Newbie for keyboard recording

[raze5000]

hi guys
noob alert!
let me introduce myself. i play guitar for a prog band. i m a total noob at recording and all. though i have learnt the use of vst effects in guitar and have managed to make my tracks sound decent, the keyboards sound terrible in our demo. i use a m audio fastrack interface and my daw is reaper coz i cant find decent cracks for nuendo/cubase for my 64bit system( noob at net searches too i suppose ).

our bands keyboardist uses a very old yamaha keyboard with a midi output i have noticed. please tell me what to do from scratch coz i m really outta my depth here . like connections, vstis to use (note we use tones like dream theater, symphony x, rush, circus maximus etc). if u guys tell me the optimal vstis to download, i can do that.

i am new here so i dont know if this is a over discussed topic, but i need help badly.

thanks in advance for all the help

 

[Ninth Life Lost]

Paying for a Nuendo/Cubase software license is always an option....

 

[ecc83]

You are lucky Raze. Mention of the "C" word gets you an instant ban on many forums.

Allowing that Cubase is the best DAW for MIDI I still think you should get good results with reaper? You might have interface/driver/weak sister computer or bad setup of the latter issues.

You can in any event download a trial version of Cubase LE6 (MUCH more of a faff than it orta be Steinberg!) which should be capable of telling you if the rest of your system is up to snuff. Should LE6 do the bizz, it is only about 90quid but DO buy a dongle with it!

Dave.

 

[JimmyS1969]

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Welcome to Home Recording!

Jimmy

 

[wheelema]

Raze,

I'm not the best resource, and I'm a little confused, but is the Yamaha outputting audio or just being used to trigger MIDI samples?

 

[JimmyS1969]

And he goes quietly into the night........

You are not ousted from the site raze. Just keep in mind what you said, and how that reflects upon you, and the members here.

 

[raze5000]

i m sorry u all. let me mention that i do use a licensed and legal version of reaper and that cubase/nuendo is out of my paygrade. so i cant afford that. thats all i meant indirectly. ( i know you all have already a low opinion of me but i am not trying to slip away from the accusations, its not what i meant, just that) so if my words have lead to a misunderstanding of any sort i apologise.
and yes i m hoping to trigger midi samples by the yamaha. its a psr-550. it has a midi output line. but i dont know how to further go into recording that.
again sorry for offending u people.

 

[wheelema]

i m sorry u all. let me mention that i do use a licensed and legal version of reaper and that cubase/nuendo is out of my paygrade.

Oh don't feel too bad. We're you Enron or Disney nobody would blink an eye. I worked for Nestle for several years and they pirated like crazy as a corporate policy. Just become wealthy through your music and all will be forgiven.

According to...

http://download.yamaha.com/api/asset/file/?language=pl&site=pl.yamaha.com&asset_id=9953

...the Yamaha PSR-550 outputs only though USB and a headphone jack. Assuming that it's triggering MIDI samples through the USB port it'd be unfair to blame the keyboard, I'd blame the samples. According to the manual (referenced above) the 1/4" TRS output is suitable for both headphones and audio out so you might consider running a TRS cable into your interface and see if the actual audio signal gives you more pleasing results.

 

[ecc83]

I have downloaded the manual for the PSR- "S" 550.

If this is the keyboard you have it does not have MIDI ports as such (a very daft omission IMHO!) but just a usb port. You will need...
1) a usb A to B lead.
2) the software disc that came with the keyboard to install the drivers. If that is lost it will surely be possible to download the drivers from Yamaha.
3) The handbook. Again if lost you can download it.

Once setup you should indeed be able to transmit MIDI data to and from a PC.

Dave.

 

[raze5000]

oh thanks mates. i ll try that. can u suggest some good vstis i can use for our genre? its progressive metal mainly.
we basically require
1) piano
2) strings/organ
3) synth lead tones for soloing
thanks again, appreciate it

 

[raze5000]

Oh don't feel too bad. We're you Enron or Disney nobody would blink an eye. I worked for Nestle for several years and they pirated like crazy as a corporate policy. Just become wealthy through your music and all will be forgiven.

lol man, we are just a group of engineering college undergrad students. it almost killed us to even buy the interface and reaper, relatively cheap as it may be. and we save money from our lunch and partying funds ( ) and repair instruments in campus to buy decent gear for playing. once we get jobs i guess it would be much possible to upgrade to the industry standard softwares . and we ARE eagerly waiting for that day

 

[JimmyS1969]

i m sorry u all. let me mention that i do use a licensed and legal version of reaper and that cubase/nuendo is out of my paygrade. so i cant afford that. thats all i meant indirectly. ( i know you all have already a low opinion of me but i am not trying to slip away from the accusations, its not what i meant, just that) so if my words have lead to a misunderstanding of any sort i apologise.
and yes i m hoping to trigger midi samples by the yamaha. its a psr-550. it has a midi output line. but i dont know how to further go into recording that.
again sorry for offending u people.

No offense taken. I respect your integrity in returning with a response. We can move on now.

Welcome to the forum man.