PowerTracks Pro Audio for Windows: No Sound / MIDI Driver Setup

If you don't hear anything when you try to play a song in PowerTracks Pro Audio, here is what to do:

First, identify if it is MIDI or Audio (or both) that you are not hearing. If you aren't sure, you can open demo songs located in the PowerTracks folder to test this. For example, the file "Impromptu.seq" contains only MIDI data, while the file "Rock.wav" contains only audio (wave) data.

If MIDI playback is the problem, it may be a MIDI driver setup issue, you may have your MIDI cables connected incorrectly, or you may have MIDI muted in the Volume/Play Control window.

If Audio playback is the problem, the issue is most likely the Volume/Play Control window, or you have the wrong audio driver selected. More details follow...

Last updated:  Thursday, 08 November 2018

Check that your speakers are turned on and connected properly.

If you don't hear any sound on your computer at all, check that your speakers are turned on and connected to the correct jack on your sound card.

Check your MIDI Driver Setup.

In PowerTracks, go to Options | MIDI Devices to open the MIDI Driver Setup dialog.

The column on the left is the Input column. This is where you select the device you want the MIDI info to be recorded from. If you want to record from an external MIDI synthesizer, you would select (XX)MIDI IN, your MIDI interface, or the MPU-401 driver (XX would be the name of your sound card).

The column on the right is the Output column. This is where you select where you want to hear the sound being played from. If you want to hear sound from your internal sound card (through your computer speakers), you would select: (XX)MIDI Synth, Microsoft GS Wavetable, Roland VSC, or anything except (XX)MIDI Out, the MPU-401 driver, or your MIDI interface (Again, XX would be the name of your sound card). If you are sending the MIDI information away from your computer to an external sound source such as a MIDI synthesizer or sound module, you would select (XX)MIDI Out, your MIDI interface or the MPU-401 compatible driver.

Note: The drivers that you see in your MIDI Input and Output columns depend on your specific computer/sound card setup. If you are still not sure which drivers to select, you may need to experiment a little.

PowerTracks Pro Audio 9 and higher support DXi synthesizers, and version 11 and higher support VSTi. You can select the 'Re-route MIDI playback to default DXi synth' item in the MIDI Driver Setup dialog to have all of your tracks play through a single DXi or VSTi synth, or you can assign the synths to each track independently. See the FAQ pages for more help with this (e.g. "Using DXi/VSTi synths"). If you are using a DXi/VSTi synth, make sure that in the DirectX Plugins window, your synth is selected and set up correctly. If you do not want to use a DXi/VSTi synth, make sure that the 'Re-route MIDI playback to default DXi synth' box is unchecked.

Check the Windows mixer to make sure you don't have anything muted.

Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP

Open the Volume or Play Control Window by either double-clicking on the speaker icon in your taskbar if one is present, or by going to Start | Programs | Accessories | Entertainment | Volume Control. Make sure that you do not have one of the following devices muted: Play/Volume Control, MIDI, Synthesizer, Synth, FM Synth, Mixed Output, Stereo Out, Stereo Mix, Wave, Wave Out, or something similar. It would be good to un-mute everything for troubleshooting purposes. Check the volume levels as well to make sure that none of the sliders are set really low.

Note: Specifically which controls you see in your Volume control window depends on what kind of sound card you have. You can choose which devices to have displayed in the Volume Control window by going to the Options menu and selecting Properties. Then, below where it says "Show the following volume controls", select all of the devices that you want displayed and press OK.

Windows Vista

Make sure PowerTracks is open. Then, open the Volume or Play Control Window by right-clicking on the speaker icon in your taskbar and selecting 'Mixer'. Make sure that you have both the master volume control on the left, and the PowerTracks application volume control, turned up and not muted.

Check that your audio drivers are selected correctly.

If you are using a DXi, VSTi, or stand-alone software synth for MIDI output, the sound is routed through the audio portion of your sound card. This means that if you don't have the correct audio driver selected, there will be no sound. Normally this is only an issue if you have more than one sound card installed on your computer. There are two places you can choose your audio drivers:

• In PowerTracks: Options | Preferences | Audio | [Drivers].
• In the Windows Control Panel: Multimedia (Win 98/ME), Sounds and Multimedia (Win 2000), or Sounds and Audio Devices (Win XP), in the Audio section.

If you have "Microsoft Sound Mapper" selected as your audio driver in PowerTracks, PowerTracks will use whatever is selected in the Windows Control Panel. If you have a driver *other* than the Microsoft Sound Mapper selected, PowerTracks will use that driver for audio and DXi synth playback.

If you have more than one audio output driver selected, the DXi/VSTi synth will use the top one (port 1).

PowerTracks Pro Audio 10 and higher allow you to use either MME drivers or ASIO drivers. Some higher end sound cards support both MME and ASIO, and some sound cards only support MME. The Audio Driver Type is selected in Options | Preferences | Audio. If you are using ASIO drivers, the ASIO Audio Drivers dialog will open when you click on the [Drivers] button. Make sure that you have selected the correct ASIO device and Input and Output ports.

If you are using the Roland VSC, check settings in the VSC control panel.

If you don't have any sound with the Roland VSC, try uninstalling and reinstalling the VSC to return it to factory settings, or check the following settings in the VSC panel. To open the VSC panel, go to Start | Programs | Virtual Sound Canvas 3.2... or click on the VSC icon in your task bar:

• Activate the Controller window in the VSC and make sure that the Master Volume is turned up.
• In the VSC Settings window (Performance tab), make sure that the Volume is turned up or press the [Default] button.
• In the VSC Settings window (Receive Events tab), make sure that all boxes are checked.
• In the VSC settings window (Device tab), make sure that the correct audio output device is selected.

If you are using an external synth, make sure your MIDI cables are connected correctly.

If you are sending MIDI out to an external MIDI synthesizer or sound module, make sure your MIDI cables are connected correctly. MIDI cables are generally labelled IN and OUT. Make sure that:

• MIDI OUT on the synth is connected to MIDI IN on the computer or interface.
• MIDI OUT on the computer or interface is connected to MIDI IN on the synth.

Check settings on your external synth.

If you are using an external synth, make sure that your synth is set up correctly. This varies between synthesizers. Often, the synth needs to be set to "Song", "Performance", or "multitimbral" mode so that it can receive and play MIDI on multiple channels. Also, try setting it to General MIDI mode either through a setting on your synth's control panel, or by going to Action | Mode On Messages | Send General MIDI Mode On in PowerTracks. If you are not sure how to set up your synth, you should consult the documentation for the synth.

Make sure that the sound card or MIDI interface drivers are installed properly.

If you don't see the drivers for your sound card or interface in the MIDI Driver Setup dialog in PowerTracks, this most likely means that the drivers are not installed properly on your computer. PowerTracks will recognize any MIDI drivers that are recognized by Windows. You can check to see if Windows sees your MIDI device by going to the Windows Control Panel: Multimedia (Win 98/ME), Sounds and Multimedia (Win 2000), or Sounds and Audio Devices (Win XP). Even if the drivers do show up, they may be outdated or installed improperly. Download the latest drivers available for your MIDI interface or sound card, and install the drivers according to the instructions provided by the manufacturer. Drivers can normally be downloaded from the manufacturer's website.

It is especially important to install the latest updates for your drivers if you are using the ASIO driver type in PowerTracks 10 and higher.

Try returning PowerTracks Pro Audio to factory settings.

There are instructions explaining how you can return to factory settings on the technical support FAQ pages. Select the version of PowerTracks you have, then press CTRL+F and search for "factory settings".

Try playing a MIDI or wave file outside of PowerTracks.

To isolate if it is a PowerTracks specific problem or a global problem with your computer, close PowerTracks and try playing a MIDI or wave file with Windows Media Player. If there is no sound, this indicates that the problem is not specific to PowerTracks.