Yamaha PSR E403 as controller/MIDI Device?

[TonyPoet]

Hi folks...nice to be here; hope it will be a lengthy experience!

I'm writing with an extremely naive bunch of questions, so please bear with me.

I'm part of a duo that does a rather odd mix of performance poetry backed with electric bass and nylon string guitar. I'm the poet part of the group, although I'm also a guitarist myself. We've released a couple of CDs which have done moderately well and are used to simple recording and lots of live performance.

For our third CD, we want to "fatten up" the sound a little bit and add in some simple electronic textures (beats, etc; this is still a wide open topic for us). We're pretty much OK on home digital recording techniques and have done some experimentation around creating electronic tracks in programs like Garageband and Acid Music and adding them to our more organic sound; although we're just starting out, I'm confident that we'll get there in time.

We're most concerned with how to translate that new sound into live performance.

One of the things we've discussed is using a simple keyboard that Faro (the other guy, of course) has to generate sounds and also for some live performance as well. The Keyboard in question is the above mentioned Yamaha PSR E403.

I'm not even really sure of the questions I need to ask, but the basic ones are this: is this a reasonable instrument for creation of really, really minimal electronic sounds? We recognize that there's vastly superior stuff out there, of course, but we're both inveterate tinkerers and would love to work with what we have before going further. Information I've found online is pretty elusive on this question, although the unit does have USB out and "supports General MIDI and XGlite" which is darn near Greek to me at this point.

And is there a way to use this instrument for live control of said tracks (versus, say, loading tracks created with this or other instruments into loop pedals and/or dedicated controllers)? Being flexible on the fly in live performance is important to both of us. It's not that we won't spring for more sophisticated equipment if we decide to go this route more fully, but for a couple of guys who are just dipping our toes into these waters, it seems to make sense to start with what we have before diving into our already stretched pockets.

Sorry to trouble y'all with this stuff, but it seems like a good place to start and if things go well, I may be here more often -- almost as much as I am on guitar and poetry forums, so be warned.

Thanks in advance,
Tony

 

[serknor]

Hi. I have a psr-e403. Mmm.... not sure of what you are looking for. Here's a little explanation:
- Psr-e403 can be used as a midi controller (playing softsynths, tracks, loops, etc). BUT (giant but) it doesn't have a regular midi-out... it has a Midi-to-host usb port. That means that it only can be connected to a pc with the drivers installed (you can't connect it to a module, for example).
- You can also use the internal sounds of the keyboard, and you can play midi-tracks inside of it (for example, for percussions). But this sounds cant be modified, only tweaked (cut,res,reverb,chorus,release,attack,etc).

Is that what you where looking for?

 

[TonyPoet]

Hi. I have a psr-e403. Mmm.... not sure of what you are looking for. Here's a little explanation:
- Psr-e403 can be used as a midi controller (playing softsynths, tracks, loops, etc). BUT (giant but) it doesn't have a regular midi-out... it has a Midi-to-host usb port. That means that it only can be connected to a pc with the drivers installed (you can't connect it to a module, for example).
- You can also use the internal sounds of the keyboard, and you can play midi-tracks inside of it (for example, for percussions). But this sounds cant be modified, only tweaked (cut,res,reverb,chorus,release,attack,etc).

Is that what you where looking for?

Yup. That pretty much clears up my concerns, and comfirms what I suspected: that at least to start, we're going to have to look at purchasing something that will help us out with more flexibility.

Thanks! Much appreciated.

Tony

 

[Skipp]

what you need is a workstation, not an arranger. Workstations are used for music productions. There are a whole lot of them out there, starting from used ones like Korg Trinity, Triton, Yamaha's EX5(s), Motif classic, over those who are a bit newer like the Triton Extreme, or the Motif ES, to the brand new ones like the M3 and Motif XS.

It all depends on your budget. Workstation keyboards mentioned above were/are the flagship keyboards from Korg and Yamaha during the last 10 years. Main thing you need to know... If you need a good piano sound (and acoustic sound in general) run away from korg and hug a yamaha... If you don't need any piano/acoustic sounds - Korgs will do brilliant

 

[Terr-or Form]

what you need is a workstation, not an arranger. Workstations are used for music productions. There are a whole lot of them out there, starting from used ones like Korg Trinity, Triton, Yamaha's EX5(s), Motif classic, over those who are a bit newer like the Triton Extreme, or the Motif ES, to the brand new ones like the M3 and Motif XS.

It all depends on your budget. Workstation keyboards mentioned above were/are the flagship keyboards from Korg and Yamaha during the last 10 years. Main thing you need to know... If you need a good piano sound (and acoustic sound in general) run away from korg and hug a yamaha... If you don't need any piano/acoustic sounds - Korgs will do brilliant

Agreed!!

But if you are looking for some of the best drum sounds on the market - Korg is king!!!