Ok, I'm a beginner at this, so please bear with me as I explain all the details step by step.
I'm running a Windows Vista system. I installed all the necessary drivers for the R3 and they're recognized. Sound Editor is also installed.
The only connections I have are as follows: the power adapter, and a USB cable going from the USB slot in the rear panel of the R3 and then into my computer.
I performed the following directions as stated in the manual:
"R3 settings
1. Connect the R3 to your computer using a USB cable.
2. Hold down the [SHIFT] button and press [8] button. In the main display you can turn the protect function on/off.
3. Turn the [PAGE] dial to select protect off, and then press the [8] button or [SHIFT] button to execute the operation.
4. Turn the [PAGE] dial to select the EDIT-P43 MIDIFilt page, and set "SystemEx" (knob [4]) to Enable."
So far so good....NEXT:
" 1. In the taskbar, click the [Start] button and then click [All Programs]. In the menu, click "KORG" - "R3" - "R3 Sound Editor" to start up the editor.
2. From the Options menu, choose "Preferences..." The preferences dialog box will appear. In "R3 MIDI Port," set "MIDI IN" to R3 1 KBD/KNOB, and set "MIDI OUT" to R3 SOUND.
Note The device names may differ for your system. If so, select the MIDI port to which the R3 is connected. "
OK, following me so far? Now when I looked at my preferences options, here's what I have available. Under MIDI IN: R3, MIDIIN2(R3). Under MIDI OUT: Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth, SB X-Fi Synth A [CCE0], SB X-Fi Synth B [CCE0], R3, MIDIOUT2(R3).
The next step according to the manual is to "Receive Programs from the R3 Synthesizer."
Now in order to this, the only preference options that work are MIDIIN2(R3) and MIDIOUT2(R3). None of the other combos worked. I was able to successfully receive the programs off these 2 preference options.
HOWEVER, now what do I do since I still have no sound after pressing the keys on my R3???
I have a 5-speaker surround system hooked into a SoundBlaster sound card in the back of my computer. I would imagine that the R3 sounds are supposed to come out of my computer speakers, right? But there's only silence.
The interesting thing I noticed is that when I brought up the "Midi Monitor" menu in the Editor and then pressed some keys, the "Midi In" section is registering numbers, so that's working...BUT there's nothing showing in the "Midi Out" section.
What could be the problem here? Do I need some sort of extra connection going into the MIDI In/Out or Audio Input/Output ports in the back of the R3? Do my speaker connections themselves have to be plugged into the back of the R3 instead of into my computer (and if that's the case, the connections don't fit in there)? Do I have to change some sort of settings on my speakers and/or sound card through Windows?
I'm really at a loss here, and I don't know what to do or try. As of right now, I feel like I spent $600 on a machine that I can only look at as a symbol of why I like the music I listen to. If it's so difficult for me to get sound out of it, I can just imagine what it's going to be like learning all of its functions.
HELP!!! Please....
~Paul
P.S. I don't want to resort to just using headphones.
Impossible to play sound from R3 connected to computer. HELP
Moderators: Sharp, X-Trade, Pepperpotty, karmathanever
Everything you've tried so far has nothing to do with being able to hear the R3 played through your computer speakers, because:
midi is not audio.
You have to hook the L/Mono and R audio outputs to some audio inputs on your computer. No audio is transmitted from the R3 over the USB or midi ports. The normal audio input ports on a computer aren't usually very good, so a separate pro-quality USB Audio I/O interface box is very good to buy, such as the M-Audio Fast Track Pro. But for now, all you need are one or two audio cables that have two 1/4" TS/phono mono jack plugs on one side for the R3 outputs and a single 1/8" TS/phono stereo jack plug on the other side for the computer input. If you buy the Fast Track Pro, then just standard instrument/guitar cables will work, with 1/4" TS mono jack plugs on each end.
After hooking the audio from the R3 to the computer, you still may not hear anything on your computer speakers until you run an audio program that will allow this monitoring, and you'll need to configure that program to tell it which audio ports to use and which speakers to use, before you hear anything, unless the right ones are already set as the default ports.
Everything you did with USB and the midi settings are good and useful steps for getting the software editor to work, so you at least got that part done.
midi is not audio.
You have to hook the L/Mono and R audio outputs to some audio inputs on your computer. No audio is transmitted from the R3 over the USB or midi ports. The normal audio input ports on a computer aren't usually very good, so a separate pro-quality USB Audio I/O interface box is very good to buy, such as the M-Audio Fast Track Pro. But for now, all you need are one or two audio cables that have two 1/4" TS/phono mono jack plugs on one side for the R3 outputs and a single 1/8" TS/phono stereo jack plug on the other side for the computer input. If you buy the Fast Track Pro, then just standard instrument/guitar cables will work, with 1/4" TS mono jack plugs on each end.
After hooking the audio from the R3 to the computer, you still may not hear anything on your computer speakers until you run an audio program that will allow this monitoring, and you'll need to configure that program to tell it which audio ports to use and which speakers to use, before you hear anything, unless the right ones are already set as the default ports.
Everything you did with USB and the midi settings are good and useful steps for getting the software editor to work, so you at least got that part done.
Thanks for your help XML, but I don't think I'm going to buy all of those connections for my computer. It's not worth it, so I'm scratching the idea of getting sound through my computer. Not gonna happen.
What are my other options? A ridiculously expensive amp?
Or wait, I have an idea. I have a Logitech 5-speaker surround sound system that's hooked up to my sound card in the back of my computer. Now on the back of the "hub controller thing", there's a connection called Digital Coax. Would I have to buy something that would hook into there and the other end(s) would hook into the Audio Input/Output slots on the back of the R3?
This is my only other viable option that I could possibly think of. Otherwise, I'll just have to use a good pair of stereo headphones and make the R3 a "selfish synth". Who knows, maybe this is telling me that no one deserves to hear my compositions and that I should keep them very private for fear of idea stealing or something.
But aside from my opinion on the current audio situation, let me know if it's possible to hook up my computer speakers directly to the R3 somehow. Thanks
What are my other options? A ridiculously expensive amp?
Or wait, I have an idea. I have a Logitech 5-speaker surround sound system that's hooked up to my sound card in the back of my computer. Now on the back of the "hub controller thing", there's a connection called Digital Coax. Would I have to buy something that would hook into there and the other end(s) would hook into the Audio Input/Output slots on the back of the R3?
This is my only other viable option that I could possibly think of. Otherwise, I'll just have to use a good pair of stereo headphones and make the R3 a "selfish synth". Who knows, maybe this is telling me that no one deserves to hear my compositions and that I should keep them very private for fear of idea stealing or something.
But aside from my opinion on the current audio situation, let me know if it's possible to hook up my computer speakers directly to the R3 somehow. Thanks
you can connect it to your PC's audio speakers directly with a 1/4in to 3.5mm stereo jack adaptor. you would have to use the headphones socket.
it is by no means perfect but thats the way i'd hook up to a PC/Home Cinema system.
it is by no means perfect but thats the way i'd hook up to a PC/Home Cinema system.
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
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
Ok, I went to Guitar Center and told the guy my situation. I then bought 2 cables: a Y-cable mono rca (m) to 2 mono rca (f) and a dual 1/4" phone (m) to RCA.
My speaker LCD hub has a coaxial slot, so I put the Y-cable end into that. Now the other 2 ends of the Y-cable were plugged into the 1/4" cable. The other 2 ends of the 1/4" cable were then put into both AUDIO OUTPUT slots.
Guess what? NO SOUND. The speakers I'm using are the Logitech Z-5500. I absolutely refuse to use my stereo headphones the entire time, and I won't explore this machine further until I get sound coming out of actual speakers. How f**king difficult can this be?!
As much as I love music and have great musical ability, I'm seriously regretting ever having bought the R3, just for the sake of audio connections. That's enough to never make me buy an instrument of any kind again, especially KORG. These companies have to come up with SIMPLISTIC connections, and LESS of them to accomplish what you want. That's basically what must happen very soon for the future of music.
My speaker LCD hub has a coaxial slot, so I put the Y-cable end into that. Now the other 2 ends of the Y-cable were plugged into the 1/4" cable. The other 2 ends of the 1/4" cable were then put into both AUDIO OUTPUT slots.
Guess what? NO SOUND. The speakers I'm using are the Logitech Z-5500. I absolutely refuse to use my stereo headphones the entire time, and I won't explore this machine further until I get sound coming out of actual speakers. How f**king difficult can this be?!
As much as I love music and have great musical ability, I'm seriously regretting ever having bought the R3, just for the sake of audio connections. That's enough to never make me buy an instrument of any kind again, especially KORG. These companies have to come up with SIMPLISTIC connections, and LESS of them to accomplish what you want. That's basically what must happen very soon for the future of music.
I'm also moving to Los Angeles next year for graduate school, so maybe I should just let this collect dust until then. Then while I'm there, make friends with someone who knows about computer audio connections and all that garbage. It's the only other plan I have with this machine at this point. The only other option is returning it, which I don't want to do. And the reason for my return would be: this is the machine that doesn't play any sound.
I'll bet your R3 is working fine. There is a chance that you burned out the output accidently, because that Guitar Center employee sold you a Y-cable to combine two outputs to a single input, which NEVER SHOULD BE DONE. That's not your fault - since Guitar Center is filled with staff who don't know anything about how to hook up gear, even though this kind of connection is one of the most common that people need to do. No, it shouldn't be hard to hookup the keyboard to your computer speakers, and it wouldn't be if you gave all the details here first instead of relying on a GC salesmoron. You gave a lot of information here, but now it appears that you left out some critical information - that you were using the Z-5500 for speakers. These speakers have digital and analog inputs.
That COAX connector on your Z-5500 is NOT an analog audio input. It is a DIGITAL S/PDIF audio input. The R3 does not have a digital audio output. Nor would it ever be correct to hook a Y-adapter to a digital coax input. In other words, what the saleman gave you is wrong in at least 3 different ways. Unfortunately, the salesman could not have given you the right cable unless you provided the details of the Z-5500 audio connections, which are in the manual (and available for download).
The Z-5500 probably came with adapters/cables with stereo female RCA input jacks. It would be helpful if you dig this out. Download the installation manual for the Z-5500. Notice that diagram 2B shows a stereo RCA to 3.5mm stereo adapter. If you use that, you can buy the cable I describe below. Otherwise, you can use diagram 2C using the Aux Input on the Z-5500, on the right side of the volume control with the Musical Note symbol. Then you would need cables/adapters that go from two 1/4" mono male jacks to a single 3.5mm stereo jack (which is the standard stereo MP3 jack).
Here's what you need to go from the R3 to stereo RCA inputs:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Live-Wire-R ... 1166752.gc
Description from GC:
Live Wire RCA-1/4" Dual Patch Cable
Standard dual cable - RCA male to 1/4" male
Available in 4 different lengths from 1 to 4 meters, all under $10.
To go directly to the Aux Input on the Z-5500, you can buy this:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Live-Wire-3 ... 1166742.gc
Note to Guitar Center: I really deserve to receive the salesman's commission.
That COAX connector on your Z-5500 is NOT an analog audio input. It is a DIGITAL S/PDIF audio input. The R3 does not have a digital audio output. Nor would it ever be correct to hook a Y-adapter to a digital coax input. In other words, what the saleman gave you is wrong in at least 3 different ways. Unfortunately, the salesman could not have given you the right cable unless you provided the details of the Z-5500 audio connections, which are in the manual (and available for download).
The Z-5500 probably came with adapters/cables with stereo female RCA input jacks. It would be helpful if you dig this out. Download the installation manual for the Z-5500. Notice that diagram 2B shows a stereo RCA to 3.5mm stereo adapter. If you use that, you can buy the cable I describe below. Otherwise, you can use diagram 2C using the Aux Input on the Z-5500, on the right side of the volume control with the Musical Note symbol. Then you would need cables/adapters that go from two 1/4" mono male jacks to a single 3.5mm stereo jack (which is the standard stereo MP3 jack).
Here's what you need to go from the R3 to stereo RCA inputs:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Live-Wire-R ... 1166752.gc
Description from GC:
Live Wire RCA-1/4" Dual Patch Cable
Standard dual cable - RCA male to 1/4" male
Available in 4 different lengths from 1 to 4 meters, all under $10.
To go directly to the Aux Input on the Z-5500, you can buy this:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Live-Wire-3 ... 1166742.gc
Note to Guitar Center: I really deserve to receive the salesman's commission.
By the way, I intend on going with the diagram 2B route. However, if I do that, I think I'm still going to need something else.
So we have the Logitech 3-pronged connector thing (which I'll have to see if I have it...if not, I'll order it) and that patch cable. Here's the thing: don't I need that Y adapter also to connect the 2 together??
P.S.
My speakers never came with that cable in diagram 2B. I'm not sure what the hell the name of it is, and Logitech couldn't tell me what it is either. Would you happen to know offhand? I swear, the Logitech website is a real pain in the a$$. I can't believe all these difficulties due to complete, utter disorganization and unknowledgeable people (you excluded XML). The more complicated and technological this world is becoming, the worse it's getting. I really don't know what happened to simplicity
So we have the Logitech 3-pronged connector thing (which I'll have to see if I have it...if not, I'll order it) and that patch cable. Here's the thing: don't I need that Y adapter also to connect the 2 together??
P.S.
My speakers never came with that cable in diagram 2B. I'm not sure what the hell the name of it is, and Logitech couldn't tell me what it is either. Would you happen to know offhand? I swear, the Logitech website is a real pain in the a$$. I can't believe all these difficulties due to complete, utter disorganization and unknowledgeable people (you excluded XML). The more complicated and technological this world is becoming, the worse it's getting. I really don't know what happened to simplicity
It's a female 3.5mm stereo plug to female L+R stereo RCA plugs. It allows you to hook up to any standard consumer stereo system with a standard male-to-male stereo RCA cable. You can also find adapters instead of cables. My Logitech Z-5300e came with a square adapter with red/white female RCA on one side, and three 3.5mm female plugs green/orange/black. I think this adapter combines all the inputs together to receive the signal for front/rear/sub altogether. It's ok to combine one output to multiple inputs. It's not ok to combine multiple outputs to one input.
If you can't find this adapter, then go ahead with diagram 2c, because it's exactly the same - it's like having a permanent adapter inside that remote volume control box. All you really need is to electrically connect that 3.5mm stereo Aux audio input, which has the left channel on the tip, the right channel on the center ring, and ground on the sleave, to go to two 1/4" mono plugs, one left and one right. There are many combinations of adapters and cables that you can use to do this. The rules are that you can't use any mono Y adapters/cables that combine/split one signal conductor into two, since you must have two conductors for the whole signal path. Only the ground conductor can be split or combined. Just buy that second cable I listed. If you need it to be longer, then just buy a standard 3.5mm stereo extention cable, with male on one side and female on the other.
Just as encouragement, the R3 will rock with those speakers, so it is definitely worth the effort to get them hooked up. You will be amazed at the result, but be careful where and when you try it, otherwise somebody might call the police for disturbing the peace. You can definitely shake the walls with it. The R3 can go deep subsonic, even well below what your speakers you can do.
If you can't find this adapter, then go ahead with diagram 2c, because it's exactly the same - it's like having a permanent adapter inside that remote volume control box. All you really need is to electrically connect that 3.5mm stereo Aux audio input, which has the left channel on the tip, the right channel on the center ring, and ground on the sleave, to go to two 1/4" mono plugs, one left and one right. There are many combinations of adapters and cables that you can use to do this. The rules are that you can't use any mono Y adapters/cables that combine/split one signal conductor into two, since you must have two conductors for the whole signal path. Only the ground conductor can be split or combined. Just buy that second cable I listed. If you need it to be longer, then just buy a standard 3.5mm stereo extention cable, with male on one side and female on the other.
Just as encouragement, the R3 will rock with those speakers, so it is definitely worth the effort to get them hooked up. You will be amazed at the result, but be careful where and when you try it, otherwise somebody might call the police for disturbing the peace. You can definitely shake the walls with it. The R3 can go deep subsonic, even well below what your speakers you can do.
Ahh ok, I think I'm going to definitely go with Diagram 2C and hook that cable into the Auxiliary Input. It seems the easier way to go, and I can't seem to find that cable you mentioned for 2B anywhere. I was browsing online, and when I put in the name of that particular cable, so many came up and I have no idea which one it is. So....I'm going with the cable in 2C, and all I should need is the cable in the link you showed me:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Live-Wire-3 ... 1166742.gc
No y-adapters will be needed I'm assuming. It should just be this connected from that small hole in my Z5500 and the other 2 ends going into AUDIO OUTPUT of the R3. And I SHOULD hopefully get sound coming from ALL of my speakers, even though I'll have no front/rear/center cables hooked up to the R3.
This should be it, I'm hoping, and that's what I'm going to try on Monday. This will be the very last option I try to get sound out of my speakers. If this doesn't work, then I'll just give up on it for a few months and let it collect dust because I'm losing sleep over this.
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Live-Wire-3 ... 1166742.gc
No y-adapters will be needed I'm assuming. It should just be this connected from that small hole in my Z5500 and the other 2 ends going into AUDIO OUTPUT of the R3. And I SHOULD hopefully get sound coming from ALL of my speakers, even though I'll have no front/rear/center cables hooked up to the R3.
This should be it, I'm hoping, and that's what I'm going to try on Monday. This will be the very last option I try to get sound out of my speakers. If this doesn't work, then I'll just give up on it for a few months and let it collect dust because I'm losing sleep over this.
Last edited by PD187540 on Sun Aug 23, 2009 9:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
OK latest update: all the electronics stores around me don't have that cable for diagram 2C. This is insane, so I'm going to order it online. It's really unbelievable, and I'm now convinced that I'm shopping for clothes, electronics, furniture, etc (basically everything except food) online. Dealing with human customer service reps is the biggest waste of time ever