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Old 11-23-2022, 07:49 PM   #1
newooly
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Default All MIDI notes have gone wonky, please help

I have no idea what I did to cause this, but today all of my midi notes are suddenly ~3/4 of a step flat. For example, if I play C, then the frequency which comes out is right at the edge of a very sharp A#, or a really flat B. Every note on the keyboard has the same effect, same results with MIDI that was recorded previously or live-tracked, same result when played on my keyboard or programmed manually in piano roll view, same result with different VST instruments. I unplugged my keyboard/controller and disabled it as a midi device thinking that a faulty pitch wheel was sending a permanently "bent" signal, but no change. I've started new sessions, I've opened up old ones, I even reset reaper to factory defaults, no change. I recorded some "real" instruments and they come through in tune, the rest of the signal chain is apparently fine, its just everything midi. Its like there is a permanent setting in the software that is pitch shifting every midi note down ~3/4 step before sending it to the VST instrument. I'm stumped, please help. Thanks in advance to all you brilliant people who know the deep secrets of this software.

Last edited by newooly; 11-23-2022 at 07:50 PM. Reason: Typos
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Old 11-23-2022, 07:52 PM   #2
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What VSTi software instruments are you using?

Last edited by Tod; 11-23-2022 at 08:34 PM.
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Old 11-23-2022, 07:57 PM   #3
newooly
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I'm mostly using cakewalk rapture, but also tried a few freeware VST instruments like EVM grand piano, got the same effect.
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Old 11-23-2022, 08:31 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by newooly View Post
I'm mostly using cakewalk rapture, but also tried a few freeware VST instruments like EVM grand piano, got the same effect.
Have you checked your "Playback Rate"? It's located at the end of the Transport Bar.

It should be 1.00000.
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Old 11-23-2022, 09:02 PM   #5
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The play back rate is set at 1.0000, but I've happened upon another interesting development. If I drag and drop any song onto a track in Reaper, lets say a 5:00:00 long mp3 file from any artist, then it shows up in Reaper at exactly 5:00:00, the length its supposed to be, but when playing it back its pitch is shifted down about the same amount as the midi. So the problem doesn't seem to be exclusively an issue with midi.
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Old 11-23-2022, 09:23 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by newooly View Post
The play back rate is set at 1.0000, but I've happened upon another interesting development. If I drag and drop any song onto a track in Reaper, lets say a 5:00:00 long mp3 file from any artist, then it shows up in Reaper at exactly 5:00:00, the length its supposed to be, but when playing it back its pitch is shifted down about the same amount as the midi. So the problem doesn't seem to be exclusively an issue with midi.
Try increasing you project BPM to see what happens. Probably nothing but just to see.
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Old 11-23-2022, 09:26 PM   #7
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Yes, I messed around with bpm setting also, the length of the tracks naturally changes, but the pitch does not.
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Old 11-23-2022, 09:34 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by newooly View Post
Yes, I messed around with bpm setting also, the length of the tracks naturally changes, but the pitch does not.
Okay, check your project settings, it it's set up for Beat or Beats only change them to "Time". This is also to see what happens.
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Old 11-23-2022, 09:37 PM   #9
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Also check the Item Properties of the MP3, select the MP3 then click on F2. See what the Playback rate is.
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Old 11-23-2022, 10:07 PM   #10
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Also check your sample rates match
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Old 11-23-2022, 10:23 PM   #11
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I changed all the timebase settings from beats to time, no difference. MP3 playback rate is 1.0000. All of the sample rate settings match at 44.1 kHz. I tried to uninstall/reinstall reaper, no difference.
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Old 11-23-2022, 10:35 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by newooly View Post
I changed all the timebase settings from beats to time, no difference. MP3 playback rate is 1.0000. All of the sample rate settings match at 44.1 kHz. I tried to uninstall/reinstall reaper, no difference.
So to put this into perspective, the midi playback from your VSTi instruments play flat and any audio files you drag in also play flat.

Try starting a new Reaper file and see if the audio you drag in is also flat. Maybe you've don this already?
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Old 11-24-2022, 07:42 AM   #13
newooly
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Default Success!

Spoiler alert, the problem is solved. But first, lets summarize where things stood. All MIDI notes, regardless of how they were recorded/imported, played flat on any virtual instrument (the frequency heard was ~10% lower than the note played). Drag and drop any commercial mp3 file into the session, same problem, the whole thing was pitch shifted flat. But record any audio source in the project and play it back, then no problem, in tune. Starting a new project or opening an old one yielded the same result. Seemed like it was a sample rate mismatch, how else could audio recorded in the project be fine while midi tracks and imported mp3 were not? Yet, all of my sample rate settings in Reaper and audio interface control app were the same, 44.1 kHz all the way around.

In Reaper preferences, I switched Audio System from ASIO to WASAPI, and things were in tune, except it created new periodic crackle noise artifacts in the midi playback. So I switched back to ASIO and, on a whim, checked the box "Request sample rate:" at 44100 Hz. Voila, everything is fixed. Why did changing that global preference fix everything when my audio interface and project settings were both at 44.1 kHz anyway, and how that preference get messed up in the first place, beats me. But obviously I'm happy to have my music back.

My suspicion is that something glitched out in my 10-year-old Echo AudioFire interface and changing that setting kicked it back into the right sample rate, might be time to upgrade my interface.

Thanks to everyone for their help.
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Old 11-24-2022, 12:00 PM   #14
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Glad you got it fixed newooly, I would have never thought of that.
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