can't get keyboard working

[wriggles]

Hey guys,
I'm a bit new to recording and can't seem to get my keyboard working. I'm using:
- Alesis DG8 keyboard
- Midi out/in to USB chord
- Cubase 5 / windows 7

The computer reads the chord as "USB2MIDI" when I plug it in, as does Cubase 5.
Now the problem I'm having is that cubase isn't responding to the keyboard. Is there some software I need to get for the keyboard to be read? I've tried everything I could within cubase but to no avail.
Any help appreciated!

 

[happyrat1]

I haven't worked with Cubase but if it's anything like every other DAW out there you have to go into the options menus and configure the software to actually recognize your keyboard's make and model.

MIDI is NOT a plug n play spec.

Oh and go into your Alesis manual and see if there's anywhere in the keyboard's menus to enable MIDI out. Sometimes it's not enabled by default or has to be configured between MIDI ports and USB ports.

 

[wriggles]

I haven't worked with Cubase but if it's anything like every other DAW out there you have to go into the options menus and configure the software to actually recognize your keyboard's make and model.

MIDI is NOT a plug n play spec.

Oh and go into your Alesis manual and see if there's anywhere in the keyboard's menus to enable MIDI out. Sometimes it's not enabled by default or has to be configured between MIDI ports and USB ports.

Configuring cubase to recognize my keyboard is what i'm having trouble with. Is there a program I need to download and run for my keyboard before I open cubase? This keyboard doesn't come with any software or drivers =(
It's made in 1999 also, I'm not sure if this thing even knows what a usb is, lol.

 

[happyrat1]

OK, so you're using a MIDI to USB adapter and hooking it up to the MIDI ports on the Alesis.

In Cubase, find the USB to MIDI port item in one of the device configuration menus and set the device to GM or General MIDI. That should at least give you the basic 128 GM Patches.

Bank Select Mode is Controller 0.

Also, take a look at your Alesis manual and read page 46.

http://www.manualslib.com/download/207482/Alesis-Dg8.html?captcha=VNP&id=207482

That will show you how to set your DG8 to MIDI Channel 1 which is the default.

Apparently this pig will only communicate with one channel at a time.

You may also have to mess with the local control setting.

Oh, and btw, make sure you've plugged MIDI IN to MIDI OUT and vice versa. And don't plug/unplug with the power on.

 

[wriggles]

Oh, and btw, make sure you've plugged MIDI IN to MIDI OUT and vice versa.

aaaaahahahahaha, OF COURSE this was my problem, after 2 days of racking my brain. My god.

And don't plug/unplug with the power on.

Oh woops, you edited that a moment too late. Will that do any serious damage?

Thanks a ton for the quick help, I don't know why plugging crap in backwards fixed my problem but I'm glad it finally works =)

 

[happyrat1]

Because the original MIDI spec was drafted as a serial loop, the devices were meant to be daisy chained with IN going to OUT and vice versa. It's not very intuitive but it is what it is.

Glad it's working for ya.

As for the plugging while powered up, if it ain't blown yet then count yer blessings and don't forget next time.

Enjoy,

Gary

 

[wriggles]

I seem to be having problems again =(
Cubase is giving me a mix mash of random notes whenever I try playing something with the keyboard. The volume of each note is also random each time I press a key.
Did I break something? It was fine yesterday

 

[happyrat1]

It's probably either a misconfiguration of cubase or the MIDI settings on the keyboard. Who knows what you messed up trying to get it to work.

Unfortunately I know nothing about cubase. I've never used it. You might want to ask someone over at Steinberg's own support forum or download and try out Anvil Studio for free and see if that works.

http://www.steinberg.net/en/home.html

http://www.anvilstudio.com/

 

[wriggles]

I closed cubase and downloaded a midi monitor http://obds.free.fr/midimon/
I'm getting the same problem using the monitor, so I don't think it's cubase. Do you think switching the in/output cable while the keyboard was still on actually ruined it?

 

[happyrat1]

It's unlikely that swapping cables with the power on would result in this kind of behaviour. Chances are it would either blow out entirely or have no effect. MIDI circuits are protected by optoisolators as well.

One thing I'd suggest is doing a factory reset on your keyboard as per your manual's instructions. That should clear out any garbage that may have found it's way into the settings.

Refer to page 52 of the manual for initializing to factory settings.

 

[wriggles]

Didn't seem to work unfortunately. Do you think it could be my hard drive?

 

[happyrat1]

The only easy way to test hardware is to swap it out for a known good unit.

Do you have or can you beg or borrow a laptop to try it out with?

 

[wriggles]

Oh good idea =D I'll hook up my old pc tomorrow and test it out.

 

[happyrat1]

Just in case it is the USB to MIDI interface that's blown, (they make those things pretty cheap) you should pick up a spare or two from Amazon to swap test as well. They're only like $5.29 a piece with free shipping anyway.

http://www.amazon.com/Music-Convert...2801770&sr=8-2&keywords=usb+to+midi+interface

 

[wriggles]

Just tested it with my old dinosaur laptop. Works perfectly and also has much shorter lag time between playing the notes and hearing them (latency?)
So that means something's up with my computer I guess. I can't remember anything happening yesterday that would make it do this all the sudden though =S

 

[wriggles]

What the balls. I just plugged it back into my main pc and it's working fine again. This audio stuff is blowing my mind.
What is making the latency so bad on this pc though?

edit: and now i'm back to cubase not responding to the keyboard lol. What a nightmare

 

[happyrat1]

OK, I'm not a windows geek. I mainly run Linux. But there are tested and working solutions for latency on Windows PCs.

Unfortunately you'll have to google them yourself and find out what works for you and your particular version of Windows.

Just google "midi latency howto" and you should find a step by step guide.

Let us know how it works out for you in the end.

 

[wriggles]

After beating my computer with a stick like a monkey I finally tried updating my audio driver. That seems to have fixed everything =)
As for the latency it looks like my cheap motherboard's chip isn't quite up to snuff for recording.
Thanks again for all the help! Hopefully I'll never have to use this thread again lol.

 

[levani77]

hi there,
sorry if this is in the wrong section but I'm new to this whole forum thing and can't seam to find new topic button where I can start a new thread, this posting seams similar to what I'm having trouble with:
I just bought yamaha ex5 keyboard and tried to record some music with cubase, which was working great, until I downloaded free music notation software, then I tried to connect midi cable to my keyboard and that's when my scales got messed up, not sure about the exact music terminology but when I play the keys with my right hand the high pitch notes are sounding very very low now, the scales got messed up and can't figure out what connecting midi cable had to do with it.

any help is appreciated!!

 

[happyrat1]

I'm thinking one of two things either happened here.

1) Most likely cubase switched your keyboard to a program containing some weird split where you have a high frequency instrument like a flute on the left hand and a low frequency instrument like a bass on the right. Specifically it would depend on how you configured your cubase to recognize and control the EX5 and what sort of MIDI file you tried to play and what setups it has in it.

2) Or if you mean the entire keyboard is reversed, ie, notes play continuously lower as you go to the right, then perhaps the EX5 has microtuning capabilities that were somehow switched into a reverse keyboard configuration by cubase. (Highly unlikely)

We need a bit more info.

What happens when you power off the keyboard and do a soft reset of the EX5?

Does it revert back and play OK when it's been reset and disconnected from the computer? Or has something permanent been written to the keyboard's memory?

What are your computer's specs and are all of your drivers up to date?

At this point without more information I'm just fishing here.

Gary