Linking my Midi controller to my PC.

[John Welsby]

I want to connect my Midi controller keyboard to my Computer. I have no need for recording facilities but want to access Piano and Organ sounds to be played in real time for use with a trio. I'm new to Keyboards (less than a year) so could someone advise me please, what software do I need. I'm Ok with the connections.

 

[happyrat1]

What kind of keyboard? What kind of computer?

 

[John Welsby]

Hi happyrat1, The Keyboard is quite old, it's a Terratec TMP1. I've been using it midi'd into my Roland Guitar Synth but I'm not getting the percussive organ sound I want. The Computer is a P4 running Windows XP. Thanks for responding.

 

[Tuomas Easton]

Hey John,

So what i'm getting is you're trying to just get a piano/organ sound that's midi controlled from your keyboard into your computer. This would mean you'd either need a DAW (digital audio workstation) like Cubase or Reaper (reaper is free..) with VSTs (virtual studio technology) which are like mini programs that emulate sounds, OR just the VST stand-alone program itself. There are dozens of these available, some are far more complex than others.

I currently use the program Reason to get the Piano tone I want (reason has upgrade packs called 'Re-fills' that have hundreds of new sounds, I'm using the 'Reason Pianos' refill that has a bunch of steinway and Yamaha grand piano patches that sound great).

after doing a quick search, 'Pianoteq' might be a relatively cheap solution to getting nice sound piano tones
https://www.pianoteq.com/

hope this helps!

-Tuomas
https://www.tuomaseaston.com/

 

[John Welsby]

Thanks for replying Tuomas your info is very welcome. Yes you've got it right, I bought a Roland Juno Di that I use for practice but the place in my tiny music room can't fit it in, so I'm trying to use my old midi controller through my Guitar synth (I've played Guitar for a long time) but I don't like the sounds I'm getting. I've got an old P4 computer and want to use this and the keyboard controller for rehearsing with a Bass player and Drummer. I'm not against paying out for some software but I'd like to try it first. So taking your advice I'll have a go at Reaper (I know that Cubase is much more than I would want to pay). I have a copy of Emu's Emulator X2 which I'm trying to get working, do you think it would do what I'm wanting.

Thanks again

John