Best Way To Record a Yamaha CP300 into ProTools???

[Guitar Guy]

If I go 1/4 inch or xlr Left and Right outs, I can just set up a stereo track using the amazing onboard sounds of the CP300.

However, I won't be able to utilize the quantize function and really make things easy on my pianist.

If I just use the CP300 as a trigger, I can use the quantize, but all I have are the stock Digi Virtual Instruments...and I am NOT impressed with the piano plug-in for Pro Tools.

Does anyone have any experience/recommendations for getting the best sound out of the CP-300? I'm all ears.

Thanks!

[albee1952]

Use both. Call up a stereo instrument track and set the audio inputs to match where the Yamaha is plugged in. When you record this track, it records midi(which you can edit to your heart's content) and plays audio from the keyboard.

[Guitar Guy]

Albee,

I must be doing something wrong. I connected the Keyboard via quarter inch, created a new instrument track, matched the Digi003 input with the Protools software input, record enabled...nothing (no signal or MIDI info displaying). I can, of course, get signal by using a regular audio track, but that only creates a wave file that I cannot edit like MIDI. I could just use the piano as a trigger, but then I'm stuck with a very limited sound bank that I'm unhappy with. If you see something I might not be doing right, let me know!

[flommer]

Do you have a MIDI connection between your recording rig and the Yamaha? You have not indicated that you have.

If you are using MIDI cables (as opposed to USB) then you will need 2 cables. A MIDI cable only passes data in one direction.

Once you have bidirectional MIDI communication going on, then you should make some settings:

On the Yamaha, you should turn "Local Control" off. This disconnects the keys from the synth. You will be passing MIDI out through protools and back to the Yamaha to control it's synth. If you don't do this then you will get doubling of the notes.

In Protools, make sure you have "MIDI Thru" enabled.

Then you will need:

one MIDI track, input set to all, output set to your Yamaha

one (stereo presumably) Aux input track, input set to whatever physical inputs the yamaha is connected to.

If you want to record the audio, then you will also need a stereo audio track. Set the output of the aux to a stereo bus and set the input of the audio track to the same bus.


Note that you can use an instrument track in place of the MIDI and aux inputs, as that is all an instrument track is anyway,... a combination of the two...

[Guitar Guy]

This particular keyboard only has a USB out...no MIDI out available. Is what I'm trying to do even possible? I apologize for the ignorance, as I am not a piano player and am trying to get this set up before the person who plays comes over. Thanks.

[flommer]

I don't think the problem is that you are not a piano player, but you don't seem to have a good grasp on how MIDI works.

It appears that the yamaha requires a USB MIDI driver (mac and windoze, under the "support" tab)

Have you installed that already?

If so, from a MIDI track within protools, you should see the Yamaha available as both a MIDI source(input) and a MIDI destination(output). If that is the case, then my previous advice is the same. There may be some additional details, like selecting the proper MIDI channel, but usually those things only get tweaked if you intentionally do so.

For further troubleshooting you'll need to post more details, like your protools session settings thus far... Maybe screenshots, etc..

[MiggyBroadfoot]

Hi, guitar guy, did you get this sorted out in the end?