Troubleshooting

This chapter collects the most common problems and how to solve them. Many come from the way RigAstra works by design (for example, MIDI Clock going out to a single destination), so it’s worth checking them before assuming something is broken.

I touch a control and nothing sounds

RigAstra is a controller: it sends MIDI and OSC, and the sound comes from the device or app that receives it. Check in this order:

1. Open Settings > MIDI Outputs, tap Destination and make sure the right device is selected (or choose All Outputs to test).
2. If the device isn’t in the list, tap Scan Outputs.
3. Open the control’s inspector and make sure it’s in MIDI mode (see MIDI, Macro and OSC modes) and that its channel matches the channel your instrument listens on.
4. On the receiving device or app, make sure it accepts that MIDI input and channel.
5. If you’re using a network destination ([NET]), check that the computer is connected to your device (see Connect to a computer).

A connected device doesn’t appear in the list

1. Check the physical or network connection and that the device is turned on.
2. In Settings, tap Scan Outputs to look for destinations again.
3. On iPhone and iPad, if you connect to a Mac by cable with IDAM, tap Scan Outputs again after plugging in the cable and enabling IDAM on the Mac.
4. For clock sources (inputs), use Scan MIDI Inputs.

RigAstra remembers destinations and inputs by name: when a device you had already chosen reconnects, it’s picked up again on its own.

My device doesn’t receive MIDI Clock

• MIDI Clock goes out to a single destination: the first one in the Settings list among the ones you selected that’s connected. If you have several destinations selected, make sure the device that needs the clock is the first one in that list, or leave only that one selected.
• If the first destination disconnects, the clock automatically moves to the next connected destination (cable or IDAM first, then network, then Bluetooth) and returns to the first one when it reconnects. A network destination doesn’t get the clock if another selected and connected destination isn’t a network one.
• Network destinations ([NET]) only receive Start and Stop, not the clock pulses. To send clock, use a cable or Bluetooth connection.
• If the clock source is External MIDI, RigAstra doesn’t send clock out. Switch to Internal on the Tempo screen.
• In the background the clock keeps running only while some engine is playing. With nothing playing, the system suspends RigAstra and the clock stops.

RigAstra doesn’t follow my DAW’s clock

1. Open the Tempo screen and choose External MIDI in the Clock section.
2. In Settings > MIDI Inputs, make sure your DAW’s input is selected (or All Inputs). If it’s set to None, no device can take over the clock.
3. If you connected the device after opening the app, tap Scan MIDI Inputs.
4. Check the status text: Awaiting external MIDI clock means nothing is arriving yet; External clock detected means it’s arriving and, as soon as it works out the tempo, the incoming BPM is shown (for example, External 120.0 BPM).

When you open the app, the clock starts on Internal: choose External MIDI again and start sending clock from your DAW. Once chosen, External MIDI stays on even if no clock arrives.

With external clock, the tempo jumps or is unstable

If several inputs send clock at the same time, RigAstra follows the first one and ignores the others until it stops sending for 500 ms. A Stop on its own doesn’t change the source. To decide which one sets the tempo, in Settings > MIDI Inputs leave only one input selected: the one from the device that should set it.

Tap does nothing

Tap only works with the internal clock. With External MIDI, the external device sets the tempo.

Notes cut off and engines stop on their own

This is a safety feature. When there’s an audio interruption (a phone call, for example), RigAstra stops every engine and turns off every note so nothing is left hanging. When you come back, start the engines again by hand.

In the background RigAstra keeps playing while some engine is running. If nothing is playing, it turns off the notes and the system suspends it. When playing live, avoid interruptions (for example, with a Focus or Do Not Disturb mode that silences calls).

Changing the channel of an Arpeggiator or a Drone Pad turns off only that engine’s notes; the other engines keep playing.

OSC messages don’t arrive

1. On iPhone and iPad, the system asks for permission for RigAstra to access devices on your local network. If you declined, turn it on in the system Settings app, under Privacy & Security > Local Network.
2. In Settings > OSC Output > Manage OSC Outputs, check the receiving device’s IP and port. RigAstra doesn’t discover devices automatically: you type them in.
3. Make sure the control is in OSC mode and has the right output and path selected.
4. Check that the receiving software is listening on that port and path.

RigAstra only sends OSC; it doesn’t receive OSC messages. See MIDI and OSC connections.

A file from Android won’t open or arrives incomplete

For now, not every file transfers between Android and iPhone or iPad. Full scene collections (.rigastrascenes) and arpeggiator presets are compatible; single scenes, page presets, Drum Player presets and settings have limitations. The details are in Files and backups.

All files are compatible between iPhone and iPad.

"Requires a newer version of RigAstra" appears

The file or scene was made with a newer version of the app. Update RigAstra. In the meantime, RigAstra keeps whatever it doesn’t know intact and doesn’t modify your file.

An "About your files" message appears

RigAstra couldn’t read one of its internal files. It kept a copy of the original and, if possible, recovered it from an automatic backup. If it couldn’t recover it, it won’t save changes to that file until you restart the app. Read the message: it tells you which file it is and what was done. See Files and backups.

I imported scenes and mine disappeared

Import Scenes adds the scenes in the file, and only replaces one of yours if its name repeats and you choose Replace. What replaces every scene is Restore Backup, and it always asks for confirmation first. RigAstra keeps automatic backups of your scenes before replacing them; see Files and backups.

MIDI Learn on my synth picks up another CC

While they play, the Arpeggiator and the LFO keep sending CC messages, and MIDI Learn usually takes the first one it receives. Stop the engines or turn off the Arpeggiator's Mods while you assign, then move only your control.

What Up and Down do in the arpeggiator presets

Lanes play the notes from low to high and each preset’s pattern draws the direction: Up goes up the lanes, Down goes down and UpDown goes up and down. To hear the difference, hold several notes: with only one, every lane plays it. See Arpeggiator.

Notes show up in a different octave (C3 or C4)

Manufacturers name middle C differently. In Settings > Middle C, choose C3, C4 or C5 so the names match your gear. It only changes the names; the notes sent stay the same.

Still having trouble?

Write to me using the support form. Include your RigAstra version (in Settings > About RigAstra), your device and its system version, and what you were doing when it happened.