MIDI newbie question-EZD2 and MX49 to write drums

[Muddy T-Bone]

I'm a complete Midi idiot, so please be kind.

I have EZD2, that I would like to write drum parts with. I have a Yamaha MX49 synth with midi in/out and USB.

My interface is a PreSonus 44VSL that has midi in/out.

I would really appreciate a step-by-step on what I need to do have the Yam keys control the drum kit in EZD2 in order to write drum parts. My DAW is Reaper if that matters.

Thanks in advance!

 

[ashcat_lt]

Plug a MIDI cable from the OUT of the keyboard to the IN on the interface.

In Reaper, go to Options|Preferences|MIDI|Devices, find whatever your interface calls its MIDI connection in the list and make sure it is enabled.

Insert EZD on a track.

Enable the track for recording.

Enable the track for input monitoring.

In that track's input dropdown, choose MIDI|All Inputs|All Channels.

Now hit some keys on the keyboard. It should make noise. The kick drum will be a C somewhere, with the rest of the kit on the keys above. Different kits are different sometimes, but all of them (at least the full trap kits, not the Latin one) have a "home" range that conforms more or less to the GM standard...

...except that my version is always offset an octave or two, so that the kick is not actually C1 by Reaper's reckoning.

You can use the transpose function on your keyboard or insert JS|MidiTranspose before EZ to slide it around on the keyboard so that they sit somewhere comfortable and/or logical.

Reaper will record the MIDI messages - which note you hit, how hard, and how long you held it down - and then send them to EZD, which then plays the sound. There will be no actual audio recorded on that track, but there will be audio coming out, and you can add any FX or whatever after EZD as though it were any other audio track.

 

[Muddy T-Bone]

I cant wait to try it out! Thank you Ashcat!

 

[ashcat_lt]

It should be super simple, most of the steps are about the same as for an audio track. If you have any problems, just holler.

 

[ecc83]

I am just an electronics jockey that has dabbled with MIDI for a musical (but electronically challenged!) son.
If you are linking the AI/keys "in/out-out/in" (as you should!) you might need to find a "local off" button on the synth to stop it reproducing the returned MIDI signal. This might however be in Reaper?

Good luck. Remember, you can plug any bit of MIDI kit into any other. Might not work, might go nuts but it WON'T smoke!

Oh! And find "MIDI Panic Off"!

Dave.

 

[ashcat_lt]

You don't need to plug from the interface OUT back to the keyboard's IN just to beat in drums for EZD. I would argue that given the vast number of really good free VSTis out there you probably don't ever have to make that connection.

The only reason you would need it is if you wanted to actually hear the sounds from the keyboard itself, and then only if you want to be able to hear those sounds triggered from MIDI notes on the computer. And for that you also need the audio outputs from the keyboard connected to whatever you want it to play back from. I mean, that looks like a decently capable synth actually, so it might be worth doing eventually, but it's at least a step or two beyond the original question.

Edit - But if you are going to do it, you will want to find out if the synth has a MIDI Thru or MIDI Echo parameter and turn that off also. MIDI feedback doesn't always cause the damaging loud noises that audio feedback loops can, but it will make strange and sometimes very frustrating things happen.