Not about recording !

[TomSav]

Maybe I'm not in the correct Forum, but I hope someone can answer this MIDI instrumental query (since you guys are all experts on that sort of thing). I'm very much a beginner.
I'm connecting a Hammond XK-1 organ keyboard to a Technics P50 piano keyboard, wanting the P50 to accept only 2 different sounds from the XK-1. In other words, using the P50 as the lower manual of a 2-manual organ. Which keyboard do I connect to the amplifier/speaker? Or do I need an amplifier/speaker for each keyboard? Stupid question, you may think, but neither keyboard Owner's Manual gives to information.
Help, anyone? In words an idiot like me can understand. You could email the answer to me on saville.jazz@virgin.net
TomSav

 

[jjjtttggg]

Couldn't find a link to the manual on the Hammond-Organ website (No, I didn't look very hard, but whaddaya want fa nuttin?). So, I can't say specifically what you need to do, but generally speaking, you want to have your P50 play a second voice in XK1. That is literally what midi will do, once you set it up right. In that scenario, you don't actually want any sound coming from the P50 at all, so it needs no amplifier/speaker. Only the Hammond will actually make sound that you want to send to the speaker. You'll run a midi cable from the midi out jack on the P50 to the midi in jack on the xk1. Then you'll configure the P50 to send your keystrokes played there on midi channel x (can be 1 through 16). Finally you configure the second voice in the xk1 to respond to any midi inputs on that same midi channel. You'll have to read the manuals to figure out how to do these two configuration steps. Once that's done, when you play the Hammond keyboard, the Hammond will play voice 1 as normal. When you play the P50, it (the P50) will take note of which keys you press and how hard and for how long and promptly (like instantaneously) send that information out through the midi cable, coded to whatever channel you've selected. The Hammond will receive that information and sound voice 2 according to whichever keys you've played on the P50. Voice 1 and Voice 2 will play in parallel, with voice 1 responding to the internal keyboard and voice 2 responding to the P50 keyboard.

That's pretty general. Hope it helps a little bit anyway.
J

 

[gecko zzed]

^^^ Whhat he said

The hope that you have is that the Hammond can be configured to accept midi input from the PS50 and drive a second bank of voices.

 

[jjjtttggg]

Good point. Looked again for a manual (why do i spend my time this way?). Found it, but in German. Found an english version you have to pay to download. I did find a supposed "user review" on Musicians Friend listing that says:

"But being the digital age, they've made it into a fully MIDI-capable machine, which can be used as a controller, and can be expanded through MIDI to take a set of footpedals and another keyboard to act as a lower manual, for the full console experience. Don't want to go that route? No problem - just split the single keyboard into upper and lower manuals, and even double the pedal sounds on the lower manual."

I think this user review is probably the product of Hammond marketing and not a real user, but it gives reason for hope nonetheless.

Cheers,
J