Midi Keyboard > Midi USB connector > what software?

[Jetfire]

A friends asked me about her midi enabled keyboard and getting a wider range of sounds of it. She happy with her keyboard but is aware of midi etc.

Shes got a USB Midi connector for her laptop and thats it. SHe wants to play live via a PA speaker/PA system so could she do that via her laptop headphone socket? ALso, what software would be good to look at for a pretty wide range of synth and natural piano sounds?

[Delphine]

If it's just an internal sound device, the latency would prove so terrible as to take any enjoyment out of playing whatsoever. Unless you mean that the USB/Midi device is also an audio interface, it would make sense to look at that first as buying software and finding it unusable could prove really frustrating - and potentially expensive.

Assuming the above, there are freeware things to try out though, and although I don't know much about it, I have heard ASIO4ALL can provide a non-dedicated soundcard with a low enough latency to actually be able to play software but that's something others would be better off advising. Have you got any more info?

[ecc83]

Oooo! Jetfire that's quite a "biggy" in fact!

The first problem is latency as Delphine has mentioned and this really depends very much on the audio interface and its driver software. An interface such as the M-Audio Fast track Pro or a Teac 144mk2 might be ok but questionable, different players vary in their tolerance to the delay. The best interface around at the moment in the £200 bracket is the Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6 and it also comes with some excellent software including Cubase LE5 and there is arguably no better software for MIDI'ing (!) than Cubase.

Then an AI is going to give you a vastly better and more flexible output quality than the crappy (and very vulnerable) 1/8" sockets on a laptop.

Lastly, going live with a computer is a pretty brave exercise but plenty of people do it. They do not however try to do it on the cheap!

Dave.

[funkyfraz]

I've got one of those midi to usb connectors, and that occasionally hangs up on me and I need to disconnect/reconnect to my pc. I would never risk using it live! Latency is fine (although I dunno whether this is to do with my m-audio 2496 soundcard I have or not).

[ecc83]

I've got one of those midi to usb connectors, and that occasionally hangs up on me and I need to disconnect/reconnect to my pc. I would never risk using it live! Latency is fine (although I dunno whether this is to do with my m-audio 2496 soundcard I have or not).

Does the MIDI device, (keyboard?) have a DIN output? If so run MIDI directly into the 2496 and yes that card, as with virually all PCI soundcards, give you blinding speed.

We have an Evolution Ekeys 49 usb k'bd (M-A have a clone of it as do many others) and that is usd'd tp a P4 3G pc that also powers it but the DIN feeds the 2496 on a W7/64 desktop and all works most spiffingly. Son reports Cubase LE6 (W7/64) give more than good enough latency set to 256 samples.

BTW OP; Nice piano sounds? Check out Modartt Pianoteq, low CPU hit to boot.

Dave.

[IanCorps]

Just use Asio4All and pick up a copy of Native Instrument Kontakt , no appreciable latency whatsover and its a template for some serious sound options .No need to get the latest ver3 or 4 work perfectly well and can be picked up easily enough

[ecc83]

My understanding is that Asio4all was a good fix when the whole driver/AI situation was a mess a few years ago and also when people were using OnBoardSound which was rarely ASIO capable.

But a "fix" (I won't say bodge!) it remains and these days with much faster processors and more ram it is really time that AI makers wrote decent ASIO drivers for their kit?

But, as I say that is just MY understanding!

Dave.

[funkyfraz]

Does the MIDI device, (keyboard?) have a DIN output? If so run MIDI directly into the 2496 and yes that card, as with virually all PCI soundcards, give you blinding speed.

We have an Evolution Ekeys 49 usb k'bd (M-A have a clone of it as do many others) and that is usd'd tp a P4 3G pc that also powers it but the DIN feeds the 2496 on a W7/64 desktop and all works most spiffingly. Son reports Cubase LE6 (W7/64) give more than good enough latency set to 256 samples.

BTW OP; Nice piano sounds? Check out Modartt Pianoteq, low CPU hit to boot.

Dave.

yeah it does have those connectors but I've never got round getting the relevant cable. I had the midi/usb convertor before I had the 2496, and to be honest, its not a big enough deal to worry too much about it! you're right though! (that midi/usb thing cost me about £35!! sound control doing me!)