MIDI I/O head melt

So I’ve finally got around to setting up my hardware in a permanent space after a long period as a nomad (hurrah!). However I’m struggling to achieve what I want with my midi setup and would really appreciate some help. This is how things are set up at the moment with all instruments set up for midi thru (except my Octatrack which is going MIDI out) to allow clock and sequencing from my DAW.

Laptop Interface Midi Out:>DSI Temptest>OT>DX200>Juno106>Minibrute>DSI Tetra>Volca FM
Laptop Interface MIDI In: Midi OUT from Juno 106.

I thought with this configuration I could A. sequence from my DAW and B. use the midi out from the Juno into the midi in on the interface interface > then arm a track in my DAW and then send that to the midi out of the interface which would allow me to play any bit of hardware from the one keyboard.

However when I try A. I get nothing and B. play the juno and send back out of the interface I’m getting nothing from my hardware! I’m missing something crucial here but it’s been so long since I’ve been at this my head is, frankly, melting.

I apologize if I’m underestimating your experience with MIDI but have you set the MIDI tracks in your DAW to specific channel numbers corresponding to those that are set on your gear?

I would advise you to try sequencing just one instrument from your DAW until you are fully aware of what is going on. Just choose one and we can help you troubleshoot.

Which DAW are you using and which interface?

Not at all, thanks for your reply. I tried sending to all channels and specific channels from Reaper. The interface is working fine from what I can tell as it’s sending out clock when I hit space bar. Could it be perhaps that because I have the Tempest (first in the chain) sending midi thru that it’s not sending midi info other than clock to everything after? My OT is second in the chain and via midi out is sequencing everything after it perfectly fine.

So this points to the interface or the Tempest.

What interface are you using? How do you know that it is sending out MIDI clock?

Does the Tempest actually have MIDI Thru capability (for anything other than MIDI clock)?

What MIDI clock mode are you using on the Tempest? What MIDI In channel and Synth In channel have you set?

I’m using an Edirol FA66. When I hit play on the transport of Reaper is starts the sequence on the tempest and OT. Changes in tempo in the DAW also correspond with the hardware.

The Tempest has thru. I have it set up in ‘Slave thru’ mode. This excerpt from the manual explains:
In Slave Thru mode, Tempest syncs to MIDI clock and forwards incoming
MMC and clock messages to the MIDI Out port.

The midi clock I’m using on the tempest is the Edirol. Everything is clocked off that. It’s set up as Midi channel one, the OT is 2, DX200 is 3 and so on.

OK I just plugged the midi out from the interface into the OT (2nd link in hardware chain) instead of the Tempest and the other pieces of hardware are now receiving signal! I’m now running the midi thru into the tempest and everything seems to be working exactly how I’d like. Thanks for your help my friend!

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