MIDI recording problems - mastered tracks too low

I have Cakewalk Music Maker 5, a Yamaha Clavinova CLP-130, and the M-Audio Fast Track Pro USB Interface.

I got Music Maker set up to record MIDI input from the Clavinova, via the Fast Track Pro. Once my tracks were recorded, I converted the MIDI clips to Wav, and then used Audacity to encode the wavs to MP3.

The problem is that when you play back the MP3s, they are EXTREMELY quiet. 

I know all about altering the velocity of the notes in Midi to give a volume increase but this isn't really working out, because it changes the characteristics of the piano playing. 

Is there something I am doing wrong with the MIDI input at recording time? 

In order to create my music, I selected the Midi track in my file, and chose Export. I then chose to export as WAV but didn't choose any presets. The Wav files I produced contained the audio, but it was very low volume. I then used Audacity to convert the WAV files to MP3. I didn't do any other processing.

I've just revisited the original WAV files and reprocessed them in Audacity - adding a 10db amplify - and I can now at least hear the tracks louder, but they are still too low. 

I believe this may be an issue with the Clavinova and its midi controller. 

I've tried rendering with "what you hear" and I DO get sound out, it's very very low... 

  Just a thought, what are you listening to the .mp3's with? Have you checked the volume level on that software?

Good Luck!

Happy Holidays!!!!

Bobby

Thanks all for the advice. It seems that when I am playing back recorded midi from the Clavinova, it comes through at maybe 30% on the master output level indicator.


I was able to get something at least partly passable by using Audacity to apply amplification to each wav before conversion to MP3. In Audacity, the waves were showing up as very close to zero and the amplification obviously gave them a needed boost. On listening back to the mastered CD in a player, the volume was much more reasonable and luckily did not distort the piano sound at all (that we could notice).

However I am perplexed as to the problem with recording MIDI. I am aware that midi does not carry volume info as such; it carries velocity info as part of each note. I am starting to think it is the Yamaha Clavinova that is at fault here because whether I use Music Maker 5, or Ableton, or A-N-Other recording app, I always have the same problem with the midi being way too low, with no way to boost or normalise it, when it's been written. I think maybe the Clavinova passes velocities that are too low with each recorded note. That said, normalising the velocities after the event should give me a boost in volume? (even if it's not strictly the right way to get a volume boost)

Perhaps somebody with a lot more knowledg & experience than me could look at one of my Cakewalk Music Maker 5 files containing some recorded midi information and see what you make of it? Is there any benefit to that? 

" I converted the MIDI clips to Wav"
 
"I selected the Midi track in my file, and chose Export. I then chose to export as WAV but didn't choose any presets."
 
Are you using Music Maker of Music Creator? This is the Music Creator forum.
I don't think you can click on a MIDI file and render it to audio in Music Creator without using a software synthesizer, nor is there an 'export as WAV' unless MC 5 is way more advanced than MC Pro 24 (my most recent version).

As Beagle mentioned and as I asked before,

We could probably use a little more information c/o your conversion process.