So i am new to this. Im thinking of buying usb audio interface and midi keyboard, but im not sure about how to connect them. As far as i understand, audio interdace goes to my PC through usb and then i should connect my speakers to audio interface, right? But what about midi keyboard? Should i connect it to PC or also to audio interface?
Help with connections
- Thread starter Chapell
- Start date
If a keyboard has an USB-B connector in general you can just plug and play it to a USB-A slot on a computer. No need for an interface.
Depending on the keyboard you might need to download (free) drivers for the communication and some midi-programs for the PC to play with.
Depending on the keyboard you might need to download (free) drivers for the communication and some midi-programs for the PC to play with.
happyrat1
Destroyer of Eardrums!!!
Here's some reading on how to hook up a Digital Audio Workstation.
http://www.ehow.com/how_7615706_wire-midi-patch-bay.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_7724362_wire-music-studio.html
http://www.blareshare.com/music/recording-studio/basic-studio-setup-for-home-recording-and-mixing/
Basically you can make a home studio as simple or as complicated as you want or need to.
It depends if you are hooking up a simple MIDI controller or a full blown MIDI Synthesizer.
If you are planning on using a simple controller and soft synths then you can use, but don't necessarily need the USB audio interface. Most computer sound cards can handle the job well enough on their own.
If you are instead opting for a synthesizer again you don't really need the audio interface. The average computer sound card is more than capable of digitizing CD quality audio and if your system is relatively modern and fast enough there should be no huge problems running soft synths as well.
Anyway, I'd advise doing some solid research on google before you buy and try and define your goals and skillset before laying out any cash.
http://www.ehow.com/how_7615706_wire-midi-patch-bay.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_7724362_wire-music-studio.html
http://www.blareshare.com/music/recording-studio/basic-studio-setup-for-home-recording-and-mixing/
Basically you can make a home studio as simple or as complicated as you want or need to.
It depends if you are hooking up a simple MIDI controller or a full blown MIDI Synthesizer.
If you are planning on using a simple controller and soft synths then you can use, but don't necessarily need the USB audio interface. Most computer sound cards can handle the job well enough on their own.
If you are instead opting for a synthesizer again you don't really need the audio interface. The average computer sound card is more than capable of digitizing CD quality audio and if your system is relatively modern and fast enough there should be no huge problems running soft synths as well.
Anyway, I'd advise doing some solid research on google before you buy and try and define your goals and skillset before laying out any cash.
The Y_man
Moderator
happyrat1
Destroyer of Eardrums!!!
There's tons of info on the web about troubleshooting latency. It's a software issue, not a hardware one. Your hardware specs are more than adequate for MIDI. I run my MIDI setup with Linux and hardware of lesser specs without issues.
Here's a guide on troubleshooting latency issues in Windows that you really should read.
http://www.native-instruments.com/knowledge/questions/847/Windows+7+Tuning+Tips+for+Audio+Processing
Here's a guide on troubleshooting latency issues in Windows that you really should read.
http://www.native-instruments.com/knowledge/questions/847/Windows+7+Tuning+Tips+for+Audio+Processing
The Y_man
Moderator
Agree - HW should be fine. I did have trouble on an Intel Atom with 1GB ram...
The Y-man
The Y-man
happyrat1
Destroyer of Eardrums!!!
What kind of synth are you hooking up and what ports are you using?
USB and/or MIDI ports are generally used exclusively for sending MIDI data back and forth to a computer sequencing program. Generally if you have a USB port on your synth you do not need to actually use the MIDI ports. If you have MIDI ports only and no USB (An older synth) then you need a USB to MIDI adapter (Generally between $20 and $40).
If you want to record audio out, it depends on what sort of audio outs your synth has. If all it has is a headphone jack for output, I'd strongly advise running it thru a small mixer and attenuators before feeding it to the line input on your computer soundcard. Even if it has proper unbalanced or balanced 1/4" phone jack outputs a mixer is still a good idea for level adjustment.
Anyway, keep in mind that MIDI data is recorded and sent with a sequencing program and audio MP3's are created by using a capture program to capture the data into the computer as WAV data and then use a converter like LAME to encode it to MP3 or OGG or FLAC or whatever format you desire.
From the sound of it, if your problem is latency, then you are trying to get your synth to work with a sequencing program. What make and model synth and what MIDI sequencer program are you trying to use with which version of Windows?
We try and help out as much as we can around here, but we need the proper data to make a judgment call.
USB and/or MIDI ports are generally used exclusively for sending MIDI data back and forth to a computer sequencing program. Generally if you have a USB port on your synth you do not need to actually use the MIDI ports. If you have MIDI ports only and no USB (An older synth) then you need a USB to MIDI adapter (Generally between $20 and $40).
If you want to record audio out, it depends on what sort of audio outs your synth has. If all it has is a headphone jack for output, I'd strongly advise running it thru a small mixer and attenuators before feeding it to the line input on your computer soundcard. Even if it has proper unbalanced or balanced 1/4" phone jack outputs a mixer is still a good idea for level adjustment.
Anyway, keep in mind that MIDI data is recorded and sent with a sequencing program and audio MP3's are created by using a capture program to capture the data into the computer as WAV data and then use a converter like LAME to encode it to MP3 or OGG or FLAC or whatever format you desire.
From the sound of it, if your problem is latency, then you are trying to get your synth to work with a sequencing program. What make and model synth and what MIDI sequencer program are you trying to use with which version of Windows?
We try and help out as much as we can around here, but we need the proper data to make a judgment call.
happyrat1
Destroyer of Eardrums!!!
With that setup you'd send the keyboard's audio out to the line in on your sound card and plug a USB A-B cable from the USB port on the keyboard to the USB of the computer.
Those are all the connections you'd need. Then google a bit on troubleshooting latency and you'll find the setup you need in your software to make it work well.
Those are all the connections you'd need. Then google a bit on troubleshooting latency and you'll find the setup you need in your software to make it work well.