Recording from Yamaha YPG to MP3/WAV?

[CarrieB]

Hello all,
Recently I purchased a YPG-535 and am very happy with the performance and sound. The guidebook and materials are rather old-school, including a CD-ROM.
I would like to be able to record what I play on the keyboard to MP3 or WAV (not MIDI).
I know how to record to the User Songs in the keyboard's memory, but these saved as .usr files when I transferred them to the USB.
On my laptop I've used Audacity, etc. for other purposes.
However, I cannot figure out how to go from keyboard to laptop. Online help videos are still showing line-in and floppy discs, neither of which exist on my computers, which just have USB ports. And from what I interpreted in the manual, a USB cable from keyboard to computer would only send MIDI data, not audio?
Any help would be appreciated for the simplest way of recording exactly what is played on the keyboard onto a computer. Thank you!

 

[b3maniac]

Sometime Google can be the better resource. You might try this site.

How to Record a Yamaha Keyboard on a Computer | Piano Keyboard Reviews

Modern digital keyboards come with built-in tools and features that allow keyboard players to make beautiful music; but a lesser-known fact is that these instruments…

piano-keyboard-reviews.com

Best, Don

 

[CarrieB]

Don, thanks. I had seen that site this morning after about 30 minutes of Googling, but from what I can tell (unless I am missing something) it is about transferring MIDI only, and then editing the MIDI in a DAW. I will give it another look.

 

[delaware dave]

Back in the day I used an old program like AWAVE to transfer recordings we've done at clubs and make CD's out of those records. Here was that process, take the audio from a high fidelity source, run it into the audio input on my sound card, record it as a .wav file in Awave, then take the .Wav file and use a program like Music Match to convert the .wav file to a CD.

So the only thing difference between you and me is that I took a pre-recorded sound source and ran it through my PC audio interface to create the .Wav file. What you could do is connect your audio outputs from the keyboard, adjust your levels and record the audio through the sound card to a program like AWAVE and create a .Wav file.

 

[CarrieB]

Dave, hi. Thanks. Yes. I am unsure which cable is appropriate. The keyboard has a USB A "to device," a USB B "to host," and a "phones/output." My computers all have USB A only. And I am reading that the USB output from the keyboard is MIDI only, but I may be misunderstanding.

 

[delaware dave]

USB A and B are for MIDI; so no audio flows through those cables, only controller data like:

• which and when keys were pressed
• when those keys were released
• pitchbend
• modwheel
• pedal info
• etc.

All of the above controller type data is flowing via the USB connectors. Phone/output jacks are audio-related so you want to connect to those connectors on your keyboard. The other end of that cable needs to connect to an audio input device on your computer, typically a sound card on your computer that most likely has an 1/8" jack as the input source, assuming that your computer has a soundcard. You may need one of these. If your keyboard has only one jack for phone/output then this:

link

If your keyboard has a left and right output then you probably need one of these:

link 2

 

[CarrieB]

Thank you for the description. None of my computers have a line-in TRS-style jack... only USB. I will try to determine if a TRS-to-USB would work for audio.

 

[chriswyse]

Thank you for the description. None of my computers have a line-in TRS-style jack... only USB. I will try to determine if a TRS-to-USB would work for audio.

Hey CarrieB,
I'm having the same problem now in 2023. haha. Did you by chance come up with a good work around:? Thanks! Chris

 

[CarrieB]

Hi Chris, unfortunately I did not. :-( I vaguely remember buying several cables and trying a few options (sorry to not be more specific but I don't remember the details... I think it was the TRS mentioned above), but I wasn't able to get anything to work and gave up. So I just use a digital camera or cell phone camera to record, and unfortunately the sound quality is not great. I'm glad you resurrected this thread because perhaps someone will have a solution.

 

[chriswyse]

Hi Chris, unfortunately I did not. :-( I vaguely remember buying several cables and trying a few options (sorry to not be more specific but I don't remember the details... I think it was the TRS mentioned above), but I wasn't able to get anything to work and gave up. So I just use a digital camera or cell phone camera to record, and unfortunately the sound quality is not great. I'm glad you resurrected this thread because perhaps someone will have a solution.

If I find a viable solution, I’ll be sure to share. Thanks for chiming in!

 

[chriswyse]

[SOLVED]

Okay CarrieB, I hacked together a solution for you. I only tried it with the Grand Piano but the output captures the full dynamic range as you'd expect from your speakers or headphones and the results are infinitely better than using your iPhone.

You'll need (see picture):
1 - Phono to Mini-Phono converter
2 - Stereo mini-phono splitter
3 - External speaker or headphones (does anyone know if you can use both phono output and speakers simultaneously on the YPG-535?)
4 - female mini-phono to female mini-phono stereo cable
5 - recording device (I used my Sony audio recorder - I haven't tried connecting to laptop and using Audacity but should work the same)

Here's a sample recording:

https://soundcloud.com/chris-wyse-229058025%2F230825_002a
Hope this helps! If you end up optimizing audacity using this method please comment!

 

[chriswyse]

CarrieB -- since your laptop doesn't have miniphone/line-in, you can get one of these dongles for cheap:

Search USB line in adaptor -- gives you those audio jacks you're missing -- I didn't know any laptops came without those!)

 

[cpcohen1945]

(Knowingly adding to a revived thread . . . )

Those adapters will give you _one channel_ of audio input.

If the DP / keyboard output _monophonic_ sound, they'll work OK.

If the DP/ keyboard outputs _stereo_ sound, you'll need two of them, or a purpose-built stereo line-level adapter.

The least-expensive, "brand name" unit I found after a quick search:

.... Behringer UCA222 Ultra-low Latency 2 In/ 2 Out USB Audio Interface with Digital Output

The user reviews average 4.5. It's about as simple as such a device can be. It's _not_ really "Ultra-low latency", but if you're recording from a stereo "Line Out" or "Headphone" jack source, it'll do the job for you.

There are lots of more-expensive "USB audio adapters" -- check this forum for suggestions.

. Charles

 

[chriswyse]

(Knowingly adding to a revived thread . . . )

Those adapters will give you _one channel_ of audio input.

If the DP / keyboard output _monophonic_ sound, they'll work OK.

If the DP/ keyboard outputs _stereo_ sound, you'll need two of them, or a purpose-built stereo line-level adapter.

The least-expensive, "brand name" unit I found after a quick search:

.... Behringer UCA222 Ultra-low Latency 2 In/ 2 Out USB Audio Interface with Digital Output

The user reviews average 4.5. It's about as simple as such a device can be. It's _not_ really "Ultra-low latency", but if you're recording from a stereo "Line Out" or "Headphone" jack source, it'll do the job for you.

There are lots of more-expensive "USB audio adapters" -- check this forum for suggestions.

. Charles

I would recommend OP buy a quality digital audio recorder with wav/linear PCM capabilities. I've been using my Sony recorder (pictured) exclusively. Makes recording a breeze on the fly, and the quality of the output is superb. Plug it into laptop with built-in USB connector and bam, audio files are ready for post-processing in any audio editing program of choice.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XTX2S2N/ref=twister_B07H71N1LN?_encoding=UTF8&th=1