MIDI Instrument Definitions for Roland

J

jhughs

New member
Okay, I'm a guitarist and computer geek but have little MIDI experience.
I got my son a Roland RS-70 (similar to RS-50 but with a disk drive, sequencer, & USB).
I found the RS-50 Instrument Definitions and loaded them into Cakewalk Home Studio XL.
Assign a track to the RS50 definitions.
But then when I change the instrument for the track it just plays the standard MIDI sounds (even though the name is different).
I'm missing something, but what?
 
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Hmmm, I wondered if that was the only choice. The RS-70 and PC are in different rooms, but since the RS-70 has a disk drive I want to dump arrangments onto a disk and then play them on the PC. Is my only choice to pump the MIDI back out to the RS-70 and then record the WAV output on separate tracks? That can't be right..... can it? Do I have to buy sound files for the PC from Roland?
 
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you can dump arrangements from the RS-70 to the PC, but you'll be using the PC's sounds. If you want to use the RS-70's sounds you've got to put a midi-out from the PC to the midi-in of the RS-70.

either way your going to have to record the sounds from the RS-70 to WAV in the sequencer.

I do my midi recording using my keyboard into the PC rather than using my keyboards sequencer because the display, utilities and options are better in cakewalk.
 
jhughs said:
Hmmm, I wondered if that was the only choice. The RS-70 and PC are in different rooms, but since the RS-70 has a disk drive I want to dump arrangments onto a disk and then play them on the PC. Is my only choice to pump the MIDI back out to the RS-70 and then record the WAV output on separate tracks? That can't be right..... can it? Do I have to buy sound files for the PC from Roland?
Click to expand...

I am confused here. Or maybe one of us is, could be you :confused:

I thinkI get :

PC in room A
Roland in room B

Roland has a disk drive that records midi. You take the disk, play it in PC, snd the normal sounds from your soundcard is what plays. Correct?

Hmmm, you need to understand midi better:

I have a STEINWAY player piano.
You have a Radio shack player piano.
We have one piano roll. On mine it sounds great, on yours like crap.
That disk is the piano roll of the 21 Centuy.

The disk doesnt contain sounds, just numbers. There is no audio data onthe disk, just midi data.

Yup, it is gonna sound like your soundcard in your PC.

Solutions
1 Move Keyboard
2 Move PC
3 Get real frikkin long wires
4 Get a module for the PC, like A jv-1010 Roland.It is a small synth with no keys, plenty of sound.

If you did #4, Sonny boy could compose his symphony on the RS70, take the disk in to Pops PC and heard it played by thr Roland JV1010 (or similiar, maybe there is a RS70 rack model.

Hope that makes sense, ask more if it doesnt, Dave
 
Lousy no-good Cross-Studio and his dainty fast typing skills. A curse on him (he is correct) :D
 
Arggg

Thanks CrossStudio - I understand what you're saying, just finding it hard to accept. Maybe I'm oversimplifying but I was thinking that basically the RS70 (and any synth) is basically a computer and that since the synth came with a CD-ROM (apparently only for the USB driver) that there'd be a way to load those same sounds into the PC.

If it's entirely dependent on the soundcard's firmware, and maybe even its hardware, then I can see how the PC could be incapable of recreating the RS70 sounds. (Maybe upgrade the sound card?)

So, okay, what's you're approach to recording a multitrack composition? Do you have the PC drive one track of MIDI through the keyboard at a time and record each WAV on its own track? I guess that's reasonable, just seems time consuming.

Thanks for bearing with me. I'm a smart guy, but as a guitarist I've never had much need for MIDI. I get the concept, but I also get that people struggle with MIDI and thought there'd be more access to the sound files.
 
the only way to do what you want to do is by having a matching soundcard or DXi synth in the PC.

you can either record each track to WAV individually (which is what i do), or you can mix the midi and just record it as a stereo mix track. i do individual tracks because i can put individual effects on them and EQ them.

davidk:
i took two years of typing in high school. all my friends thought i was a sucker but my class was full of girls. somewhere in the midst of mac'ing on the honeys i actually learned how to type.
 
Thanks CrossStudio and DavidK

Yup I took typing in high school too (late 70's). There was only one other guy in the class. Now they make everyone take "keyboarding" and I just heard a rumor yesterday that schools may stop teaching cursive so everyone will just print and type. (Maybe someday a class in IM'ing?)

Okay, before I go too far afield, thanks again. It wasn't the anwer I hoped for but at least now I won't waste a lot of time trying to fix something that's already working like it should.
 
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