I want to use the sounds from my Korg Workstation in Sonar as a Synth.

Hello all,
 
I know there is a way to do this, but I am unable to get it to work.  
 
I have a Korg TR 61 workstation in which I usually use the 1/4 inch cable plugged into my Octa-Capture if there is a particular sound I want to record directly from the Korg. Other than that, I use the soft synths included in Sonar with a Midi keyboard I have.  
 
I want to be able to connect my Korg TR 61 workstation to Sonar and use its built in sounds by using the USB port.  Craig Anderton wrote an article about this in Sound on Sound magazine, found here ~~~>  https://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr09/articles/sonarworkshop_0409.htm. The problem is,  I am trying to follow his instructions and apply it to my Korg TR but it is not working.  If anyone has successfully done this, please let me know how this was completed so I can be successful at it as well.
 
I've downloaded the latest TR USB driver for the workstation. I've Set the Midi in and out and can see it under Midi
 
Thanks for any assistance. 
 
Peace,
 
Jesse G

I too have never had a synth that uses USB to connect to a computer send anything but midi data and such - never had one send audio through USB.
 
I just take the keyboard outputs and route them to inputs on my audio interface and bring them in that way, but I am steadily moving toward all sounds actually coming from within the computer.
 
Edited to add that I am justnow reading through the article you provided the link to, and maybe there is more to it than I have been aware of.  I may well have a follow up post shortly.
 
Bob Bone
 

The TR61 definitely only sends midi. You will need regular audio cables to record it.

From the SOS article you've linked there must be some sort of an editor in plugin that needs be loaded. Also it seems from the article that the keyboard also had an internal sound card. Does yours have those things

.
Yeh I see that now. I just saw Korg Workstation in the thread title and it triggered a memory about the Legacy Collection.
Also I didn't realise that the Legacy Collection is now $199, until I just searched for it. It was free many years ago. Probably just a lite version

In that article, not only do you need audio arriving from an independent interface, such as the USB from the device, but you need a specially crafted VSTi that directly connects to that device's interface and streams it to the associated synth track just as a software synth does. So, that audio connection is not configured as a Sonar interface; it bypasses Sonar's audio engine completely until the VSTi injects it into the synth track. The M3 software used in the article also contains an M3-specific patch editor, so the whole thing behaves a bit like a software-only VSTi with a full panel of patch controls, except unable to produce fast-bounce audio.
 
I can't remember the Legacy Collection ever being free. When I got it, they had just gotten rid of the dongle requirement. Since then they updated my particular bundle (M1, Wavestation, MDE-X) to 64-bit for free.

Yamaha MOX, MOXF, and MX series do audio and MIDI over USB as well.  I believe so does the Roland FA series.

I put my money on

Sanderxpander
The TR61 definitely only sends midi. You will need regular audio cables to record it.

IOW, it can't be done through the USB cable. I could not find anything which mentioned the synth sent audio out the USB port.

Below is what's stated in the Manual, however, it doesn't go into further details.
 
2. Connections to a computer
 
Your performance on the TR, as well as controller and sequencer data, can be sent to a computer, and the tone generator of the TR can be played from the computer either via USB or via a MIDI interface.
 

• You can use a MIDI interface to connect the MIDI connectors of TR to the MIDI connectors of your computer.
• You can connect the TR’s USB B connector to the USB connector of your computer.
• PG p.233 “MIDI applications – Connecting MIDI devices/computers”
• Some USB-MIDI interfaces may not be able to transmit or receive the TR’s MIDI exclusive messages.
• The USB connector of the TR is only able to transmit and receive MIDI data.

Lastly, there isn't a page 233 in the TR owners Manual.
 
No matter how I approach this, it seems not to work properly.  I think I will stick with using a 1/4 cable from the Korg TR audio out, to the Octa- Capture 1-4 inch in and record audio that way.  I will continue to use my Midi Keyboard and connect it to Sonar using MIDI cables to access the Soft Synth instruments.
 
Thanks all,
 
Peace,
Jesse G
 
 

Jesse G
'''

• PG p.233 “MIDI applications – Connecting MIDI devices/computers”

...
Lastly, there isn't a page 233 in the TR owners Manual.
 

I found a TR_ParamGuide_E1.pdf here http://i.korg.com/SupportPage.aspx?productid=191 which discusses MIDI applications starting on page 233. I wonder if that or something like it is what "PG p.233" is.

Jesse G

Sanderxpander
The TR61 definitely only sends midi. You will need regular audio cables to record it.

 
I  don't want to send audio out of the USB port, I never stated that. 
 

People will read what they want to read and interpret what their experience tells them to interpret.
 
Or so I'm told.
 
Now about that MIDI data going down that 1/4" audio jack.......

if the synth only sends midi data then all you need to do is select the synth device from within Sonar but ALL you can do is record midi data into sonar.

Jesse,  based on your response above, I'm assuming you understand that you can only transmit MIDI through the USB cable and that you will need to record the actual audio from your TR-61 through cables and an audio interface. 
 
Craig's article assumes that there is an "editor VST" for your instrument.  Do you have an "editor VST" installed for your TR-61?
 

Jesse G
I  don't want to send audio out of the USB port, I never stated that.  I want to use the USB port to connect the Korg TR 61 to Sonar X3 so I can use the TR as an external synth.
 
 

If you can see the TR as MIDI IN and OUT, the only thing missing is what Dave00 said above. You need to have a .INS file for the TR so Sonar knows what patches exist. Once you add the TR (with it's .INS file) to Sonar's instrument definitions, you are good to go. Of course you will record the output of the TR through your Octa-Capture.
 
HTH
John
 

Again, Thanks everyone for the advice, but I am keeping things the way in which it is currently working for me now.  I am not going to think any longer about using the TR as an External Synth.  I've got enough Soft  Synths in Sonar and a few installed third party ones as well.
 
Peace,
 
Jesse G