company that sold us devices that fail to deliver on its marketing promise.
