Question about midi with a digital piano.

[Joe3417]

I have an old Yamaha P-120 DP. The action on it is definitely hurting these days and I can't find a newer DP with the same sound. I am a newb when it comes to things about midi. Is it possible to use another keyboard but have the same sounds as the P120? It has midi in and out. I'm really curious about this maybe someone can help me. Thanks.

edit: I have an audio interface with midi in and out too, if that mean anything.

 

[SeaGtGruff]

According to the Owner's Manual, the P-120 has a MIDI In port and a MIDI Out port, so all you should need is a MIDI cable and a MIDI keyboard controller that has a MIDI Out port. Connect the controller's MIDI Out to the P-120's MIDI In and you should be able to use the controller to play the P-120.

 

[Joe3417]

According to the Owner's Manual, the P-120 has a MIDI In port and a MIDI Out port, so all you should need is a MIDI cable and a MIDI keyboard controller that has a MIDI Out port. Connect the controller's MIDI Out to the P-120's MIDI In and you should be able to use the controller to play the P-120.

Okay that's awesome, thanks! One other question if i may. I also have a Yamaha P-45 and it has a usb midi would I be able to use this as the midi controller?

 

[SeaGtGruff]

Not directly-- you'd need to connect both keyboards to a computer and use the computer as a go-between. If you want to directly connect two keyboards together and use one to control the other, they should both have MIDI DIN ports.

 

[Joe3417]

Not directly-- you'd need to connect both keyboards to a computer and use the computer as a go-between. If you want to directly connect two keyboards together and use one to control the other, they should both have MIDI DIN ports.

Okay I think I understand. Now would the audio interface be beneficial here? Its a Focusrite Scarlett 2I4 if you want to google it. From my understanding I will need to buy a midi din cable, connect the P120's midi in port to the audio interfaces midi out? Then what to do next?

 

[SeaGtGruff]

Yes, if you want to use a keyboard that has USB-MIDI to control a keyboard that has MIDI DIN, you could try the following:

(1) Connect the P-120's MIDI In to the audio interface's MIDI Out, and (if you want to send MIDI from the P-120 to the computer) connect the P-120's MIDI Out to the audio interface's MIDI In. (That second part isn't necessary if you're just going to control the P-120.)

(2) Connect the audio interface's USB to the computer.

(3) Connect the P-45's USB-MIDI to the computer.

(4) Install the appropriate Yamaha USB-MIDI driver on the computer for your operating system.

(5) Using a DAW, or else a MIDI utility like MIDI-OX, select the P-45 as the MIDI Input port and select the audio interface as a MIDI Output port, and then you should be able to play on the P-45 and have the P-120 generate the sounds. You might need to turn off the P-45's Local Control setting so it doesn't produce any sounds.

 

[Joe3417]

Yes, if you want to use a keyboard that has USB-MIDI to control a keyboard that has MIDI DIN, you could try the following:

(1) Connect the P-120's MIDI In to the audio interface's MIDI Out, and (if you want to send MIDI from the P-120 to the computer) connect the P-120's MIDI Out to the audio interface's MIDI In. (That second part isn't necessary if you're just going to control the P-120.)

(2) Connect the audio interface's USB to the computer.

(3) Connect the P-45's USB-MIDI to the computer.

(4) Install the appropriate Yamaha USB-MIDI driver on the computer for your operating system.

(5) Using a DAW, or else a MIDI utility like MIDI-OX, select the P-45 as the MIDI Input port and select the audio interface as a MIDI Output port, and then you should be able to play on the P-45 and have the P-120 generate the sounds. You might need to turn off the P-45's Local Control setting so it doesn't produce any sounds.

Thank you so much for your help! All I need to do now is buy a midi cable and I should be able to do this. Will there be any latency between pressing a key and hearing the sound? If so that would be a turn off. Then I probably would need a proper midi controller with DIN in and out. Thank you again sir.

 

[SeaGtGruff]

I'd expect any latency to be minimal. It seems like most latency is related to audio, not MIDI-- e.g., the process of converting analog audio to digital audio, or of rendering the audio of a virtual instrument, etc. If you're strictly working with MIDI data-- even though it's getting sent through the computer and audio interface-- I think you should be okay.