Midi for Rodgers

[Jhall]

Hi Everyone,
I acquired a Rodgers 602I organ from a church (for free)! According to the church, they purchased it in 1996. It is equipped with Midi.

I've recently tried to connect the organ to Hauptwerk and GrandOrgue - with both I have a similar issue where once a key is pressed on the manual, it sustains and does not release. I also cannot get HW to recognize the pedals. Any suggestions?

[j reimer]

A starting point would be to use Midi-Ox to identify the midi messages coming from your Rogers.

[jbird604]

The MIDI on a 602 should be reliable. That is almost exactly the same organ as the Rodgers 580 I used to have, but with the bar graphs. The MIDI OUT on my 580 worked just fine with various VPO programs I was experimenting with, as I recall, once I got HW configured for it.

Keep in mind that Rodgers organs can send MIDI data out on two simultaneous channels, one "switched" and one not switched. For example, the Great may transmit on channels 1 and 11, I think. You don't want your VPO to be listening to both of those. Since you want the VPO to play all the time, not just when you have the MIDI couplers engaged, you need to do your configuring of the VPO with the MIDI couplers turned OFF. That way, the program will only be receiving the "always on" MIDI channels. Failure to do this might result in stuck notes or any other number of malfunctions.

Hardware faults can also cause stuck notes, so check to make sure your MIDI plugs are firmly seated into the jacks on both ends. I'd also recommend that you only use ONE cable -- from the organ's MIDI OUT to the computer's MIDI IN. If you connect both, there is always the chance for a feedback loop, even though the software may be set to block that.

You could also have a bad MIDI cable, so try a different one if possible. If your MIDI cable is permanently attached to the USB adapter (as most are), you can't swap it out of course. But try connecting it to some other MIDI keyboard and see if it receives properly from that device. That will tell you if the cable or the USB device might be at fault.

[Jhall]

Hi John,

Thank you for your reply and all of the information.

I tired to configure with the midi switches off on the console, but still have the same issues. Once I note is played, it sustains. Also, it seems to sometimes play in the incorrect octave (not consistently) or play multiple notes. I will check on getting a new midi to usb plug (although this one was purchased new).

[Admin]

There are many reports on this Forum, and on others, regarding the quality of MIDI-To-USB adaptors. The overwhelming consensus is that the cheap no-name brands from China are junk and unreliable. Sticky and missed notes are frequently inherent problems with these units. The Roland UM-ONE-MK2 is universally recommended as a quality dependable choice for this purpose. There's a reason that it costs two or more times than the cheap crap.

[Jhall]

Thank you, I've ordered one. I'll update when it arrives!

Jonathan