HELP - Recording with a MIDI keyboard!

[apaul]

Hi, I really need some help!!

I'm trying to record with my keyboard using Audacity. I've linked it to my PC with a Midi to USB cable. Firstly, is this the right thing to do!? It has MIDI In/Out and I've inserted that into the corresponding sockets in my keyboard. The USB end of the cable just slots into the USB slot in the computer.

When on Audacity, I can't hear the keyboard coming through the speakers and when I press record the message "Error while opening sound device. Please check the input device settings and the project sample rate" comes up.

Where am I going wrong with this!?! I really want this to work, it seems like such an easy to use recording programme if only I could successfully link my keyboard up to the programme!

Thanks, and hope you can come up with some answers for me!!

Ali

[kozikowski]

Probably not. MIDI signals aren't sound. They're digital instructions. "Play C# really hard for twelve seconds!"

You can probably connect the keyboard headphone socket to your deskside PC Line-In connection (usually blue) or the Line-In of any Mac. That's the way I do it. PC Laptops tend to be missing the Line-In connection.

Some laptops do have Line-In or have software to convert the Mono Mic-In to Stereo Line-In. Consult your documentation.

If all that fails, you can add a nice USB sound card and connect it that way.

http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=9477

Koz

[apaul]

Thanks for your reply,

I'm not acctually using a laptop, its a full home computer so I have all sorts of inputs at the back of the computer (including a blue one). At the front I have 2 usb ports, a mic input (pink) and a headphones input (green). So, you're saying I should try connecting the keyboard headphone socket to the blue input at the back of my computer?

Just as a reference, this is the kinda cable I've been using to try and connect the keyboard to the computer. http://www.turtlebeach.com/Portals/0/im ... iagram.jpg

You also mentioned a 'USB Soundcard'. What is that exactly?

Once again, many thanks for your reply Koz! This is really bugging me...!

Ali

[waxcylinder]

You also mentioned a 'USB Soundcard'. What is that exactly?

Its just a soundcard like the one inside your laptop - but it lives outside your computer and is connected to the laptop via a USB plug - and normally has RCA sockets for the audio input (and output). Being outside the laptop it is likely to suffer less from electrical noise than an onboad soundcard - it's al;so likel;y yo better quality than the (normally cheap) one that the manufacturer put in your laptop. Plus it has the advantage of being portable so it can be used an any other computer that you have or may buy in the future (provided it has USB inputs of course).

See this thread for ones that are known to work well with Audacity: http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=9477

WC

[kozikowski]

<<<this is the kinda cable>>>

Great cable, but it has nothing to do with sound. That's so your computer can press the keys on the keyboard.

Given that the headphone connection on the back of the keyboard is 1/4" stereo, you need a cable that's 1/4" stereo to 1/8" stereo which should fit right in the blue connection (Line-In) on the sound card.

I guess that's 3.5mm stereo to 6.25mm stereo.

http://pinouts.ru/Home/Tele35s_pinout.shtml

Koz

[apaul]

Thanks Koz and WC...out of town right now but will be back home tomorrow and will try tackling it then!

Will get back to you if any fresh problems arise!!!

[kozikowski]

That headphone adapter cable is exactly how I recorded this short audio test from my Yamaha keyboard...

http://www.kozco.com/tech/piano2.wav

Koz