Hi all. I have a Roland SD-50 and Sonar LE (version 8.5.1.17) running on Windows Vista (32-bit).
 
I would like to use Sonar LE to play a MIDI file on the SD-50, and record the resulting sound on my PC as a wav/mp3 etc. (I am hoping that I will get a more realistic sound from the SD-50 than from my laptop's sound card.)

So I have started Sonar LE, loaded a project which contains a MIDI track, set the track's output to the SD-50 and checked that it plays OK through the SD-50.
Next I created an audio track in Sonar LE and set it's input to the SD-50 "Stereo In". It is armed for recording too.
On the SD-50, I set "TG to computer" to on. (What does TG mean?)
 
When I try to play or record, all I hear is the initial note from my MIDI file & it just holds that note forever. Nothing gets recorded.
 
Can someone explain what I'm doing wrong?
Or is this not possible - do I need to connect the SD-50 line out to the line in on my laptop's soundcard and use that to record the sound from the SD-50?
 
Thanks
Don.

So... any info yet...?

To lazy to look up the manual for the SD 50 but is the connection a USB or MIDI din plug?
 
If USB I doubt it sends audio so you will need an audio conection. 

Well, I have read the manual, and there is a setting "TG to Computer" which sends the audio signal of the SD50 to the computer. Unfortunately there's no info on what it all means in practical terms and whether it does what I would like.
FYI the SD50 has both MIDI and USB and I am using the USB at the moment. I don't think audio comes through the MIDI.
 

DHorrell
Hi all. I have a Roland SD-50 and Sonar LE (version 8.5.1.17) running on Windows Vista (32-bit).
 
I would like to use Sonar LE to play a MIDI file on the SD-50, and record the resulting sound on my PC as a wav/mp3 etc. (I am hoping that I will get a more realistic sound from the SD-50 than from my laptop's sound card.)

So I have started Sonar LE, loaded a project which contains a MIDI track, set the track's output to the SD-50 and checked that it plays OK through the SD-50.
Next I created an audio track in Sonar LE and set it's input to the SD-50 "Stereo In". It is armed for recording too.
On the SD-50, I set "TG to computer" to on. (What does TG mean?)
 
When I try to play or record, all I hear is the initial note from my MIDI file & it just holds that note forever. Nothing gets recorded.
 
Can someone explain what I'm doing wrong?
Or is this not possible - do I need to connect the SD-50 line out to the line in on my laptop's soundcard and use that to record the sound from the SD-50?
 
Thanks
Don.

You're right, MIDI-connection doesn't transmit audio, but it's also more like a rule that the USB of synths doesn't transmit it either, even though it's possible and there are exceptions.
 
It is the output of the SD that you need to record.
That's why I found this "I created an audio track in Sonar LE and set it's input to the SD-50 "Stereo In"
a little confusing. I'm not sure I understood it correctly.
What have you used to produce the sound otherwise? The MS Wavetable synth? That is not a good one, and it can't even be bounced to tracks as normal soft synths. Does LE include TTS-1 soft synth? If so, that's already much better.
 
There are lots of cheap or free soft synths around which offer tons of sounds of quite high quality. They are worth testing. If you can get a copy of Computer Music magazine the included CM plugin collection offers some very nice synths, not to mention the effect collection.
 
Then again, if you're used to create sounds with your Roland it's a bit frustrating to start seeking for "covers" in the jungle of hundreds of soft synths. It should be possible to record the SD properly. Then again, if you are using the laptops internal soundchip leading the SD audio in, the analogue-to-digital converters are not that good, and have some negative effect on the sound quality, whereas softsynths work totally in the digital side and the soundchip has no effect on the actual sound except for the sound you monitor. Well...that sounds paradoxal... I ,mean when the MIDI soft synth track is  bounced to audio, it's done by the processor, the sound chip has no role in the process.

The output from the SD will only be as good as the audio you get from your audio device, because you have to route it through the audio device.
 
If the SD 50 is similar in architecture to the SD 20, which I have, its a midi generator and can, within its own editor (or via audio out sockets) generate audio sound. For SONAR you'd need a soft synth.
 
Within Sonar, once you've installed the drivers, you can choose the SD20/50 as the midi sound generator - in other words route a soft synth through it, and then on outpût it to your sound device. You'll need an input device (i use a PCR 800 USB) either a keyboard or PRV in Sonar, not by note. Its complicated to set up but once done it works ok.
 
BUT, at the end of the day, I find I really don't need the SD20 bit, as the Sonar soft synths can replace it if you use a midi keyboard .....
 
BTW, on the SD20 there is a Midi through (to use with a keyboard controller for example) and a stereo audio output (two cinch sockets) which are capable of taking audio to an audio device.
 
All this without actually doing any research on the SD 50 ......
 
Përsonally I think to invest in a midi keyboard/controller makes more sense than using my SD 20 in todays DAW world. I rarely light it up.
 
Cheers,
Jerry

DHorrell
On the SD-50, I set "TG to computer" to on. (What does TG mean?)

My guess is Tone Generator.
 
I found a few threads about the device using Google and the search string "site:forum.cakewalk.com SD-50" which lead me to the manual. Without the device in hand, I don't think I will be much help. You might want to try Roland tech support.

Let's get back to basics...
I have a MIDI file which has a variety of General MIDI instruments. I'm hoping that the SD50 converts MIDI to digital audio with higher quality than my laptop does.
So, I used SONAR LE to play the MIDI file through the SD50 and some speakers. 
Easy!
 
BUT, I want to record the digital audio output from the SD50 into an MP3 or WAV file.
I could take the analogue output from the SD50 and feed it to my Laptop's input and re-digitise it into an MP3 (or WAV etc.) file. However, that means the digital audio from the SD50 has been converted to analogue (by the SD50), then back to digital (by my laptop with probably not high quality digital to analogue convertor). Not great!
 
Can I just take the digital audio from the SD50 and write it to disk as an MP3/WAV somehow?
[Your suggestion of TG = Tone Generator is probably right.]
I attempted to do all this by using SONAR LE to play the MIDI file through the SD50 and simultaneously recording the SD50 input. Not working though, so I need another plan.
 
 
Thanks
All.

DHorrell
 
Can I just take the digital audio from the SD50 and write it to disk as an MP3/WAV somehow?
 

It is going to take a piece of software to capture and write the data to disk. Windows will not record directly from the USB port. SONAR LE would normally serve that function but anything that sees the SD-50 driver should work.

Ok - I tried that, but SONAR does not seem to be able to play the MIDI to the SD50 and record from the SD50 at the same time. Any suggestions?