Can I connect my Casio CTK-500 to MC5 on a PC?

I have an older Casio, which only has headphone jacks but no USB plugin.
Is there a way to connect the headphone jack to my computer so then I would be able to record the synthsounds on the software by using the keyboard.
 
 
T@nner

Yes and NO....

Yes, you can do what Kalle said, connect the headphone out from the Casio to the audio input on the computer and yo can record the sound of the keyboard.

NO, you can not use it to trigger the really nice sounding soft synths included with MC5 since they require MIDI and the Casio  doesn't have midi out.  You can buy keyboards these days brand new that have midi out (either the 5 pin midi or a USB out midi) for under $100 and if you hit a few yard sales on Saturday mornings you can probably pick one up in usable condition for half that or less.

Wait.. you can record the sounds from your keyboard from the headphone jack without midi? (Im on CTK-519)

you can ONLY record the sounds from your keyboard using AUDIO and NOT MIDI!  MIDI is only DATA!  MIDI is just a set of instructions that you send to a synth.  the MIDI data will trigger sounds in that synth (either software synth or hardware synth) and the synth will output the sound.

so when you're recording MIDI you're not recording the actual sounds from your CTK-519 - you're only recording MIDI data which triggers sounds from a softsynth.

if you want to record the actual sounds from your keyboard, you have to hook up audio cables from the keybaord and connect them to your soundcard input and record an audio track.  this will record the direct audio from the keyboard.

the beauty of MIDI is that it is editible.  after recording, you can edit any mistakes in timing or notes that you may have made, or want to change, etc.  you can also choose to send it to different sounds.  if you record some MIDI and you're listening to it from MC using TTS-1 softsynth as output and the patch on TTS-1 is set to PIANO.  even after you've recorded that MIDI sequence, you can change the patch on the track of the project that controls TTS-1 to a RHODES piano or a CLAV or a SAXOPHONE, or a SPACE VOICE, or a BARKING DOG!

you can also record MIDI from your keyboard, then you can set up the MIDI track to send the MIDI back to your keyboard and then connect audio cables up to your keybaord back to your soundcard.  this way you can record MIDI and edit it to perfection, then set up an audio track to record your keyboard's audio, send the MIDI to the keyboard, it sends the audio triggered by the MIDI back to the soundcard and you then record your keyboards' actual sounds even after you've edited the MIDI!

I disagree.
Like Beagle wrote, recording MIDI  has the same set-up as audio (plug in cables, select input, output, etc.) but you won't have to set input levels like you would with audio.
And if you make a mistake while recording audio, you have to re-record that part. With MIDI, a couple mouse clicks fixes the mistake.
And once you're finished recording the audio, what if you decide it would sound better as a violin, or saxophone? You'd have to record it again and hope you don't make any mistakes.
With MIDI, a couple more mouse clicks and it's miraculously playing a different instrument.

Right.  I'm not good enough to record audio directly without mistakes!  so I record MIDI and then fix my mistakes, sometimes I might decide to change keys, but that's rare by the time I record.  then if I want my keyboard's actual sounds I'll record it by sending the MIDI to it like I described above.

haven't done that since I sold my Motif, tho.  My stage keyboard's sounds aren't nearly as good as my softsynths are.