rig

Ok, I'll try to explain how to hook up a synth.
It isn't usually brutal, but it CAN be :)
I'll describe my setup.  It's KIND of simple.


There it is !!  Is it not cool ??
Yep, that's a hand crafted wooden stand for the Yamaha cp33 and Roland pcr800 :)
With a music stand, (sorta crappy) speakers,
computer, monitor, qwerty keyboard and mouse.


Side.


Closeup - note those killer sliders.


Midi Sequencer (Ditty) mode.


Computer programming mode, too !!  (yeah, that's my first love)
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Keyboard Stands

Face it.  You really can't play a piano well when it's on the floor.

There are quite a few varieties of stands.
Building your own like I did may not be feasible.
(It takes a while to learn to use a tablesaw and build it's sleds and learn how
 to NOT chop your fingers off.  Seriously, you DON'T want to chop your fingers
 off building a keyboard stand.  Your brain would go on irony overload.  Sorry!)

- X stands
  they fold up, but are pretty wobbly with a weighted key keyboard.

- 4 leg metal stands, or V stands or Z stands   (in that order)
  probably the best if you're going to be moving that ole keyboard round.

- small metal table frame with adjustable height legs at Ikea or whereever.
  These work good if the stand doesn't need to go anywhere.

- console pianos - sorry - i don't think they're cool, but, well, maybe it's all
  your wife will let you get.


You'll also want to find a place for your
- speakers,

- amp if you don't have powered speakers
                             (speakers with a power cord that don't need an amp)
- sheet music holder

- piano bench - I just use an office chair (NO ARMS on it!)

- headphone hook?

- if you wanna get fancy, a flat screen monitor and pc + keyboard + mouse
  or have your piano rig NEXT to your pc rig (not part of the stand)


Sometimes you can cram all this into one stand.
Often, ya just can't :)
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Hookin up:    AGAIN WITH THE MIDI !!

If your keyboard has a USB midi interface, (not causing interference or latency)
   it is your friend.  Use it:
      single USB cable from synth to pc (and some driver software) - EASY!

Otherwise,
   you need a pc midi interface :(

   Buy a midi cable.
   Buy two if your keyboard has a better piano sound than your PC.
   (If you want to use your keyboard's sound module for audio output,
    not just the keys for input.)

   There are several types of pc midi interfaces varying by the pc port they use

   - Your sound card MAY already have one cleverly disguised as a joystick port.
     If so, buy a wierd little Y shaped cable that turns it into a
     midiin and midiout port.

   - a USB midi interface turns a USB port into a midiin and midiout port
     (with an ugly little box to work it.)
     I've read that SOME usb midi interfaces have a LITTLE bit of latency
     compared to other pc midi interfaces.

   - there used to be some serial port midi interfaces and parallel port ones.
     These MAY have better performance than USB ones.
     But you may not be able to find them.
     Or if you do, their driver software might not work on your (newer?) PC.

   I WAS using my old soundblaster live's gameport-midiport setup.
   It's ok.  But my new cp33 and pcr800 have usb midi interfaces

   You'll need a midiin on your PC's midi interface for each keyboard you have.
      (and for other midi controllers like those button pads, etc)
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Who talks to who:

Okay, new guy in the mix - the MIDI SEQUENCER...:)

    (AGAAAAIN WITH THE MIDI !!)

A midi sequencer is a computer program that sits in between your keyboard
controller and your sound module.

It is your friend.  It will help you.  Learn it's ways.
(Start with ditty
 it's free and it's mine :)

You want to make sure all the important midi controllers get midi into your pc.
And if you have any good midi sound modules (your synth's perfect piano sound?),
that your pc can send midi to em.

Sitting in the middle there, a sequencer can listen to the midi coming from the
keyboard controller and record it into a "track".

A track is similar to a midi channel, but there's no "16 max" limit on tracks.
You tell a track to listen to a midi channel (or set of em) and record all
the notes&controls it hears.

These are played out together (sequenced) with other already recorded tracks.
You can display the tracks' notes on screen,
save em in a file,
load em from a file,
cut and paste em on screen,
add auto accompaniment,
Juggle which track has which sound,
Juggle which tracks go to which sound module channels, etc, etc.

The midi sequencer is what gives the keyboard player the capabilities of a
WHOLE ORCHESTRA (well, almost, you know...)


If you need a WAY fancier sequencer than ditty, hit google.
Just don't ask me for help ;-)
If you need one that's just a LITTLE fancier,
   tell me what you need and you just might get it.  (for free with credits)
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Audio - I want a .WAV or .MP3 to burn on CD or post on the web !!

   Okay, midi files are teeny.  They save space on your hard drive and they're
   what I use to record my progress in piano playing.

   But you just haaaave to show off, don't you.
   And your Mom has a lame soundcard with a rotten piano sound and,
      well, she struggles with MSWord
      so don't even mention MIDI to her or she'll freak...

   Ok, I assume you've hooked up audio cables
   from your keyboard to your speakers, right?
   (So you can just practice live without a sequencer)

   If you want to turn that wonderful little midi file into a
   huge bulky audio file, you've got some decisions to make:

   Are you gonna convert midi to audio via your PC's sound module?
   Or via your keyboard's sound module?
   Or both?

   If from your PC's sound module,
      just point your audio recorder app at the soundcard's lineout
      (sometimes labelled "what you hear")

   If from your keyboard's sound module,
      you'll need to split the audio out on the keyboard to
      both the speakers AND the PC's soundcard's linein and
      point your audio recorder app at the soundcard linein

   If you want to do both, you've got more choices to make:
      Are you gonna mix em live with a hardware mixer?
      Or are you gonna record em to .WAV and mix via your audio recorder app?
      In either case, you're on your OWN here...  Sorry...:)

   MAKE SURE you mute all the stuff you DON'T wanna hear while recording.
   And that you've got the levels right.
   And, well, just practice and you'll get it.
      (That's something lame I got from my piano teacher.
       Now I'm passin' that on to you for FREE :)

   The audio recording app can be as simple as windows' "Sound Recorder"
      (Start/Program Files/Accessories/Entertainment/Sound Recorder)
   Or you can hit google and look for fancier ones like Audacity.

   That'll get you a .WAV file.
   You can hit google and search on LAME and find somethin to convert to .MP3
   MP3 is just a compressed WAV file:
   You lose a little quality, but also lose a lot of bytes off file size.

   Good luck with that.  I don't mess with it much.

If you want a REALLY good explanation of rig hookin with plenty-o-pics, check
here
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More stuff for the rig:

Well, now that you got a midi rig, you can think about...

- midi drumkit !!
  Sure you can dink in a wierd little drumtrack with your fingers.
  But hitting drums with your arms and feet can be WAY more fun.  (and easier)
  I've got a crappy lil DD-55 which is VERY fun.
  (Might get something nicer when the kids move out:)

- breath controller ??
  If you just gotta play an oboe or clarinet, well, midi sorta has these...
  Don't expect acoustic instrument quality, but expect FUN :)
  I haven't messed with em - you're on your own.
  They usually hang off a keyboard jack I think.

- midi guitar - haven't used these either.
  people hated em in the 80s.
  some modern players do like em, tho.
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Ideas for building your new rig:

I built a wood shelf structure - google sketchup is =SO= cool