Yamaha PSR E453 Recording Help

[Strumpen]

Hello!

I'm new to recording keyboard and want to test recording with my Yamaha PSR E453 keyboard. The keyboards built-in presets sounds good to me and would like to record thos in to my DAW Reaper. I was wondering if it's possible to do that via USB or if I will need to get a VSTi plugin like EZkeys to choose from different sounds? I apologize if my thread is confusing since I'm new to recording overall but I appreciate any and all effort put into giving me an answer!

 

[SeaGtGruff]

Welcome to the forums!

Yes, the PSR-E453 has USB audio along with USB MIDI. Both work in either direction-- in or out.

You should be able to record your keyboard's audio in your DAW using a USB connection, and (if desired) play audio on your computer and listen to it through your keyboard's speakers.

Likewise, you can record your keyboard's MIDI data in your DAW, or use your keyboard as a controller to play virtual instruments on your computer, or sequence MIDI data to your keyboard.

What operating system is your computer running?

If you're running Windows, you'll need to install the Yamaha Steinberg USB driver-- not the standard Yamaha USB MIDI driver, because that driver will not recognize the PSR-E453 and will not work. The PSR-E453 is class compliant, so you do not need to install the driver if you just want to use the USB connection for MIDI, but you will need to install the driver if you want to use the USB connection for audio.

 

[Strumpen]

Hello and thanks for your answer!

I'm running Windows 10. I have succesfully installed the Steinbeg driver but i can't get the soundbanks in the keyboard to become audible in Reaper. Do I use the "TO HOST" output on the keyboard or the "TO DEVICE" output? Right now I'm using the "TO HOST." Maybe it doesn't matter wich of those I use?

Thanks again for your answer!

 

[SeaGtGruff]

Yes, you use "TO HOST," and make sure you're using a USB 2 cable rather than a USB 3 cable.

The "TO DEVICE" port is for plugging in a USB flash drive.

 

[Strumpen]

I solved it! I just took an instrument cable and inserted it to the Phone/Output connection and connected it to my audio interface! Thanks for your help! I would have given up a long time ago if you haven't told me there is a way!

Thank you and have a a great weekend!

 

[SeaGtGruff]

Yes, that was your other option-- and it's what I have to do when recording the audio of my PSR-E443, PSR-E433, and YPT-400, since those models don't have USB audio. Note that if you do it that way, you might want to go into the Function menu and change the "Master EQ" setting to get a better signal as far as "clean vs. noisy." Check your manual to see whether it says anything about the "Master EQ" settings in relation to the PHONES/OUTPUT jack.

 

[SeaGtGruff]

By the way, I have REAPER, although I haven't really learned how to use it yet because it isn't my principal DAW.

And I have a PSR-EW400, which is basically a PSR-E453 with a wider keyboard, stronger amplification, L and R audio outputs, and better Acoustic Grand Piano voice.

So later on I'll see if I can figure out what you need to do to get the PSR-E453 to show up as an available device under the audio inputs and audio outputs (it would show up as "Digital Keyboard," not "PSR-E453").

However, if you were already using a USB audio interface as your main audio input/output device in REAPER, that might have something to do with why you were having trouble getting the audio from the PSR-E453 to show up.

 

[Strumpen]

I connected the USB directly into the PC since my audio interface doesn't have any USB jacks. But still it showed up as "Digital Keyboard" and not as "PSR-E453".

I haven't learnt Reaper yet. It's my first DAW. I'm still using the evaluation license since I haven't decided yet wich DAW I'm gonna get. In my eyes Reaper seems pretty complicated when you're a beginner or maybe it's just me. Do you have any recommendations of a DAW? Wich do you use? I've heard from a friend that some DAWs functions better for different kinds of music. Is that true? In that case do you have any recommendations for recording various types of metal? You said that Reaper isn't your primary DAW? Do you have multiple?

 

[SeaGtGruff]

The DAW I use the most is Acoustica Mixcraft, which I like for how easy it is to play virtual instruments. But it isn't perfect-- I doubt that any DAW is-- and I have several other DAWs that I dabble with from time to time: Steinberg Cubase, PreSonus Studio One, Ableton Live, Cockos REAPER, Tracktion, and others. Some are free DAWs, or the free lite versions, or free trial versions with some sort of disabled feature.

Just about any DAW has a free trial available, so you might want to download a few and see whether you like them. And just about any DAW should be fine for recording music. The main difference between different DAWs-- aside from things like the design of their user interface-- are the virtual instruments and effects that they come with. But you can buy virtual instruments and effects plugins separately, which sort of levels the playing field. You should be able to make just about any DAW work for you, so try some different ones for free and see which one strikes your fancy the most as far as how well you like the way it looks (that sounds silly, but it actually can be a factor in how much you like a DAW), how easy it is for you to find your way around the screen(s) to do things, etc.