Midi setup questions...

[Trotter]

I have absolutely no experience with Midi and have some very basic questions about setting up Midi on my computer. Recently I discovered a program called Vsampler. This seems like a pretty cool program, maybe just what I need to add orchestration to my audio recordings. Ok, I have some questions about setting it up (sorry if they are stupid, but I am thoroughly confused).

I have a Yamaha DX21 synth, can I use it to play Vsampler through my recording software? What kind of connecter do I need to hook up my DX21 to my computer? My DX21 has Midi connectors on it, but there are no Midi connections on my soundcard. I am using a Delta-44. I think I read that some use the USB Midi-Sport as a means to connect keys to a computer, will that work, or do I need a different kind of connector? I am using n-Track as my recording software. n-Track is supposed to support vsti, but every time I try to run Vsampler in n-Track both programs freeze. Do I need to buy different recording software to record Midi?

What about file types? If I were to use Vsampler as a standalone, could the saved Midi files be loaded into n-track? Is there some kind of software that converts Midi files to Wav?

Thanks in advance.

[DonF]

I have a Yamaha DX21 synth, can I use it to play Vsampler ...

Yes, you should be able to do this.

What kind of connecter do I need to hook up my DX21 to my computer?

You need a MIDI connector. The MIDISport should work fine. If you have a SoundBlaster compatible soundcard (many computers have one built in), you can usually hook up a MIDI adapter, which costs around $20, to the 15-pin game port. The MIDISport will almost certainly be more reliable, though.

Do I need to buy different recording software to record Midi?

n-Track should work OK. Perhaps you should try using VSampler's "virtual MIDI port" rather than VSTI. I don't use either n-Track or VSampler, so maybe someone else can jump in with more specific help there.

DonF

[Trotter]

Thanks for the reply. I enabled the virtual Midi port and was able to get a signal at the recording VU in n-Track, but was unable to record anything. I've heard that these two programs are known to not work well together.