I need help connecting my Yamaha PSRE343 to my PC

[Sarithus]

I have this keyboard: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Yamaha-PSRE3.../dp/B00C9UXXQW

and I'm trying to connect it to my PC so that I can record the sound. Trouble is, I don't know how to do that.

I have Audacity, but I'm not certain that's the correct software.

On the back of my keyboard I have 2 ports. One that says AUX IN and one that says USB to Host. I've tried both, but neither seem to work with audacity. It could just be I'm not selecting the correct settings as audacity offers many options on the microphone section. (Microsoft sound mapper -Input, Microphone (asus xonar DGX) Line In, Aux, Stereo Mix, Wave)

Here are some pictures so you know what cables I have. If I remember correctly I just found the aux in yellow one around the house somewhere and the USB to host one was for an old HDD.

http://i.imgur.com/KZsqnoF.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Kjsr5rI.jpg

The purpose of connecting is so that I can record music. I hope that's possible.

 

[happyrat1]

You use a standard USB AB Printer Cable connected to the USB Out on your Yamaha.

Then you have to install Yamaha's proprietary drivers in order to get your machine to recognize it.

At that point you should be able to set the Yamaha as the input for your recording program.

Here's the Yamaha Driver Installation Guide. Read it carefully and follow the right steps for your setup.

Gary

 

[Sarithus]

I believe I already had software called 'USB Midi-driver' or something similar already installed but when I opened it it said USB device not found when it was actually connected. I'll try again, however.

If I follow this guide correctly will I be able to actually record music? Becuase I'm aware of a difference between MIDI and actually recording the sound to make music. Does my keyboard allow that?

 

[happyrat1]

I'm not really a Yamaha guy but I believe Yamaha uses ASIO drivers to send both sound as well as MIDI thru the USB.

Google ASIO4ALL and read up on installing it on your system to record sound and MIDI thru the USB with that particular keyboard.

Gary

 

[Sarithus]

Well, that's disappointing. I downloaded USB-MIDI Driver and this is what I got.

When I click send all note on it plays a note on the keyboard, but it doesn't seem to be working with audacity. Any thoughts?

 

[SeaGtGruff]

It looks like you've got the driver installed correctly, the keyboard connected correctly, and the computer recognizing the keyboard. That isn't the problem at all.

There are basically three ways you can connect your PSR-E343 keyboard to your computer:

1. You can connect the keyboard's audio output to the computer's audio input.
2. You can connect the computer's audio output to the keyboard's audio input.
3. You can connect the keyboard's USB I/O to the computer's USB I/O.

Which one you should pick will depend on what you're trying to do. In this case the first method is the one you want, because what you're trying to do is record the keyboard's audio output on your computer using Audacity.

The second method would be used to play audio on your computer and send it to the keyboard so you can play or sing along with the audio.

The third method would be used if you want to transmit MIDI data from the keyboard to the computer, such as if you want to record the notes you're playing (not the audio but just the data for the notes) using a DAW; or to transmit MIDI data from the computer to the keyboard, such as if you want to play a MIDI file in a DAW and have it play back through the keyboard (sort of like a player piano).

To connect your PSR-E343's audio output to your computer's audio input (or vice versa) you're going to need two things:

1. You need a standard audio cable.
2. You need a 3.5mm female to 6.3mm male audio adapter.

You should be able to buy the cable just about anywhere-- Walmart, Best Buy, etc. (make sure you get one that's long enough to reach from your keyboard to your computer)-- but you may need to go to someplace like Radio Shack for the adapter. The reason you need the adapter is because the keyboard's audio ports are for 6.3mm (or 1/4-inch) plugs, but most audio cables are going to have the smaller 3.5mm plugs (which is what the computer will need).

So you plug one end of the audio cable into the computer's microphone (audio in) jack, plug the other end into the adapter, and plug the adapter into the keyboard's headphones (audio out) jack.

Then, when you start Audacity, you'll need to select the "microphone" as the desired input source. You'll probably need to adjust the settings to remove any noise (hissing) from the incoming audio signal.

 

[Sarithus]

SEAGTGRUFF, I LOVE YOU!

I seen the two pictures you linked and I knew immediately what I couldn't figure out before. I had the standard audio cable, the yellow one in my first post and I had an audio adapter. Thank you thank you thank you!

Edit: The only problem is I can't hear the keyboard while it's plugged in to the PC.

 

[ButchA]

Audacity is a multi-track recording software and doesn't really have the ability to use/enable MIDI. I have it installed on my laptop and it works great recording live with a standard microphone or line in/line out features on a powered mixer or amp.

In order to use the USB cable and connect it to a PC, you have to have a MIDI transcribing software, such as Finale. You can easily download the (FREE!) version of Finale Notepad. Once installed, open it up and set it up for piano. Plug in the USB cable and turn on the keyboard. Viola!! Everything you play on the keyboard will appear as musical notes on the staff.

IMPORTANT!!! Finale Notepad is good and will work, but for being free it doesn't recognize the "break point" in the musical score setup (i.e. middle C). All the notes will either be on the treble clef or on the bass clef. You have to buy the $49.95 version of Finale Songwriter (the cheapest one) and that one will have way more features (such as bass notes on bass clef, treble notes on treble clef, accents, dynamics, key changes within a song, etc...etc...)

www.finale.com

 

[SeaGtGruff]

The only problem is I can't hear the keyboard while it's plugged in to the PC.

In Audacity you can go to the "Preferences" (in 2.0.5 it's at the bottom of the "Edit" menu), click on the "Recording" category in the left pane, and check the option for "Software Playthrough." But be warned that the audio you hear coming from your computer's speakers is likely to be a little bit delayed from what you're playing, so for timing you need to focus on your actual playing rather than trying to keep in time with what you're hearing from the computer.

An alternative would be to get an audio splitter so you can run one line to the computer's microphone input and the other line to something else-- a pair of headphones, an amp, a stereo system, or whatever. Or if you buy a second audio adapter then you could probably run the second line to the keyboard's "Aux In" jack.

Disclaimer: I don't have a splitter or a second adapter, so I haven't actually tried any of those suggestions yet.

 

[SeaGtGruff]

Addendum: I went to Walmart because their web site showed an audio splitter for less than $3. My local Walmart didn't have it, but they had a "universal audio extension kit" for $10 that included an 18-foot extension cable, an audio splitter, and a 3.5mm female to 1/4-inch male adapter. I don't know if I'll ever need the 18-foot extension, but I needed another adapter anyway, since I have two Yammies. Anyway, the splitter works great with my Skullcandy headphones.

Edit: Actually, I ended up using the 18-foot extension to connect my Skullcandy headphones to the splitter, since the cord on the headphones isn't long enough. And the 18-foot extension is coiled like a telephone cord, so it's not like there's a lot of excess cord piled up on the floor under my keyboard. So it turned out to be a good buy after all.

 

[SANDEEP G]

I CAN CONNECT MIDI THROUH MY COMPUTER ( Mac mini M1) . BUT I CANNOT DO THE SAME THROUGH THE MIDI IN/OUT PORTS OF MY AUDIO INTERFACE (MOTU M2) I HAVE A CABLE USB TO MIDI 5 PIN DIN AND ALSO A ADAPTER USB A FEMALE TO USB B MALE TO CONNECT BETWEEN MY PSR E 343 AND MOTU M2.

PLEASE ADVISE

REGARDS. SANDEEP

 

[SeaGtGruff]

The first thing to check is that you've got MIDI IN of the cable connected to MIDI OUT of the interface, and MIDI OUT of the cable connected to MIDI IN of the interface (IN to OUT, and OUT to IN). That might seem mixed up, but what comes OUT of the interface needs to go IN to the keyboard via the cable, and what comes OUT of the keyboard via the cable needs to go IN to the interface.