User Manual

Do not use an unpowered USB hub
Unpowered USB hubs may not be able to provide enough power to the SoftStep, leading to
connectivity issues. Unpowered hubs typically divide the power coming from the computer’s
USB port and split it into each of the hub’s ports —!providing less power than if the SoftStep
were to be directly connected to the computer’s USB port.
If a USB hub is absolutely necessary, always use a powered hub.
Try without a USB hub
If experiencing connectivity issues while using a USB hub, try without the hub and plug directly
into the computer’s USB port. This may potentially lead to a proper connection.
Be aware of bugs native to the operating system being used
While it is indeed possible the SoftStep may be the source of issues, sometimes the cause is
actually due to the operating system itself. Always be aware of these issues, like the Mac OS
CoreMIDI bug or the Windows class-compliant device limitation.
Connect to a different computer
If the SoftStep is not making a connection to the computer at all, it is recommended to try
connecting it to a different computer. If it works on the new computer, try the original one
again. In some circumstances we have seen this solve connection issues.
Mac OS CoreMIDI “bug”
There is an interesting (potential) bug in CoreMIDI on Mac OS that can lead to some connectivity
issues —!not just with SoftStep, but with any class-compliant MIDI device.
Upon connecting the SoftStep (or any class-compliant MIDI device) for the first time since
powering up the computer, the SoftStep will make a proper connection to the computer but will
not refresh/update the MIDI device list.
The effect of this is that any audio/MIDI applications that are already open (like the SoftStep
editors, Ableton, Logic, etc.) will not detect the SoftStep, even though it’s properly connected to
the computer. The only way to get the MIDI device list to refresh is to unplug then reconnect the
controller, or to manually refresh the MIDI devices by rescanning MIDI in the Audio MIDI Setup
application (located in /Applications/Utilities).
What’s interesting is that this behavior does not occur if it is the first time the controller has ever
been connected to the computer. It seems that when the MIDI device is created in Audio MIDI
Setup the device list gets refreshed, but if the device already exists in Audio MIDI Setup the list
does not refresh.
Whether or not this behavior is intentional and expected, it is something to be aware of. We have
noticed it on Mac OS 10.6 through 10.9. The one thing to do to minimize the chances of running
into this “bug” is...
Appendix 78