very newbie question please help me....

[twhylight]

Hi everyone, I don't really know what I'm doing so I apologize ahead for sounding stupid. I tried to find answers on this site, and am now very frustrated.
I have a Yamaha Clavinova CLP-840 which I would like to use as a midi controller. I have the midi cables hooked up to midi in on Digi 002/midi out on the piano and vice versa. The CLP-840 doesn't exist on the midi setup menu thing under Yamaha, I don't know if this means I have to get the .midnam and .middev and for that matter, don't understand what the hell they are, or how you use them. In any case the CLP-840 doesn't appear to be working as a midi controller. Is the piano too old? Do I need something else hooked up between the 002 and the piano? Help!! Thank you in advance for your help.

[filosofem]

Hi twhylight

First up, devices with MIDI are never to old, in fact thats the beauty and the point of MIDI. Because MIDI specifications are a communications protocol that manufacturers voluntarily adhere to, the implementation of these MIDI specifications creates the desired goal of universality and expandability.

Ummm... Mac or PC?

For your MIDI devices .middev file, you can create this with spkguitars MIDI Device File generator and as for the .midnam file (Patch Names list for your MIDI device) this might be a little harder to come by. Google, Yamaha Clavinova CLP-840 .midnam you never know what you might find.






filosofem

[twhylight]

Hi filosofem, i'm on a PC. I tried to search for the midnam on every search engine known to man, and nothing. grrrr. I also checked out the midi device file generator and nothing in the CLP-840 manual answers any of the questions. Can't find any of the answers anywhere on the net either.

This will probably be an even stupider question but, is it the fact that I don't have the midnam and middev that keeps it from working? Or is there something else I'm missing?

[filosofem]

Ummm... no, you should be able to select the Digidesign MIDI Interface in the MIDI Output selector under Predefined. What the .middev file does is create if you like a profile for easy identification for like MIDI Channel mapping. With the MIDI Device file generator, you fill in that program and it'll create a .middev file for your MIDI device, which then you put in the rightful folder and as you create your MIDI devices profile in MSS (MIDI Studio Setup) your MIDI device will be listed. However... .midnam files are for your Yamaha Clavinova CLP-840 Patch Name list, if it has a Patch list, which I just Googled your device and I don't think it does, but I could be mistaken. Has your Yamaha Clavinova CLP-840 just got a MIDI Output port on the rear panel and has it got a Audio Output, either Left (mono) or Right or both?





filosofem

[twhylight]

OK. The CLP has midi in, out and thru, aux in and out, and to host. There is nothing saying audio output specifically, which I hope doesn't mean I can't monitor the output at all.

Also, on the Digi 002, only the midi in light is glowing, not the out. I assume they should both be on?!? The CLP's still not controlling midi. It doesn't show up in the instruments either.

I'm a little confused about the midnam/middev thing, and its relevance to getting the piano to work. Basically the middev just gives it a name? It doesn't actually affect the function of it? I am so sorry these questions are probably absolutely ridiculous. It's 4 am and I just want to know how to get this to work. Any and all help is totally appreciated. Thank you.

[filosofem]

OK, we want to setup your Yamaha Clavinova CLP-840 as a MIDI Controller (the Transmitter), so it'll require MIDI Out for a start. In order for Pro Tools (the Receiver), to receive these MIDI communications, it'll require that the MIDI Out of the Yamaha Clavinova CLP-840 be connected to the MIDI In on the Digidesign 002 MIDI Interface. Pretty straight forward. However, MIDI does not produce sound, the Yamaha Clavinova CLP-840 produces the sound, so a Audio connection has to be made. Using a quarter inch TRS cable, connect the Audio Output of the Yamaha Clavinova CLP-840 which in this case, should be the AUX Output to one of the Analog 5-8 'Line-Level' Inputs on the Digidesign 002. In this setup, because the Yamaha Clavinova CLP-840 is controlling the sound, you will need to turn Local On. Turning Local Off will result in the sound-generator being decoupled.

Now with the link I provided, create yourself a .middev file. Just enter the Manufacturers name (Yamaha) in the Manufacturers section and enter CLP-840 in the Models section. Do not worry about Device ID and enter Receives and Transmits Channel '16' and click Submit. Once you have your .middev file, put this in the folder named 'MIDI Devices' following this path C:\Program Files\Common Files\Digidesign\MIDI Devices.

Open Pro Tools and create a new session, create yourself a MIDI track and a mono AUX track. Name these tracks and Alt click the AUX fader. Selecting from the AUX's Input selector, the Audio Input that corresponds with the connection you made with the Audio Output of the Yamaha Clavinova CLP-840. Check MIDI Thru, Options drop-down list under the Pro Tools menus.

MSS (MIDI Studio Setup) Pro Tools Menus>Setup>MIDI>MIDI Studio Setup. Click Create and in the Manufacturers drop-down list select Yamaha. In the Models drop-down list select CLP-840. Select from the Input and Output Ports, Digidesign 002 MIDI Interface Ports and then select Close.

In the MIDI tracks MIDI Output selector, you should be able to select Yamaha CLP-840 Channel 1.

Playing your Digital Piano, should result in a triumph. To record a MIDI Preformance, record arm (enable) the MIDI track and hit F12 (Record).

Playback of VI's (Virtual Instruments) and playback of the Yamaha Clavinova CLP-840. You may have noticed that playing back your MIDI Preformance through your Yamaha Clavinova CLP-840, does not produce sound. This is because Pro Tools in turn becomes the Tranmitter and the Yamaha Clavinova CLP-840 becomes the Receiver. However, this setup will playback inserted VI's, just not the Yamaha Clavinova CLP-840 which is being used as a external sound module. In order to use your Yamaha Clavinova CLP-840 as a playback sound module, just connect MIDI Out from your Digidesign 002 MIDI Interface to MIDI In on the Yamaha Clavinova CLP-840.

Now, if your digital piano has samples or sounds that you can select (Patches) and because you do not have a .midnam file for your Yamaha Clavinova CLP-840 that contains these samples (Patches), you will not be able to select these Patches from within Pro Tools, you will have to select these Patches via the Yamaha Clavinova CLP-840 front panel interface, which is what you will have to do anyway because the availability of .midnam files for the Yamaha Clavinova CLP-840 are either very limited or totally non-existent, which then you will have to create them via a program written by Robert Martin called CherryPicker which also requires a Mac.

I hope this helps, you should be set to rock and roll.







filosofem

[randyT]

I'm using a mac not a pc but I don't think it matters in this case. You should be able to connect the piano to the 002r midi ports and then select it using the midi tracks input output selectors by selecting "Digi 002 Port x Control" and the channel any or 1 thru 16. No midi device files or .midnam files should be needed for this simple setup. Once you get this working you could move on to the more complicated setup. You may need to enable midi out on your keyboard and remeber to turn midi thru on in PT. Record enable the midi track and you should see the level meter jump when you hit the keyboard keys indicating you are getting into PT ok.

randy

[filosofem]

I know what I wrote may have seem complicated, but it is all relative to the sort of questions twhylight was asking that needed some sort of context and clarification. And was deliberately written out that way to give a structured step by step instruction to hopefully clarify the misunderstandings twhylight was having regarding his initial post.





filosofem

[randyT]

thats cool....he will need to know everything you posted in order to get sound and patch names etc....

randy

[twhylight]

Thank you for the advice. I did absolutely everything you said, and all of it worked, except I cannot hear virtual instruments. I can record the clavinova sounds. I'm sure it's something simple I'm missing but I just don't know what. Any suggestions??