Howls,
Long time lurker, first time poster, so here goes. I have a Korg M50-61, I am learning midi, when I record a midi track, I save it to the SD card, when I load it up on my computer and play the midi file, it sounds nothing like it sounds on the M50. What am I doing wrong? I read on a previous post that you have to use the GM bank settings to get the right sounds, but that doesnt sound right to me, as there are plenty of different tones on the other banks. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
M50 Midi playback sound issue
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electric horror
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M50 Midi playback sound issue
Cobwebbed,
Hex
Hex
MIDI is only an electronic languate which contains information about a performance. That is, like sheet music, it mainly says which notes were played when and for how long, what controllers were adjusted, what program number was used, etc.
That means that there has to be a synthesizer there to play it back. If you use program 062 on the M50 then you load it on a different synthesizer, it will use program 062 from THAT synth, which may be totally different.
That is why GM came about - a 'standard' bank where all the numbers relate to the same instrument and they all behave in roughly the same way (all of them have CC1 (Joystick +Y) as vibrato, for example, even if that is totally inappropriate for a piano sound..)
Of course, the M50 has many really great sounds and you'll probably get much better sounding results using them and they'll have little programming tricks which are more appropriate to those sounds. GM was mainly conceived for musicians who are working with arrangements, rather than the modern day recording artist who has to worry about almost every aspect of the sound.
This makes MIDI itself pretty useless in getting across a finished track as well, as you'd have to carry the synthesizer around everywhere with it. It does have its advantages whilst you are still working on the track though, in that you can go back later and change the instruments, arrangement, mix, etc without having to start from scratch or do complicated multi-channel audio processing.
The internal .SNG format is based on MIDI but contains dedicated data blocks for the setup of the sequencer with regards to the arpeggiator, FX, etc, so if you're keeping your song on the M50 to work on, you should be using the internal SNG format where possible.
In short, if you want to get the sounds out of the M50 to record and play back to others, you have to record the audio coming out of the Main L/R outputs, typically into your computer through an audio interface or stereo sound card, but equally you can get standalone hard disk and CD Rom recorders, tape machines, etc to do the job.
That means that there has to be a synthesizer there to play it back. If you use program 062 on the M50 then you load it on a different synthesizer, it will use program 062 from THAT synth, which may be totally different.
That is why GM came about - a 'standard' bank where all the numbers relate to the same instrument and they all behave in roughly the same way (all of them have CC1 (Joystick +Y) as vibrato, for example, even if that is totally inappropriate for a piano sound..)
Of course, the M50 has many really great sounds and you'll probably get much better sounding results using them and they'll have little programming tricks which are more appropriate to those sounds. GM was mainly conceived for musicians who are working with arrangements, rather than the modern day recording artist who has to worry about almost every aspect of the sound.
This makes MIDI itself pretty useless in getting across a finished track as well, as you'd have to carry the synthesizer around everywhere with it. It does have its advantages whilst you are still working on the track though, in that you can go back later and change the instruments, arrangement, mix, etc without having to start from scratch or do complicated multi-channel audio processing.
The internal .SNG format is based on MIDI but contains dedicated data blocks for the setup of the sequencer with regards to the arpeggiator, FX, etc, so if you're keeping your song on the M50 to work on, you should be using the internal SNG format where possible.
In short, if you want to get the sounds out of the M50 to record and play back to others, you have to record the audio coming out of the Main L/R outputs, typically into your computer through an audio interface or stereo sound card, but equally you can get standalone hard disk and CD Rom recorders, tape machines, etc to do the job.
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.
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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
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electric horror
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2011 4:22 pm
- Location: Horrorwood, Ma
- Contact:
thanks for the reply, and making it understandable for me to read. I am writing midi tracks for a small indie videogame, and I wanted to keep the organ sounds on bank A, but thats when I noticed the problem. I have been using the organ in the GM bank with success, but wanted to expand more on it if I could.
Normally I use the L/R outputs and record through my line 6 toneport X2 for recording normal music and have no issues whatsoever. MIDI is just a whole new world for me that I am slowly learning. I use Ableton 8 to record my music, but havent gotten the MIDI to record on Ableton, and I read on another post that the M50 midi isnt good with Ableton, but I am slowly chipping away at that, and thats another problem for another day. Thanks again for your help, it is much appreciated.
Normally I use the L/R outputs and record through my line 6 toneport X2 for recording normal music and have no issues whatsoever. MIDI is just a whole new world for me that I am slowly learning. I use Ableton 8 to record my music, but havent gotten the MIDI to record on Ableton, and I read on another post that the M50 midi isnt good with Ableton, but I am slowly chipping away at that, and thats another problem for another day. Thanks again for your help, it is much appreciated.
Cobwebbed,
Hex
Hex
The M50 works just fine with Live. Assuming you use the KORG M50 editor and have installed the latest KORG USB-MIDI driver on your computer, Live will recognize the M50 as a control device.
On the M50, use the "external setup" for Ableton Live. Check the manual for how to do this. You can then save the settings as a session template in Live. (I forego this step and just launch a blank session.) In Live's preferences, make sure you have the M50 selected as a MIDI input and output device.
The basic workflow for using M50 in Live is as follows:
Open a new session in Live. Let's say we're going to use a blank session. Create one MIDI track and either a) one stereo audio track or b) two mono audio tracks. Drop an instance of the M50 editor plug-in on the MIDI track. (You'll see an error message that the M50 is not found. Don't worry. Just click the Cancel option.) Save the session and close Live. Hint: You can save this configuration as your session template. Oh - and power down your computer.
Connect the M50's L&R audio outputs via instrument cables. Connect the M50 via USB-MIDI to your computer. Power up the M50 first. Boot up your computer. Then launch Live. The editor plug-in will now go through an "electronic handshake" with the M50. Configure the routing on your audio track(s) to capture audio output from the M50.
Now you can record the MIDI on the MIDI track and capture the audio output on the audio track(s). You don't even have to record the audio at this point. You can just monitor. When you play back, Live will send the recorded MIDI data back to the M50. The MIDI data will trigger the M50's sounds and the audio will be sent back into Live.
Using this method, you have the luxury of tweaking and editing the MIDI within Live to your liking. Once you have the MIDI done to your satisfaction, you can record the resultant audio to the audio track(s).
If you go to my web site (see signature) and navigate to the "Recordings" tab, you can listen to recordings that I've made in 2010 & 2011 using the M50 and Ableton Live.
Hope this helps.
Edit: I realize that this is OT with regard to what you're trying to do with MIDI. Just trying to save you some time when you tackle this "[other] problem for another day."
On the M50, use the "external setup" for Ableton Live. Check the manual for how to do this. You can then save the settings as a session template in Live. (I forego this step and just launch a blank session.) In Live's preferences, make sure you have the M50 selected as a MIDI input and output device.
The basic workflow for using M50 in Live is as follows:
Open a new session in Live. Let's say we're going to use a blank session. Create one MIDI track and either a) one stereo audio track or b) two mono audio tracks. Drop an instance of the M50 editor plug-in on the MIDI track. (You'll see an error message that the M50 is not found. Don't worry. Just click the Cancel option.) Save the session and close Live. Hint: You can save this configuration as your session template. Oh - and power down your computer.
Connect the M50's L&R audio outputs via instrument cables. Connect the M50 via USB-MIDI to your computer. Power up the M50 first. Boot up your computer. Then launch Live. The editor plug-in will now go through an "electronic handshake" with the M50. Configure the routing on your audio track(s) to capture audio output from the M50.
Now you can record the MIDI on the MIDI track and capture the audio output on the audio track(s). You don't even have to record the audio at this point. You can just monitor. When you play back, Live will send the recorded MIDI data back to the M50. The MIDI data will trigger the M50's sounds and the audio will be sent back into Live.
Using this method, you have the luxury of tweaking and editing the MIDI within Live to your liking. Once you have the MIDI done to your satisfaction, you can record the resultant audio to the audio track(s).
If you go to my web site (see signature) and navigate to the "Recordings" tab, you can listen to recordings that I've made in 2010 & 2011 using the M50 and Ableton Live.
Hope this helps.
Edit: I realize that this is OT with regard to what you're trying to do with MIDI. Just trying to save you some time when you tackle this "[other] problem for another day."
KORG Kronos2-61, Yamaha Motif ES6, KORG Minilogue, Farfisa VIP233, Axiom 49, BOSS RT-20, Neo Ventilator
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electric horror
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2011 4:22 pm
- Location: Horrorwood, Ma
- Contact:
I have the Korg Editor, and I am pretty sure I have the latest KORG USB MIDI driver installed as well. I re-installed everything a few months ago. Thanks for the advice , I am gonna follow your directions step by step and see if it works out for me. Thanks for taking the time to reply back to me, as I'm still a new at all this, so I come here for the wealth of knowledge, and read the posts so I can learn more. Let the electronic handshake begin!
Cobwebbed,
Hex
Hex