Yamaha E463 connections questions

[LivinLarge]

I'm an old dog just beginning to play keyboard again after 40 some years. I purchased a Yamaha e463 which has many features that I enjoy. I do want to add some new sounds most specifically, drawbar organ with rotary speaker. If I understand correctly, I should be able to connect to a computer with USB A to B cable and use the Keyboard as a MIDI device and communicate with a DAW program such as Reaper. In Reaper I can add a Virtual Instrument that produces the Hammond sound through a Leslie speaker. Will the DAW program communicate back through the USB connection to play through the keyboard speakers or through a stereo amplifier connected to the keyboard audio output? Can I play along with styles without noticeable delays?
Thanks

 

[SeaGtGruff]

Yes, the PSR-E463 has USB MIDI and USB audio, so if you connect it to a computer via USB then you can use it as a MIDI controller for a virtual instrument in a DAW and send the audio back to the keyboard so the sound comes out of the keyboard's speakers.

As far as any noticeable delays, that's difficult to say, because it could depend on factors such as the audio settings on your computer and in your DAW.

 

[LivinLarge]

Thanks. I am waiting for a cable to hook it up. Can't wait to try it.

 

[SeaGtGruff]

By the way, welcome to the forums! I hadn't noticed that that was your first post.

 

[Biggles]

Welcome.

The USB cable should just be a standard one with A and B plugs at either end, this is the type that with which you connect a printer to the computer.

 

[LivinLarge]

I have hooked up the Keyboard to my laptop with the proper cable and I am able to input MIDI signal to the REAPER DAW. I can get sound out from the laptop speakers but cannot send it back to the keyboard. I have set the output to be the keyboard but the sound still comes only from the laptop.
I don't think the problem is with the keyboard or cable since I was able to get it to work with a DAW app on an Android tablet. There I get sound back to the keyboard.
The laptop has integrated audio rather than a sound card. Could this be the problem?

 

[SeaGtGruff]

If you want to use the keyboard's USB audio features on a Windows computer, you might need to install Yamaha's Steinberg USB driver-- not the standard Yamaha USB-MIDI driver, but the Steinberg USB driver that adds an ASIO driver to your system.

Also, in Windows 10 if you have multiple audio output devices available, you can click on the little speaker icon down in the Quick Launch area of the Task Bar-- as though you want to adjust the volume slider-- and there should be an arrowhead that lets you drop down a list of available audio devices to choose from. If the computer is properly seeing your keyboard as an available audio device, it should be listed as something like Digital Keyboard. You can send any audio from your computer to your keyboard's speakers-- the audio from your DAW, the audio from videos you're watching on the internet, the audio from games you're playing, etc.

 

[LivinLarge]

Thanks for your suggestions. I did install the REAPER DAW on my desktop along with the Steinberg driver, I did get it to work there but it was buggy. Tried again with my notebook computer and eventually got sound out but never got the app to work correctly. Tried a different DAW, Soundbridge, but never got it to work either. Gave up and uninstalled both.

 

[SeaGtGruff]

Just to clarify, you are on a Windows 10 computer, right? Or is it something else, like Mac or Linux?

 

[Biggles]

DAW’s and Windows powered Laptops are problematic.

Some DAW’s work, Reaper in particular is a pig on my Laptop whereas Ableton and Cakewalk run just fine.

The main problem I have experienced is with the Driver, but the ASIO that Michael quotes solved my issues.

 

[LivinLarge]

I am on Windows 10. I finally uninstalled and reinstalled everything for the third time last night and got it working about midnight. Don't know what I did different, but it is working for now. Next I need to figure out how to map the pitchblend control to switch Leslie speeds.

 

[SeaGtGruff]

Sometimes uninstalling and reinstalling does help, so I'm glad you finally got it working!

I do know of cases where people had trouble getting the Steinberg driver to install and work as expected. I've even had occasional problems with it after applying Windows updates, and if I remember correctly I had to uninstall and reinstall it on those occasions.

And I know of one case where someone couldn't get the Steinberg driver working on a certain computer; it worked fine on one of their computers but not on another. They finally figured out it was because of the ASIO4ALL driver, which they'd been using before trying to install the Steinberg driver. If multiple ASIO drivers are installed they can sometimes interfere with each other, because it's more difficult to be sure you've selected the driver you want to use in all of the pertinent settings of your operating system and audio software.

 

[LivinLarge]

I tried Cakewalk and was able to get it working with that. I do like it better than Reaper and it is free. I am using the free AZR-3 plugin to simulate drawbar organ and Leslie sound and have the sustain pedal setup to switch rotor speeds.
Thanks again for the suggestions.