Need "how to setup up midi for idiots" help

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nate74
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Nate74

Nate74

HR4FREBR
Hey All,
Just got a new PC with an Echo MIAMIDI soundcard. I'm running CW Home Studio V2 XL and am trying to hook up a Yamaha S03 keyboard. I'd like to be able to write midi parts in CW and then have them play on the Yamaha. Not sure if I can have the audio output from the Keyboard go back to CW in some way, but currently I can't even get CW to "see" the keyboard. Any online resources that can help walk me through it and trouble shoot?
Thanks.
 
Nate74 said:
Hey All,
Just got a new PC with an Echo MIAMIDI soundcard. I'm running CW Home Studio V2 XL and am trying to hook up a Yamaha S03 keyboard. I'd like to be able to write midi parts in CW and then have them play on the Yamaha. Not sure if I can have the audio output from the Keyboard go back to CW in some way, but currently I can't even get CW to "see" the keyboard. Any online resources that can help walk me through it and trouble shoot?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
CW is not going to see the keyboard. Rather, it will see the midi ports in your sound card.

Connect the "midi out" from your sound card to the "midi in" on your keyboard. The return the audio cable(s) from your keybard back to audio inputs on your sound card. This should allow you to send midi data from Home Studio to the keyboard, and have the keyboard return "audio" sounds back to HS.
 
ok...
If I have the midi cables connected correctly and a set of headphones connected to the keyboard, should I be hearing something?

I'm also wondering if I somehow don't have something else set correctly since I can't hear anything at all when playing a midi track, even with an internal sound selected..?
 
OK,
I've done some reading and YES, I should be hearing my SO3 playing the midi file in Cakewalk. So now I have to wonder, is there a problem and the MIAMIDI isn't sending the data or is the problem that the keyboard isn't receiving it somehow?

I have the keyboard set to receive on channel 1 and Cakewalk is set to channel 1 as well... what gives?
 
Do you have audio cables coming back to the sound card? If you have a midi cable coming back, you are only transmitting data, not sound.

Also, you need to setup an audio track in HS to receive the audio data, with the inputs corresponding to where your keyboard is plugged into the sound card.

I'm not familiar with your sound card, so for now, you will probably also need to select input monitoring on the audio track (click the button to the right of the R).

To summarize, you "send" the midi data to your keyboard via the midi out connection on your sound card. You "return" the audio sounds via an audio cable from the keyboard back to the sound card and into HS.
 
The haze is beginning to lift... a bit. I understand what is "supposed" to be happening, but for what ever reason, the data is just not getting to the keyboard.

Are there any 'tricks' needed to double check that the data is actually coming out of the soundcard's midi terminal?
 
Does your keyboard have a speaker in it? If so, you might start by trying to see if you can send data to it and get sound to play out the keyboard's speaker.

In HS, what do you have the midi track's output set to? What do you have the channel, bank, and patch set to?

Are you sure you have the cabling correct? Soundcard's midi out connected to keyboard's midi in.
 
Sorry to just now be getting back to this thread. My work computer was down all day...

Anyway, to answer:

In HS, what do you have the midi track's output set to? What do you have the channel, bank, and patch set to?

1) The midi output is set to my soundcard's MIDI Out which reads "1-MIA Midi"
2) The channel is set to "1 : General MIDI"
3) The bank only seems to have one option and that's "Bank --"
4) And the patch is set to "Hammond Organ"

Also, no speaker(s) on the Keyboard. Just running it with headphones or into my mixing board.

And lastly, yes, I have the cabling correct... any thoughts? And thanks again for trying to help!

N
 
Nate74 said:
Sorry to just now be getting back to this thread. My work computer was down all day...

Anyway, to answer:

In HS, what do you have the midi track's output set to? What do you have the channel, bank, and patch set to?

1) The midi output is set to my soundcard's MIDI Out which reads "1-MIA Midi"
2) The channel is set to "1 : General MIDI"
3) The bank only seems to have one option and that's "Bank --"
4) And the patch is set to "Hammond Organ"

Also, no speaker(s) on the Keyboard. Just running it with headphones or into my mixing board.

And lastly, yes, I have the cabling correct... any thoughts? And thanks again for trying to help!

N
Click to expand...
I don't see anything obviously wrong here; however, I want to check this out when I am at my DAW (I'm at work now).

When you mentioned headphones, is there a headphone jack in the keyboard itself?

Essentially you have two separate processes going on: 1) getting midi data transmitted to the keyboard, and 2) getting audio (sounds) from the keyboard back to the computer. For now, I was trying to find a way to test the first step, and leave the second step for later. To do that, you need a way to monitor the sound directly off the keyboard.

If you can plug headphones into the keyboard, it will allow you to detemine if the midi data is getting there. If it isn't, then we need to work on that issue. If it is, then we can move to resolving step 2.
 
Yeah, it's still issue 1. Nothing getting to the keyboard. The headphones seem to work with I play the keyboard manually... so I'm to the point where I believe the MIDI data just isn't getting there...
 
Nate74 said:
Yeah, it's still issue 1. Nothing getting to the keyboard. The headphones seem to work with I play the keyboard manually... so I'm to the point where I believe the MIDI data just isn't getting there...
Click to expand...
Well, the good news is at least that narrows it down where. :)

You already confirmed you had the cabling correct, so that really only leaves the set-up in Sonar (assuming no defective hardware).

I'll check your midi track settings when I get home tonight. In the meantime, what shows and what do you have selected under Options > Midi Devices.
 
Under Inputs it shows: Mia MIDI
Undouer Outputs it shows: Mia MIDI and under than Microsoft MIDI Mapper

Also, I downloaded MIDI-OX on the suggestion from another fellow here. It appears to let me monitor the activity at my PC's MIDI ports... and nothing. I'm wondering if my settings are wrong in both cakewalk and in this MIDI-OX or if there's a problem with the card itself.

BTW, will be away from my Computer again for a day or so after lunch today... darn work is really interfering with my recording hobby...
 
Just for fun, we could try going the other way and see if you can record midi from the keyboard.

Reverse the midi cable, i.e., connect from the keyboard's midi out port to the sound card's midi in connection.

Then setup a new midi track in Home Studio with the track input set to Midi Omni. Click the R(ecord) button on the Midi track to arm the track, and then the record button on the transport. Play something on your keyboard and see if it gets recorded as midi data in HS. You won't be able to play it back for the time being, but you should be able to visually tell whether anything got recorded.

You could also try recording audio as well. Essentially the same principle as above, except now you want to connect your audio cables from the keyboard to the sound card. Then set up a new audio track in HS, and set the track input to Mia Stereo 1/2 (or something like that). Arm the track and start recording.

These steps will tell you that at least you've got communication from the keyboard to the computer - but, of course, we're still going to need to get it going the other way as well.
 
Gave it a try and nothing. No signal back from the Keyboard to the PC via midi. I can record audio when I play the keyboard and have the TRS 1/4" cables hooked into my sound card's audio inputs... argh...
 
Nate74 said:
Gave it a try and nothing. No signal back from the Keyboard to the PC via midi. I can record audio when I play the keyboard and have the TRS 1/4" cables hooked into my sound card's audio inputs... argh...
Click to expand...
Perhaps a bad cable? Are you using the same cable to do both midi tests?

Or maybe something in the sound card's mixing applet that needs to be clicked to enable the midi ports (or the keyboard as well).

I'm just guessing here, but it is odd that the audio works ok, but the midi isn't working in either direction.
 
I diggin this Mike.. :) It's like a suspense short story. I hope you guys crack it. The cable sounds a little suspect to me also. I wonder if there is a midi implemetation chart for that synth he has....
 
Toki987 said:
I diggin this Mike.. :) It's like a suspense short story. I hope you guys crack it. The cable sounds a little suspect to me also. I wonder if there is a midi implemetation chart for that synth he has....
Click to expand...
Yeah, it is a mystery. Everything sounds kosher, which is why I'm thinking it's a cable or something along those lines.

Nate74 said:
1) The midi output is set to my soundcard's MIDI Out which reads "1-MIA Midi"
2) The channel is set to "1 : General MIDI"
3) The bank only seems to have one option and that's "Bank --"
4) And the patch is set to "Hammond Organ"
Click to expand...
OK, I checked how I have things set up on my DAW. Mind you I am using v-drums rather than a keyboard - but the principle is the same.

The track's midi output is set to 1-Delta 1010 Midi, which seems consistent with your setting.

I have my channel set to 10, but only because I am feeding drums. (Interestingly, when I set it to another channel I can get General Midi sounds out of the V-drums, which I didn't know I could do.) :D

I have the same option you have under Bank.

When I set the channel to 10, and the Patch to None, I get drum sounds from the module. When I switch to channel 1, I can get a sound that matches whatever I have the patch set to.

Nothing in any of this which suggests a problem with your settings that I can see. :confused:

I did find the following information regarding your sound card:
Please note that the MIDI functions of MiaMIDI only work under Windows ME/2000/XP(WDM) and Mac OS X.
Click to expand...
I trust you are running one of these OS's and not Win98 or something. Also, what type drivers are you using? It would appear you need to be running WDM drivers (although I am not sure if that refers to just XP, or to all the OS's).
 
Mike I ran across this...

"Echo Layla24/Mona/Gina24/Mia/MiaMIDI Driver v6.08 Windows 98/ME/2000/XP.

- New firmware for MiaMIDI and Layla24; this fixes a problem with MIDI output.
- MIDI output is now more efficient
- Fixed a problem with ASIO Direct Monitoring
- Fixed waveOutPause support for PureWave mode
- Added support for waveOutSetVolume and waveOutGetVolume for PureWave mode
- Fixed some minor issues with the ASIO driver

- AC-3 streaming over S/PDIF output doesn’t work correctly with WinDVD 4"

at this place: http://www.opendrivers.com/driver/2...6.08-windows-98-me-2000-xp-free-download.html
 
Toki987 said:
Mike I ran across this...

"Echo Layla24/Mona/Gina24/Mia/MiaMIDI Driver v6.08 Windows 98/ME/2000/XP.

- New firmware for MiaMIDI and Layla24; this fixes a problem with MIDI output.
- MIDI output is now more efficient
- Fixed a problem with ASIO Direct Monitoring
- Fixed waveOutPause support for PureWave mode
- Added support for waveOutSetVolume and waveOutGetVolume for PureWave mode
- Fixed some minor issues with the ASIO driver

- AC-3 streaming over S/PDIF output doesn’t work correctly with WinDVD 4"

at this place: http://www.opendrivers.com/driver/2...6.08-windows-98-me-2000-xp-free-download.html
Click to expand...
Sounds like maybe we're on the right path here, Kenny.

I'm not real familiar with HS v2, so I don't know what driver modes are supported. If it only supports MME drivers, that very well could be the problem. If it supports MME/WDM/ASIO and he is using ASIO, then the driver update you found could be a fix.

I guess we need to hear more from Nate on what OS and what drivers he is using.
 
Yeah it's a mystery... enough of one I found myself thinking way more about this durring my quarterly meeting today than I should have... :rolleyes:

Cables both check out OK. I used both between my MRC and a Lexicon LXP1.

I have the audio driver in CW set to ASIO because it seems to be the only one that supports 96/24 files... don't know why that is actually. ,But the project I'm working with now was orginally recorded at 96/24 so I'm stuck.

I'm going to try the new driver and report back... hopefully soon.

Thanks again... we're gonna lick this I'm sure! ;)
 
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