Help w/Keyboard Setup
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Harvickfan4
- Posts: 6
- Joined: 17:47, 2 November 2015
Help w/Keyboard Setup
I currently have a Fantom X7, Nord Electro 2, and a D50 and I use a Mackie 8 channel stereo powered mixer with 2 12" speakers for my sound system. I just purchased a used Digital Music Corp MX8 Patch bay. I'm looking for help on setting this all up so my Fantom is the master and I can use the MX8 to control my midi routings so I can have different keyboards layer each other at different times and so on. I am also interested in purchasing a Korg Wavestation Software synth and would like to know how to incorporate that with my current set up and how I would connect it all. I have a new Lenovo laptop running Windows 10 with 6GB of Ram, and Intel Core i5 2.20GHz processor. I would be running the Wavestation softsynth from this laptop but how would I connect it to my rig and can I use the laptop to control everything instead of the MX8 and if so how would I go about doing that. I don't plan on doing any recording, this is all for just playing live with a band. Any help and info would be greatly appreciated.
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Harvickfan4
- Posts: 6
- Joined: 17:47, 2 November 2015
Re: Help w/Keyboard Setup
I guess what I want to know is how can I use the Wavestation Softsynth like you would a rack mount version of the synth but from a laptop and what I would need to accomplish this.
Re: Help w/Keyboard Setup
Hi Harvickfan4,
Not sure if the following will help or if you already have gotten this far. Lets start at monitors working backwards. The audio to the speakers comes from the mixers. You want the audio signal from your computer (Wavestation soft synth) into the mixer. This can be done with the USB connection between the mixer and the computer. This audio signal is digital and is converted by the DAC in the mixer. I also have a Mackie mixer but use it with a Mac.
I''m not familiar with Wavestation, but likely from within that program you have an option for setting the audio output. In this case you want to change it from internal speakers or computer audio to the mixer. For me this is listed as "Audio CODEX" or something like that. It should be what ever option is there when the mixer is connected and not there when it is not. So now the audio connections should be complete.
Now for MIDI. Again, I'm not familiar with the MX8, but it looks like it takes a bunch of MIDI I/O and interconnects them according to how you define it on the front panel. So of course you can hook in all of your keyboards to the MX8 with MIDI cables. The connection to the computer is the more interesting question. I think you will treat the computer as just another piece of MIDI equipment. What you need is a MIDI interface. These can be complicated boxes with several kinds of I/O, but since you already have a mixer, you can go with a very simple interface which is just MIDI to USB. These look like a small plastic box with a USB cable at one end and two MIDI cables on the other.
Since I don't have what you are trying to hook up I may be wrong on some details here, but what you are trying to do is not too hard and the only thing missing might be the MIDI to USB interface. (Does the MX8 have a USB port? It didn't look like it from what I saw on line, but if it does, then you don't even need this interface.) Just keep a picture of the signal flow in you mind. When is it MIDI, when is it digital, and when is it audio. Then make sure all the cables are in place to move those signals.
Good luck. Sounds like this will be a fun set up.
Rodan
Not sure if the following will help or if you already have gotten this far. Lets start at monitors working backwards. The audio to the speakers comes from the mixers. You want the audio signal from your computer (Wavestation soft synth) into the mixer. This can be done with the USB connection between the mixer and the computer. This audio signal is digital and is converted by the DAC in the mixer. I also have a Mackie mixer but use it with a Mac.
I''m not familiar with Wavestation, but likely from within that program you have an option for setting the audio output. In this case you want to change it from internal speakers or computer audio to the mixer. For me this is listed as "Audio CODEX" or something like that. It should be what ever option is there when the mixer is connected and not there when it is not. So now the audio connections should be complete.
Now for MIDI. Again, I'm not familiar with the MX8, but it looks like it takes a bunch of MIDI I/O and interconnects them according to how you define it on the front panel. So of course you can hook in all of your keyboards to the MX8 with MIDI cables. The connection to the computer is the more interesting question. I think you will treat the computer as just another piece of MIDI equipment. What you need is a MIDI interface. These can be complicated boxes with several kinds of I/O, but since you already have a mixer, you can go with a very simple interface which is just MIDI to USB. These look like a small plastic box with a USB cable at one end and two MIDI cables on the other.
Since I don't have what you are trying to hook up I may be wrong on some details here, but what you are trying to do is not too hard and the only thing missing might be the MIDI to USB interface. (Does the MX8 have a USB port? It didn't look like it from what I saw on line, but if it does, then you don't even need this interface.) Just keep a picture of the signal flow in you mind. When is it MIDI, when is it digital, and when is it audio. Then make sure all the cables are in place to move those signals.
Good luck. Sounds like this will be a fun set up.
Rodan