Nord Stage 3 USB Midi Not Recognized

[jdifeb74]

Hi there - hoping someone can help a MIDI newbie.

I have a Nord Stage 3 and I'm trying to use USB to hook up through my Apollo x4/MacBook Pro setup. I've read through a number of threads on here and tried some of the things described, but haven't had any luck. Frankly, a lot of it is over my head. I've never worked with MIDI. Neither my MacBook Pro or an older iMac are recognizing the Nord in Audio Midi Setup.

Here is what I have:

Brand new MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt 3
Caldigit TS3 Thunderbolt Dock
Apollo x4 Interface (Luna Recording System)

What I've been trying to do is run the USB cable from the Nord to the Caldigit USB port which is then hooked into my MacBook via Thunderbolt 3. Is this the right way to do it?

Any help would be much appreciated!

[maxpiano]

I think you should rather connect the NS3 USB directly to a USB port of the Mac

[jdifeb74]

I did try to connect directly to my old IMac to see if it would be recognized by the Audio Midi Setup and it wasn’t. Granted, I don’t have Luna on that machine, but I would think if it’s not being recognized by the Computer in both machines, something else maybe at play here?

[DougB217]

Have you tried using a different USB cable? Have you tried Nord Sound Manager to see if it recognizes your Stage 3? Luna has nothing to do with it, neither does your interface.

[jdifeb74]

Have you tried using a different USB cable? Have you tried Nord Sound Manager to see if it recognizes your Stage 3? Luna has nothing to do with it, neither does your interface.

Yes, tried different cables. And the Nord Sound Manager hooks up to both the MacBook Pro (through the Caldigit dock) and the iMac (directly) and works just fine. So the USB port on the NS3 seems fine.

[baekgaard]

If the sound manager works fine, then you should certainly be able to use the USB MIDI port from other applications too -- however, make sure you're not running the sound manager at the same time.

So you open the Audio MIDI Setup and click Window and then Show MIDI Studio and you don't see your Nord there?

Is it in your DAW/Sequencer program (even if you don't see it above)?

[jdifeb74]

If the sound manager works fine, then you should certainly be able to use the USB MIDI port from other applications too -- however, make sure you're not running the sound manager at the same time.

So you open the Audio MIDI Setup and click Window and then Show MIDI Studio and you don't see your Nord there?

Is it in your DAW/Sequencer program (even if you don't see it above)?

Suddenly, it is appearing in my Audio Midi Setup, but it's greyed out. That's slightly better than before... where it wasn't showing at all. But from what I understand, its still not transmitting MIDI.

[baekgaard]

If the sound manager works fine, then you should certainly be able to use the USB MIDI port from other applications too -- however, make sure you're not running the sound manager at the same time.

So you open the Audio MIDI Setup and click Window and then Show MIDI Studio and you don't see your Nord there?

Is it in your DAW/Sequencer program (even if you don't see it above)?

Suddenly, it is appearing in my Audio Midi Setup, but it's greyed out. That's slightly better than before... where it wasn't showing at all. But from what I understand, its still not transmitting MIDI.

As mentioned, make sure you don't have anything else accessing the device - it's possible the NSM may prevent it from appearing as a midi devices or the updater may.

What else do you have running that could possibly seize the connection?

[jdifeb74]

Folks - I'm an official idiot. I figured it out.

I had forgotten that I borrowed my thunderbolt cable to connect my Apollo to my MacBook. Just got a second thunderbolt cable today, plugged it into the computer, and voila.

Thanks for taking the time to answer me. I'm sure I'll have other idiotic questions in the very near future.

[confusionboats]

Another official idiot here, newbie Nord Stage 3 owner (got it this week) with a similar issue.

Here's the problem:
Mac's Audio MIDI Setup app does not "see" the Nord at all.

Here's the relevant hardware:
Nord Stage 3 76-key
2017 Macbook Pro running 10.14.6 running Logic Pro X
MOTU 828ES audio interface
I have other MIDI instruments that will eventually go into a MIDI hub (thinking of MOTU MIDI Express XT, I haven't bought yet)

Here's the configuration
Nord's L/R main audio outs going into Line 1/2 IN on MOTU
Nord's MIDI OUT going into MIDI IN of MOTU
MOTU's MIDI OUT going into MIDI IN of Nord
MOTU's USB going into Mac

Some clues:
When I play notes on the Nord, I see the MOTU'S MIDI IN indicator in one of its little screens flash green with every note press
So the MOTU recognizes the MIDI signals.
I also hear the Nord's sounds through the headphones in the MOTU interface.
Logic Pro knows nothing about the Nord.
I created a new MIDI instrument in the Mac's Audio MIDI setup but I can't seem to connect it to the IAC Driver.

Any suggestions how to get the Mac to behave here?