Er... what plugs into what??!!

[DJ Strutt]

Ive just bought the following equipment:

Emu ESi 2000 Sampler,
Minidisc Recorder
Behringer MX2004A Mixer
PC with Cubase 5
Midi Keyboard
M-Audio Audiophile Soundcard

But im having probs with knowing how it all plugs into together and how it is all set up?

Any help for a very new learner will be much apperiated!!

Thanks

 

[AlChuck]

There might be a few things missing from your list.

First, I didn't see a MIDI interface on your list of stuff. So the MIDI keyboard can only be used as an audio source, with its analog output going through the mixer and into the soundcard (unless it's a controller keyboard only without its own sounds), or as a controller to play the sounds on the Emu sampler. Without a MIDI interace you can't record the MIDI data in a sequence.

Second, what are you listening through? Powered monitors? An amp and speakers? Headphones?

 

[DJ Strutt]

Cheers Al

The keyboard is being used as a controller I think, it has got its own sounds but I dont want to use them cos there crap! Im trying to use it to trigger the sounds on the sampler at the moment but im having no luck, I also want to use it to trigger sounds on my sound module when I buy one. Will I need a midi interface to do this? The keyboard has got a Midi input and output?? Im listening to it through an amplifier and then some speakers (nothing special). Any help would be great thanks!

Also, when I hit they keys on the built in keyboard in Cubase and cant hear any sound??, the audio seems to be set up OK because when I import a Wav file I can hear that fine?? Any tips?

P.S, one last thing, are there any diagrams on the net which show u how to set this up??

Thanks.

 

[The Green Hornet]

Yo Struttman:

You might want to hire someone to come in and set-up your rig....or you will have to do some intensive browsing around this site. You have a bunch of stuff and you might find paying someone to set it up for you will be better than searching and searching and searching.

Good luck,

Green Hornet

 

[AlChuck]

DJ Strutt,

You don't need a MIDI interface to play the sampler and the to-be-purchased sound module, as long as the keyboard has a MIDI out and the sampler and sound module have MIDI ins.

You do, however, need to have a MIDI interface to record MIDI data from the keyboard into Cubase.

Re the question about not hearing any sound from the on-screen built-in keyboard in Cubase, it could be that your sound card does not have a MIDI synth, or if it does, it's muted. There should be a way of checking this out. What sound card do you have? What kind of computer? Mac or PC?

-AlChuck

 

[DJ Strutt]

Right, ive learnt a bit more but i still need some help!!! please!

Soundcard --> no midi synth on it. (thats why i couldnt play midi files!!)

This is how i thought it should be set up....

midi out on keyboard to midi in on sampler.

midi out on sampler to midi in on soundcard.

audio out on sampler to mixer.

audio out on mixer to soundcard.

audio out on soundcard to mixer.

This works fine, I can hear the samplers i am playing from the sampler. But I cant record the midi in Cubase 5? Is my sampler set up wrong? Is cubase set up wrong? Please help!!

P.S the master volume control on my mixer (a spirt folio 16, not a behringer as first planned) does not seem to work? any ideas? thanks!

 

[AlChuck]

It sounds like perhaps the sampler is not echoing the MIDI in signals it receives from the keyboard to its MIDI out port; hence, the computer gets no MIDI messages from it.

Is there a MIDI Thru port on the sampler? This duplicates the MIDI messages coming in. Attach that port to your computer's MIDI In and try that.