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Complete Novice, very confused, please help :-)

Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2013 1:29 pm
by daffodil
Hi

I have Windows 7 Ultimate (64 bit), a Casio HT-3000 keyboard, Audacity 2.0.3 and a Roland UM-1 Midi-USB cable. (I know my equipment is a bit dated).

I have watched tutorials on YouTube on how to use Audacity and I think I'm ok there (well I can pick it up), I've installed my UM-1 Midi-USB lead and it shows in device manager under Sound Devices.

I cannot tho, get my keyboard to work with Audacity. I have done a google search and people are saying that midi is not audio and that's why it wont work but I do not understand what they mean by this. What then is this Midi-USB cable for exactly??? and what do I need instead to make my keyboard playing record onto my computer hard drive via Audacity.

Argh.... please help. :-) In beginner words please, I am a complete newbie to all this.

Re: Complete Novice, very confused, please help :-)

Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2013 1:32 pm
by steve
daffodil wrote:I've installed my UM-1 Midi-USB lead
MIDI is not sound - it is just instructions about "note data" and similar, for use with keyboards, synthesizers, MODI sequencers and so on. Audacity cannot record MIDI.
Please see here: http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/fa ... #keyboards

Re: Complete Novice, very confused, please help :-)

Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2013 1:48 pm
by daffodil
ah, great link, thank you.

so basically i need a lead with 2x6.5mm jack on one end (my keyboard has line out L & R on the back) and a 3.5mm jack on the other end to go into the blue port on my computer's sound card, yes? Do you have any idea what one of these is called please, so I can search for one online?

(I think some software I had some years ago needed the MIDI-USB lead - is it dependent on the software you're using?)

Re: Complete Novice, very confused, please help :-)

Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2013 3:30 pm
by daffodil
found a lead and ordered it - thanks for help :-)

Re: Complete Novice, very confused, please help :-)

Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2013 1:09 am
by kozikowski
The blue connection on a normal soundcard is the Stereo Line-In.

http://www.kozco.com/tech/audacity/pix/ ... Final2.jpg

But it doesn't have to be. We had a run of bogus soundcards that scrambled the colours, I don't know, because the manufacturer thought it looked cool? It drove us nuts not only until we figured out the damage that the cards were doing, but where in hundreds of company PCs we put them.

Koz