Midi issues/questions

[benjammin105]

I'm fairly new to home recording. I've got a simple computer running sonar got a M-Audio Delta 1010 sound card in there for the hookups. I've got a simple behringer audio mixer that I've got hooked up to the audio inputs and outputs. My headphones are hooked up thru the mixer so I can mix and hear the playback. I've recently wanted to get into midi so yesterday I went and bought a Axiom 25 midi controller since my original keyboard didn't do this. Now I've got a whole new problem. I'm hooked up to the midi input for the controller and sonar pickups the signal, but I have nothing to hook the midi output to! I can't monitor the midi tracks, or at least I don't know how to without buying more stuff. I don't even know what to buy. I'm just confused right now and wondering if someone can point me in the right direction. Thanks a lot

Ben

 

[c7sus]

For your MIDI tracks, open a soft synth for the track and route the MIDI info from each track to a "voice" in the soft synth. It could be any instrument, even drums.

Another option would be a synth module. There are tons of them out there. But for now give one of the soft synths a try so you can hear your MIDI track.

If you're using Sonar the "Sonar Power" series books by Scott Garrigus are highly recommended. Includes tutorials and screenshots and walks you through setting up your computer for Sonar (and digital audio in general) all the way to burning your final mix to CD.

 

[benjammin105]

I have that Sonar power book! I just need to read it more I guess, and I shouldn't try to learn new stuff at night when I'm tired. lol

Softsynth, I'll check it out. So this will allow me to hear the midi tracks play even though the midi out is not currently hooked up to anything?

 

[c7sus]

Right. But you need to configure the soft synth to output through the Delta soundcard.

 

[benjammin105]

I've assigned softsynths to audio tracks. I just can't hear anything. It makes since to me that I can't because my midi output is plugged up to nothing. I have my headphones on my audio mixer so of course all I hear is audio tracks. It only gives me the choices to output midi with the midi outputs. I just don't understand how I'm ever gonna hear anything...

 

[benjammin105]

I just don't really see the option for that. Can you give me some pointers??

 

[dintymoore]

I run Cubase with a M-Audio Delta 1010LT card. Since I only know Cubase I can't tell you what to do.

I do know that you don't need to hook up the MIDI Out unless you were using the computer to play an external MIDI module like a drum machine or a keyboard, all those things are hardware.

But soft synths are software synths so the MIDI Out jack isn't needed, the computer doesn't send the MIDI out to hardware, it uses that MIDI data to play software inside the computer.

I think you're right in thinking about channel assignments, and hopefully a Sonar user will chime in any minute now...

 

[benjammin105]

dinty moore, what are your headphones connected to when you work?

 

[dintymoore]

dinty moore, what are your headphones connected to when you work?

I have my headphones plugged into my mixer's headphone out.

I had to use the Delta's control panel to set things how I wanted them. Since my studio was already wired for channels 7 & 8 to monitor my computer, I had to set my Mac to output it's L & R outputs through 7 & 8 of the Delta 1010LT's snake.

That's some bundle of wires... I put masking tape labels on mine, took awhile but you can see them in low light now.

So I use the 1010LT to monitor my computer when I'm watching YouTube or anything on my computer.

I don't normally use softsynths, I use an outboard MIDI module. But if I were using softsynths, and I have, they come out the same computer L & R outputs I listen to YouTube on.

Did you try seeing if your softsynths are coming out your computer speakers or headphone jack on your computer?

 

[benjammin105]

Hey thanks for all the info man! I finally figured out how to get the sound. I just now realized that when you launch one of these softsynths it loads you up a midi and a audio track. The Axioms goin into the midi track and out the softsynth. Then on the accompanied audio track its got the softsynth coming in and then outputing to my audio output and into my mixer and headphones. That explains how I can finally hear it. I can finally control midi. Thanks everyone that led me to this.

Now I gotta figure out the mystery as to why only part of what I'm playing on the Axiom and hearing in real time is actually played back when I replay the clip.

Oh well, one day at a time. lol

 

[TyphoidHippo]

https://img180.imageshack.us/img180/9008/copy2of1.png

Convert to Sonar.

edit: I see you figured it out already... oh well.

 

[benjammin105]

Anybody wouldn't happen to know why my midi would only playback parts of the recorded clip? It also seems like if I play a short note on there during playback it comes back more stacato...hmmm