MPC One: ext MIDI controller doesn't produce sound

For one particular project, the external MIDI controller doesn't produce any sound from drums or plugins programs. The indicator on top of the screen shows MIDI events are received, MIDI monitor shows events are coming in on channel 1, but no sound is produced. At the same time, pads work, and the project plays fine. In other, pre 2.10.1 upgrade, projects everything works. This is the first project I've created since upgrade to 2.10.1, and also first which uses plugins and samples from an external USB drive. Also, a few times (but not always) I got "Your MPC recovered from an internal error" while opening this particular project. How can I rescue my project?

My setup is: standalone MPC One v. 2.10.1, 4 ports USB hub in USB port, in this hub I have 500G SSD drive (where all the new plugins, expansions and samples are) and Arturia Microlab.

Plugging the keyboard out and in again doesn't help too. Restarting doesn't help. Opening a different project that works, and then the problematic project again doesn't help. Resetting the preferences didn't help.

Update:
When I created a copy of this project, and changed all drum and plugin programs to the internal ones (not from USB drive), everything began working normally. So looks like there's a bug related to programs from USB drive.

But I need my sweet sounds from the USB drive back!

Update 2:
Copying the content of USB drive to SD card and trying to open the project from SD card didn't change anything. Running out of ideas.

Update 3
What seems to resolve the issue for me:

1. Save the problematic project under a different name
2. In the new copy, change all programs to built in ones and save
3. Confirm MIDI events now produce sounds
4. Change the programs back to original ones from the USB drive
5. Confirm MIDI events still produce sounds
6. Save

Still a very frustrating experience.

Update:
Believe it or not, two days later it happened again, with a continuation of the same project. I was fiddling with track automation and pad mix, when I realized external MIDI events no longer produce sounds. So frustrated now.

Click the settings gear, then click midi on the left side. then make sure "track" is selected in order to control plugins via your controller.

There are 3 options, sync, track and master. That is because you can configure multiple controllers to control different levels of the system via midi. Like clock sync, playing individual instruments or controlling master params.

Ultros wrote:Click the settings gear, then click midi on the left side. then make sure "track" is selected in order to control plugins via your controller.

Yes, all set to track, always were, never touched it. Also, as I understand, preferences are not project-specific. Yet, the same project intermittently loses the ability to produce the sound triggered by a note from the external controller. Yesterday it was working fine, today it doesn't. Previous version of the same project, saved under a separate name, works fine. I also made sure didn't use any mute or level automation in this project.

So, I conclude this doesn't solve the problem, unfortunately. So, seems to be a bug, with no reliable workaround.

Does the hardware have a 2.10.1 firmware upgrade? I thought that was just the software. Is your USB hub powered by an external PSU? I wouldn't trust anything running from the USB power, especially other drives. I'd suggest ditching the idea of running off a USB drive, keeping USB to controllers only. Even on desktop PC, unpowered USB hubs are notorious for weird shit and dropouts.

With 2.10.1, unless a track is armed for recording, only the pads produce sounds, but not the external keyboard. When you arm it, both work. And when you open a project, nothing is armed, hence no sound from the external keyboard.

I know this one is kind of old but I was wondering if you ever got a fox to this. I’m having the same issue and it’s not the first time it’s happened. I have 2 controllers hooked up and neither work. If I start up a new project the controllers work just fine. I’m thinking it might be a specific plug-in that throws it for a loop or something. Very weird. I’m not using USB, I always save to documents as well as an SD card, but neither work.

I think it's unlikely to be related to the disk location as once it's loaded into memory, the MPC couldn't care less where the project is stored, and MIDI settings generally won't care. Seems like it's just a random bug, most likely related to track settings. No idea what it might be though.

As always, thank you for the quick reply.

So I'm going to assume you mean synths as midi controllers don't have onboard synthesis, or sampling.

The other option you could possibly mean is that your midi controller is not triggering midi instruments within the MPC and you aren't getting sound from either a plugin instrument a keygroup, or a drum program.

Assuming you mean you have another synth connected to the mpc, besides arming the track you need to set the monitor selector on merge also or you won't hear audio through the MPC either.

If that's not the case I don't know what it could be then.

The OP's problem, in 2021, was not having the right tracks record armed and/or monitoring settings were wrong.