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Windows 10 Bluetooth

Hi,

I just wanted to pass along my experience using the CME widi bud for connecting my Seaboard block to my Asus Win 10 notebook which is running the Equator Player and Strobe2 as VSTs in Cantabile2.


It does work and I am pleased. HOWEVER..... it will choke if you play more than 3 notes keyed at the same time. This causes hanging notes. An "all Off notes midi command will clear them. Also, in most cases playing the key again will clear the hung note. 


Normally this would be a no brainer deal breaker for me.

However the Seaboard block is SOOOO.... expressive that I may live with it,

In my particular case I need the wireless connectivity.


I have other wireless widi products (not bluetooth) which I have used for years.

I originally found info about the widi bud with Roli in a KVR audio forum.


If anyone knows of a better solution short of converting my setup to Apple please contact me.

Best Answer

Hi Bruce,


Thanks for sharing your findings. Because of similar bandwidth issues BLOCKS and Seaboards aren't officially supported via MIDI-over-Bluetooth on Windows, and so we recommend connecting via USB.


Another creator has also had some success using a workaround to connect via MIDI-over-Bluetooth on Windows; see this video.


Red

18 CommentsSorted by Oldest First

I just wanted to add that my Asus Win10 notebook had NO bluetooth at all.

All of the bluetooth comm is located in the widi bud.

Not a bad device even though if it could handle more data that would be cool.

It does handle of the MPE info until you key more than 3 notes at a time.

Thanks for listening

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Answer

Hi Bruce,


Thanks for sharing your findings. Because of similar bandwidth issues BLOCKS and Seaboards aren't officially supported via MIDI-over-Bluetooth on Windows, and so we recommend connecting via USB.


Another creator has also had some success using a workaround to connect via MIDI-over-Bluetooth on Windows; see this video.


Red

Hey there!

The workaround looks very interesting, I looked at the video and tried it myself, but with a Seaboard Rise 49. Windows finds it but it asks a pin code to pair the device. I googled it and it seems it's something Microsoft introduced in the Creators update (version 1803) and it's impossible to skip it... It's very frustrating cause I'd like to try if it's worth it. I tried 0000, 1111, 1234 but nothing worked :( Do you have any idea what the pin code could be?

The guy on the video didn't have to enter a pin to connect the Blocks so he does not know what it can be...

I also have the exact some pairing situation as described by Stéphane above. Win10 finds and attempts to connect to the RISE 49 but then asks for a pin which I have been unable to guess.

The CME Widi Bud used to work perfectly with my Seaboard Block except for occasional hanging notes. I stopped using it wirelessly because of that but I was able to use 10 fingers with all the expression features enabled and everything was smooth. I just saw in the changelog of the new Seaboard firmware that the stuck notes over bluetooth were fixed so I gave it another try and now only 2-3 notes can be played at most and I can't send a single note properly without a direct line of sight between the two devices! I changed computer since then, updated Windows 10 and updated the firmware of the Widi Bud and Seaboard a couple of times so I got no way of knowing what is causing this.


I know it's not caused by the latest Seaboard firmware because I noticed it before I launched the dashboard to update it but it could be caused by an older firmware upgrade. My guess would be the new firmware on the Widi Bud but could also be caused by almost anything.


I haven't been able to downgrade the Widi firmware so someone would have to try it on theirs with the version 1.1 or 1.2

it took far too much creative googling, but Bluetooth low energy (bluetooth smart) also supports 6 digit pins, and all six digit of zero is a commonly used default pin. i just tried it from my Android phone, and to my surprise, success!

Hey Peter,

Thanks for your answer! I tried immediately after I received the notification and it didn't work for me (tried 000000, 111111, 123456, all failed). What do you mean when you say you tried with your Android Phone ?


It would be great to have an answer from Roli but the topic is marked as "answered" so I don't know if they even read our recent exchanges :/ 

Hi Stéphane, I certainly understand how helpful it would be to have MIDI-over-Bluetooth supported on Windows. As Windows' implementation is currently not robust enough for us to officially support it, I'm not able to offer more specific advice. We'll continue to do what we can on our end while we hope to see a more robust performance from Windows' implementation.

stéphanie, i used a bluetooth low energy tool on my Android phone to first connect to and then bind (pair) with the rise. prior to my realizing that the pin is 6 zeros, i could only connect but not bind. i tried the only known working synth on Android that can properly use ble midi, as well as an app that presents a midi device over Bluetooth to Android, and i was able to play the synth on my phone, just to prove concept. i can't quite imagine why this wouldn't have worked identically for you in windows unless the firmware version on our devices differ somewhat and this behavior is no longer the same (i actually haven't yet been in a situation where i could update my finesse revision). roli, from my perspective, not responding with such trivial details about the device's design such as the default pairing pin simply make you seem standoffish and intentionally unhelpful, which certainly cannot be your intent. granted i grabbed this information from public Bluetooth specifications, but certainly if a developer had been asked, they'd disclose this information from memory as they surely most know this detail but heart...

I purchased an aptx Bluetooth 4.0 dongle for my pc and followed a video similar to this one. I did not have to enter a pin while connecting my device via the following path:


Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network Connections


Simply double-click Bluetooth > Add Device > and turn on the Seaboard Block


Click video.


Windows 10 64 Bit

Mixcraft 8

Cypher 2 VST Software


I pinned both MidiBerry and LoopMidi to my taskbar and keep them open while running my DAW. To date, I haven't experienced latency while fiddling around and have even recorded successfully.


I hope this helps others. I almost returned this before pausing a second to try Bluetooth as my computer lacked it. Find out the charging port doesn't send info wasn't fun.

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Midiberry and normal bluetooth is also what I ended up using since the widibud stopped working. Works perfectly, only inconvenience is that you have to start it up and select the right devices each time you want to use the seaboard wirelessly. @Philip The usb c port should be sending data directly though, that's how I use the seaboard block most of the time

midiberry solution would be great but no "default passcodes" are working on win 10 for me, including 000000,

please devs what IS the passcode for this device?

no support needed, just the freedom to try even if its not as robust as you the developers, feel it should be.

afterall, maybe a policy of allowing the person who owns the devicet o be free to choose and fail if need be  would be welcomed:)

I just realized that after buying my Seaboard RISE 49 and a Bluetooth dongle for my PC to pickup the seaboard that there is no PIN to connect it. I am a PC user and plan on bringing this to stage but it sucks that I might be forced to use a MAC. Please help

Hi Alex, 


It's out of hands, unfortunately. We hope to see better MIDI-over-Bluetooth functionality from Microsoft for Windows in the future, and in the meantime we recommend connecting via USB.

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