Korg Forums

[thedudesdude]

Ok, Im not very hip on the MIDI lingo but this is what Im trying to do.

So far I am able to use my microKORG XL+ as a controller for the keyboard sound in my DAW.

what I what to do is use the sounds of my microkorg, but bring those sound into my DAW as a MIDI signal. instead of bringing the sounds in through the LINE OUT of my microkorg.

I hope I am explaining this correctly.

How can I do this?

[X-Trade]

The USB connection gives you a MIDI interface to your microKorg

MIDI means 'Musical Instrument Digital Interface' and it is a protocol consisting of a series of messages that describe the actions in a performance. Messages such as note on/off, controller change, program and bank number change, etc. are sent from your microKorg to your DAW.

Your DAW is then able to play back these messages, but the messages are instructions on what you have done. They need to be sent back to the microKorg synthesizer or to another synthesizer or software plugin in order to make any sound.

to provide an oversimplification, MIDI is like sheet music - it contains instructions needed to replicate your performance, but it contains no audio data.

In order to capture the sound of your microKorg you'll need to connect the audio outputs to your laptop either directly into an Line In socket, or via a USB or FireWire audio interface ('audio card', 'sound card') etc. and record it onto an audio track.

It's often helpful to record both MIDI and Audio at the same time in case you want to correct a wrong note or change the sound, you can edit the MIDI track and play back into the synthesizer later and record the audio track again with a different sound or other tweaks. The audio track is more helpful if you want to work on the mix e.g. with your microKorg not attached, or if you want to layer several different tracks with microKorg sounds, and for the final export when you want to send your finished track to other people or upload to the internet.
_________________
Current Gear: Kronos 61, RADIAS-R, Volca Bass, ESX-1, microKorg, MS2000B, R3, Kaossilator Pro +, MiniKP, AX3000B, nanoKontrol, nanoPad MK II,
Other Mfgrs: Moog Sub37, Roland Boutique JX03, Novation MiniNova, Akai APC40, MOTU MIDI TimePiece 2, ART Pro VLA, Focusrite Saffire Pro 40.
Past Gear: Korg Karma, TR61, Poly800, EA-1, ER-1, ES-1, Kawai K1, Novation ReMote37SL, Boss GT-6B
Software: NI Komplete 10 Ultimate, Arturia V Collection, Ableton Live 9. Apple OSX El Capitan on 15" MacBook Pro

[ttamelbon]

Hi X-Trade. Sorry, this is my first post and already I'm hassling a mod. I looked in the search function, but couldn't find a proper answer to my question, so I hope I could trouble you.

I'm aware that the XL+ will not record the synth engine sounds into a DAW through USB (at least I think I know that). I have been using a TRS cable into my Steinberg UR22 interface. So far, so good. However, my timing is garbage and having to nail the audio without quantizing or sliding a MIDI note or two around is poison to my workflow.

I'd like to be able to do one (or two) thing(s):

a) reference my music as I play, recording a MIDI and an audio track simultaneously, so I can use the MIDI notes to trigger the XL+ after it's all been played, moved around, and I'm satisfied with the timing/notes. How would one get the MIDI back into the XL+ to trigger the notes into, I assume, a new audio track?

or

b) be able to trigger the XL+ with another MIDI real-time (this would involve me connecting a different MIDI keyboard to the XL+ with MIDI cables, would it not? Also, unlike VSTis, you probably cannot have more than one instance of the XL+ in a Cubase project?) Is there any way to do it without MIDI cables?

Anyway, I'm terribly sorry if this post has been answered a million times. Thanks in advance,

Matt

[laquer09]

Hi there - ever get those two questions figured out? I'm new to this whole world and it seems like exactly what you're asking for is possible but I don't know how to actually do it yet.

An alternative I'm planning to mess around with in the near future is recording two tracks into my DAW...one coming from midi on the micro and the second coming through audio. I use Reason and I'm pretty sure you can use automation + stretch timing to actually line the two tracks up so that when you edit the midi it reflects on the audio track as well.

That said, though...seems your routing ideas should work. Curious to hear if they did.

R

[OpAmp]

Hi,

X-Trade described the flow. Connect your MK XL+ to your PC by both USB cable and audio cables.

The USB cable serves as both MIDI IN and OUT.
The USB cable can be used to record the notes of your performance in a MIDI track on your DAW. Once recorded, you edit the notes, quantize, whatever in your DAW. Play then the MIDI track back, meaning the notes are sent back to the XL+ over the same USB cable and the MKXL+ will produce the sound. The latter can then be recorded again in your DAW for further processing (effects, volume, ...). Of course it requires a good knowledge of your DAW and how to set it up to achieve this.

The MKXL+ has a mode where you connect external keyboard using real MIDI cables (DIN) and it will both play (sound) the notes and forward the MIDI notes over the USB cable to your DAW. In the DAW you'll need to select the other MIDI IN port. (The XL+ driver exposes to 2x MIDI IN/OUT to your PC. Have a look in the manual for that, there is a scheme.)

You can not really instantiate the XL+ as a VST in your DAW. You record MIDI data and send it back to the XL+ to render the sound. More MIDI tracks at the same time would mean more XL+ to be connected, in particular if each track is supposed to use another sound. You can get around this if you play each track separately (solo) and record each time the sound of it in your DAW and combine the audio tracks. For the same sound, you can still split e.g. bass vs treble key notes in separate tracks in your DAW.
Note that the XL+ has a mode with 2 timbres, each listening to another MIDI channel -> this allows you to run 2 sounds in parallel, but distributing the max of 8 voices over the 2 timbres and sharing the effect chain.

Have fun.
_________________
microKORGXL, Kaossilator Pro, monotribe, SQ-1, volca fm, Kross 88 BK
Alesis SR18, Akai Miniak, Fender Strat, Line 6 Spider II 112, Zoom MS-50G

[ttamelbon]

Thank you very much for your help. I found that Cubase has an input option of MIDI and audio at the same time. Thank goodness, as I thought I'd spent $350 on a pretty paperweight.

Matt