switchdoc
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DGX-205 USB and music creator 3 connection question
Hi all,
Brand new to most of this stuff and I am hoping someone can give me some help on a frustrating issue :0
I am sure I can't be the first person to ask this question but a search didn't reveal the mystery.
I just bought a Yamaha DGX-205 and Music Creator 3 to go with it. The 205 does not have MIDI ports. It has a USB cable that connects to my computer and thats pretty much it aside from a power plug, a sustain port, and headphone jack.
The Software that comes with the Yamaha installs and appears to detect the keyboard correctly, as does a 3 party application demo I bought, but I cannot for the life of me get Music Creator 3 to receive input from this thing. :)
When I started Music Creator 3 it did see the keyboard and allow me to select it for midi in and midu out. After that, nothing. Following the manual and doing the tests to properly configure audio levels, I get no movement on the meter showing it is not receiving the signal from the unit.
When I try to set inputs and outputs for tracks, it comes up and shows all the ports available on my sound card (I have an HP multimedia PC with a lot of different connectors) but there doesn't seem to be a way to tell it to look at the USB connection.
I've been through manuals on both machines, checked the websites, and I just can't find out how to do this.
Is there some setting I am missing? Does this software require midi connections end-of-story? Am I an idiot? :)
If anyone can shed some light on this I would greatly appreciate it.
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Beagle
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RE: DGX-205 USB and music creator 3 connection question
2007/02/02 13:44:08
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When I started Music Creator 3 it did see the keyboard and allow me to select it for midi in and midu out. After that, nothing. Following the manual and doing the tests to properly configure audio levels, I get no movement on the meter showing it is not receiving the signal from the unit. Here's the Rosetta stone: MIDI and AUDIO are not interchangable and they are completely different entities. The USB cable from the keyboard sends MIDI data to the computer, not AUDIO (sound). To proceed, you have to learn a little more about each of them and their function before you can determine which direction you want to proceed. If you want to record the actual sounds from your keyboard, you don't need the USB cable at all. you need instrument/patch cables from the AUDIO OUTPUT of your keyboard to the INPUT of your sound card. Then you can arm an AUDIO track like you've been doing and you'll see the meters move when you press a key on the keyboard. To use MIDI - you need the USB cable, but you have to insert a MIDI TRACK, not an AUDIO track. Select the input of the keyboard and arm the track and you will record MIDI data. Now, if you want to HEAR yourself play, that takes more work. At this point, I recommend you proceed by doing TUTORIAL #8. It will guide you thru the process of adding a DXi synth which will allow you to hear an output of the MIDI you are recording while you're recording it. I'm sure you'll have more questions, but that will get you started.
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switchdoc
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RE: DGX-205 USB and music creator 3 connection question
2007/02/02 16:09:16
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Beagle,
I checked out your website before you replied to me, and almost emailed you just because it was obvious you had a good grasp of this stuff. Thanks for your response! Now that you lay it out, it makes perfect sense.
One more question, if you don't mind. That particular keyboard doesn't really have an 'Audio Out'. It does have a headset jack. Could this be used to send audio to the sound card (assuming I could find a cord and adaptor?)
Thanks in advance,
-Switch
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Beagle
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RE: DGX-205 USB and music creator 3 connection question
2007/02/02 20:27:41
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Switch,
Thanks for checking out my website!
Yes, if the keyboard doesn't have an audio out, you can use the headphone out. Just realize tho that the headphone out already is amplified, so you might have trouble if you try to connect it thru a mixer/preamp that way. It should be fine going directly from the headphone out to the LINE input of the sound card, but realize that if you are using a sound card with a MIC INPUT, that it already has a built in Preamp in the sound card and you might have problems using it that way. What kind of sound card do you have?
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switchdoc
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RE: DGX-205 USB and music creator 3 connection question
2007/02/03 01:54:38
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Beagle,
After following your instructions and tweaking a little, IT WORKED! I can even hear myself play although I have no idea how I did it. I think its because I am using the keyboard as both the input and the output. I am getting soem strange results sometimes (like I select trumpet but hear piano when I play) so I would imagine its preferable to do that differently... where are these tutorials everyone is talking about? I can't seem to find them in the software menus.
Concerning the audio, it looks like the port on the keyboard is an audio out/headphone jack. I can't quite figure out the branding on my sound card (RealTek is mentioned in several places though)... its built into the unit, which is an HP pavillion multi-media PC. It does appear to have seperate digital audio-in ports though (there's 6 ports on the back of the thing) so I went out and bought a cable to try out the audio portion. I assume thats more like a direct audio recording and I won't see the notation like I can using the MIDI tracks? Is there any benefit to one over the other when it comes to a keyboard?
I went out to the bookstore and got a couple of primers on learning to play the piano. I played the clarinet in 6th grade and had a fairly solid grasp on reading music back then, but time and an aging brain have robbed me of nearly all of it. I find myself back to the point of needing to relearn nearly everything including what a quarter note is and why I would want to use one. Apparently there is something called 'Middle C' which is of some importance as well according to the nice man who wrote the book. He also keeps referring to the "Staff" but I don't see anyone else mentioned in the book credits. If he has people working for him you'd think he'd give them a little credit. :)
I also wish to take a moment to point out that I wanted to learn the sax in 6th grade, but nooooooo! My mom already had a clarinet, so there I was. Trying picking up girls with a second-hand clarinet case in your hand sometime :). Not saying its a bad instrument, but the sax guys and the drummers were always the 'cool' dudes.
Ultimately I want to learn the guitar as well and start writing my own music. Oh and the drums too. I have a lot of work ahead of me, methinks. Am I right in assuming tha by the time you get into adding guitar, drums, vocals, etc, people upgrade to Sonar? The gentleman at the music store showed me some cool little box that had mic and guitar inputs and just made you want to whip out a credit card the moment you saw it.
Thanks again for your help and any other light you can shed on these 'getting started' topics. I look forward to continuing to correspond with you and the rest of the folks here as I begin my foray back into the music world. Its so great to be doing something creative again.
-Switch
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Beagle
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RE: DGX-205 USB and music creator 3 connection question
2007/02/03 04:08:57
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... where are these tutorials everyone is talking about? I can't seem to find them in the software menus. Press F1. They're in the help files. RealTek is mentioned in several places though I"m sure that's it. A lot of laptops use realtek. This is actually just a chip on the motherboard. It does appear to have seperate digital audio-in ports though (there's 6 ports on the back of the thing) so I went out and bought a cable to try out the audio portion. I assume thats more like a direct audio recording and I won't see the notation like I can using the MIDI tracks? Digital AUDIO is still audio, not the same thing as MIDI. You are correct, this is not going to show you notes in the Staff view, just wave forms in the audio track. Is there any benefit to one over the other when it comes to a keyboard? Each has its purpose. If your keyboard has great sounds, then playing audio from it will record the actual sounds you hear from your keyboard. MIDI, however, is a very powerful tool and I use it exclusively. Even using MIDI, you can still use your keyboard's audio sounds by creating a set up where you record the MIDI into MC, set up an audio track to record the keyboard's output, then set your MIDI outputs to the keyboard so that when you record, the MIDI data is sent to the keyboard, which plays the sounds and sends that to the AUDIO track in MC to record. MIDI can be used in many other ways, as well. Listen to this: Randy's musical I hope the link is still there. This is a musical that a guy on the Sonar Home Studio forum is creating. All done with MIDI. Here's a link to a song of mine (which pales in comparison to that musical, but it will give you an idea of the versatility of MIDI). Spirit Breathe, Spirit Trust Apparently there is something called 'Middle C' which is of some importance as well according to the nice man who wrote the book. He also keeps referring to the "Staff" but I don't see anyone else mentioned in the book credits. If he has people working for him you'd think he'd give them a little credit. :)  - good sense of humor...you'll need that! remember to use it on yourself when you can't figure out where that blasted A# is!!!!  I also wish to take a moment to point out that I wanted to learn the sax in 6th grade, but nooooooo! My mom already had a clarinet, so there I was. Trying picking up girls with a second-hand clarinet case in your hand sometime :). Not saying its a bad instrument, but the sax guys and the drummers were always the 'cool' dudes. It's never too late to learn a new instrument. I know of at least one guy on these forums who is as at least as old as me (44 - pretty ancient) and he just picked up playing the guitar a few years ago. And he is EXCELLENT at it! Besides....why would you want to pick up girls anyway, they're much heavier than the clarinet!!!! Ultimately I want to learn the guitar as well and start writing my own music. Oh and the drums too. I have a lot of work ahead of me, methinks. Am I right in assuming tha by the time you get into adding guitar, drums, vocals, etc, people upgrade to Sonar? Some do. It depends on what your recording needs are. I have Sonar 4PE and I've never had MC, I started out with Sonar Home Studio. MC is a great package for the money! But Sonar has soooo much more stuff to play with! The gentleman at the music store showed me some cool little box that had mic and guitar inputs and just made you want to whip out a credit card the moment you saw it. With the REALTEK soundcard you mentioned and the cool little box that the GC guy made you drool over, I highly recommend a new sound card purchase when you can afford it. The realtek is not designed for recording, it's designed to play windows sounds. And who wants to make their next big hit using the "ding-dong" sound that tells you that you have mail??? Here is a link to my soundcard recommendations: http://homerecording.beaglesound.com/9.html Good luck and we're anxiously awaiting to hear your next big hit so that we can say "we knew you when"...
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switchdoc
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RE: DGX-205 USB and music creator 3 connection question
2007/02/14 00:47:11
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The realtek is not designed for recording, it's designed to play windows sounds. And who wants to make their next big hit using the "ding-dong" sound that tells you that you have mail???
I am going to do my very best to make sure the first complete song I create in MC is titled "You've got mail" and uses that ding somewhere!  -Switch
post edited by switchdoc - 2007/02/14 01:09:21
The more I read these forums, the more my head hurts.
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Beagle
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RE: DGX-205 USB and music creator 3 connection question
2007/02/14 08:25:45
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LOL! 
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