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Topic: New MIDI Keyboard

I decided to purchase a MIDI keyboard today that fits nicely on my desk. It is a Nocturn25 by Novation.

Now I am reasonably good with computers but I cannot get this damn thing to work with my Cubase LE.

I can get it to play and stop the track but no sound when I press the keys, nothing at all. With my other keyboard I just plugged in and it worked right away, this one is not.

It must be simple but any ideas anyone before I completely pull my hair out?

2 (edited by polyal 14-09-10 22:19:59)

Re: New MIDI Keyboard

it seems that this is a bundled package...the keyboard has no sounds of its own its just a controller
but when you register it you get the vsti plugs which you can use in cubase ( and.. with any controller if you want to )so register get the plugs and set them up in devices vst instruments etc

midi controllers dont usually have their own sounds..not to be confused with synths which have their own sounds and are also controllers ( if they have midi )

and hair pulling is all part and parcel along with chucking everything through the window ( except the sprogs ) but its all worth it

dont forget with your controller you can play any and all vsti's you can download.. your controller will never
go out of date as far as sounds is concerned

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Re: New MIDI Keyboard

Thanks for the advice.

I do realise that it will not make any sound on it's own. Here is how I set it up:

loaded cubase -ensured the midi in and out were selected in the device setup. Loaded 4front bass as an instrument. Clicked on the monitor button for the track. press keys on the new midi keyboard - nothing - no sounds.

Plugged in my old midi keyboard via standard midi ports (the new keyboard is USB) and without doing anything further I could hear 4front bass playing.

I actually got a new bass module included with this purchase (which I already downloaded and activated and it shows as an instrument) so I tried this in the same way. Also this resulted in the same issue. This plugin loads up a GUI with a picture of a keyboard/synth on the screen. clicking the notes on the screen I get sound. Pressing the notes on the new midi keyboard nothing - again plugging in my old keyboard results in sound when the keyboard is played.

Just to be sure I did the same with EZdrummer which I had working on my old midi keyboard and again it was the same deal.

I thought maybe it was the automap software that could causing the issue. Turning this off is meant to allow the keyboard to work as a standard midi keyboard. It made no difference.

So I am now thinking it has to be one of the following things:

1) incompatible with cubase LE though I am guessing a midi keyboard is a midi keyboard and in its basic form should not have compatibility issues.

2)issues with this keyboard and Vista

3)some kind of conflict with my midi ports on my audio interface that is subsequently blocking the new midi path

4)faulty keyboard

I am going to phone their support shortly and see if they can advise! It is annoying as I wasted a whole evening trying to get this thing to work when I was hoping to be laying down some fantastic rock!

Re: New MIDI Keyboard

I hope MIDI keyboards are provided with direct USB connection for use with computers.  Are they Olly?

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Re: New MIDI Keyboard

Well I am very pleased and relieved to report that my problem seems to have been resolved. It must have been some compatibility or software issue as I was advised to download the latest automap software, which I must admit, I was skeptical that this would resolve it, but hey presto, keyboard now works!

So looking forward to tonight when I hope to get a bit of time to give it a whirl!

@naciketas - yes my one is USB rather than the traditional MIDI cables

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Re: New MIDI Keyboard

Been playing around with my keyboard again last night. Started laying down some drums and bass then got a bit of a guitar melody going on. Will post what I have so far over the weekend.

I am really realising the potential of MIDI now. I recorded a real basic bass line which I was pleased with.  When it came to the melody I realised that the last bar of notes didn't fit too well. Simply went into the editor and selected the notes and dragged them to where I wanted them to be! Fantastically simple and effective!

Re: New MIDI Keyboard

midi is the bees knees for any musician...fantastic tool..sounds and and melodies edited on the fly
then when you have the killer bass line ( sound and feel ) always render it to audio..then its permanent
and cant be lost...this is really important as midi data vs sounds is very temporary..you'll never lose the
notes but you might forget where the sound came from

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Re: New MIDI Keyboard

As always, good advice here. Thanks.

Whenever I used to think of MIDI, I thought of midi tracks that I used to download years ago that sounded rubbish. I could never understand how this had a place in today's music or even music back then (say ten years ago).

The last few days my eyes have been well and truly opened.  This MIDI bass thing alone is just going to make such a tremendous difference to my music production and this is just the tip of the iceberg! Already I have been playing around with some other plugins I can use MIDI with, like my ezdrummer and some piano plugin that I am trialing!

Re: New MIDI Keyboard

the reason most midi files sound sh!te is because when they were written the composer usesd his own sounds ..when a midi file is exported its at the mercy of whoever receives it and the sounds he uses
thats why its best to render to audio when youve got the sound you want...midi files are great for getting note information of certain songs inc bass lines and percussion if your doing covers..i work a duo and trio
and when a do a fresh song ( backing )i download the midi file and usually have all the parts of the song already worked out...i just then tweak them all and get the sounds sorted to suit

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Re: New MIDI Keyboard

*penny drops*

Ok I think I get it. So basically I could download one of those crappy sounding midi I used to own, import it into cubase, split the different sounds into independent midi tracks then use whatever plugin I wanted to then tweak each instrument so that it became as real sounding as I could get it. Convert to audio, mix it then export and hey presto, you have a quality sounding backing track?

If this is right then I guess the answer would be to lose any midi guitars and record those yourself, use MIDI for the bass, drums and keys/piano parts and job done?

11 (edited by polyal 17-09-10 13:07:26)

Re: New MIDI Keyboard

you have to sort the midi and render it to audio first ( using your pro sounding instruments )...then....you can use your
plugs and fx to start ( along with the other parts you have rendered say piano/brass etc )
creating a mix of audio and forming backing tracks or whatever....just use what you need...yes... forget them midi guitar parts and do your own thing ( or if you want to emulate a guitar part listen to the original tracks )

ps you're getting there

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Re: New MIDI Keyboard

Well thanks again, this is good to know. I might give this a go over the weekend. It will be a good excerise to get me used to things I think!

Re: New MIDI Keyboard

just another thing...if your doing backing tracks ..either for practice or gigging ..you dont need to record guitar...youll play that live!

have fun...if you get stuck ..post

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Re: New MIDI Keyboard

Good point - thanks - great to have someone with experience in exactly what I want to be doing ! Thanks for the help!