Okay. Let me just say I've tried absolutely everything and I have lost count of how many hours I've been trying to figure this out. It's been days and I've still had no luck.
I'm trying to connect my Korg X50 to my Samsung laptop which has Windows 7. I have a USB MIDI interface cable, the E-MU Xmidi1X1 Tab, which I am using to connect. I've went to the Korg website and tried installing the latest driver that's compatible with Windows 7, to no avail.
In the file Korg "USB-MIDI Driver Tools" under programs in the start menu, I try installing the driver to use the Korg USB-MIDI devices, but this always pops up, "ERROR: No device is plugged in." My laptop seems to be recognizing the USB MIDI cable I have plugged in because it shows up under devices and printers, but it does not recognize the Korg X50. The machine might as well not even be there.
Here's some important additional information... I have successfully got the Korg X50 to act as a MIDI controller in Ableton Live. HOWEVER, what I want to do is access the sounds on the Korg machine in Ableton. But since the X50 isn't recognized, the driver cannot be properly installed due to the connectivity issues and I have not been able to do what I wanted. MIDI information can be sent, but no sound.
I am very frustrated and hoping someone has run into a similar problem, or could possibly help find a solution. Anything would be greatly appreciated.
Major Problem with Korg x50 and Windows 7???
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SineLanguage23
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Wed Jun 12, 2013 7:11 pm
You seem to have tried everything EXCEPT what the manual told you to do. Did the manual tell you to buy a E-MU Xmidi1X1 Tab? No, it didn't. 
Why did it not tell you to do that? Because you shouldn't do it. 
It's not only useless but also completely unnecessary. You wasted every penny you spent on it unless you have some other reason to use hardware midi with another product.
On a side note, there is no such thing as a USB midi cable. USB can't be converted to use for midi using a cable. The products that call themselves USB midi cables are lying to you. They make the products because people think that they want a USB midi cable so that's what they ask for, and that's what the manufacturer calls it. It's actuall a USB midi interface that has cables already attached. Interfaces require drivers, cables don't. Cables have no electronics - they are just wires. These so called USB midi "cables" have built-in electronics that are powered by USB. It's not merely a matter of semantics. Interfaces and cables are two different things, and that affects how they are used. In this case, the improperly name product possibly confused you and led you to believe that it was needed. It's not needed.
All you need is a standard, regular old USB cable (printer style) with a standard A plug on one end and a standard B plug on the other. This is a real cable. It has no electronics or interface. It merely connects the X50's built-in USB midi interface to the computer's USB port. Then you can install the X50 as a device into the Korg USB-midi driver. Run the Uninstall Korg Device program first to remove any exiting Korg drivers and to leave at least two empty slots between midi0-midi9. Then the driver should work fine.
Why did it not tell you to do that? Because you shouldn't do it. It's not only useless but also completely unnecessary. You wasted every penny you spent on it unless you have some other reason to use hardware midi with another product.On a side note, there is no such thing as a USB midi cable. USB can't be converted to use for midi using a cable. The products that call themselves USB midi cables are lying to you. They make the products because people think that they want a USB midi cable so that's what they ask for, and that's what the manufacturer calls it. It's actuall a USB midi interface that has cables already attached. Interfaces require drivers, cables don't. Cables have no electronics - they are just wires. These so called USB midi "cables" have built-in electronics that are powered by USB. It's not merely a matter of semantics. Interfaces and cables are two different things, and that affects how they are used. In this case, the improperly name product possibly confused you and led you to believe that it was needed. It's not needed.
All you need is a standard, regular old USB cable (printer style) with a standard A plug on one end and a standard B plug on the other. This is a real cable. It has no electronics or interface. It merely connects the X50's built-in USB midi interface to the computer's USB port. Then you can install the X50 as a device into the Korg USB-midi driver. Run the Uninstall Korg Device program first to remove any exiting Korg drivers and to leave at least two empty slots between midi0-midi9. Then the driver should work fine.
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SineLanguage23
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Wed Jun 12, 2013 7:11 pm
Wow. Thank you so much for clearing all that up. I tried a regular USB cable and it worked fine and the driver was installed. Unfortunately however, I'm still running in to the same problem in Ableton Live 8. I'm not sure if you are familiar with the DAW or if anyone else is, but I'm still having trouble actually getting the sounds from my Korg X50 to be played through Ableton.
I'm not sure if it is just me not knowing how to rout it properly, but I do seem to be doing everything correctly to my knowledge. I load an external instrument onto a midi track, which you're supposed to do, but no matter what routing combination I try, I've had no luck with sound.
Got me scratching my head.
I'm not sure if it is just me not knowing how to rout it properly, but I do seem to be doing everything correctly to my knowledge. I load an external instrument onto a midi track, which you're supposed to do, but no matter what routing combination I try, I've had no luck with sound.
Got me scratching my head.
Ah, that's a different problem. You can't send audio through midi, ever. Midi is not audio. Midi is music note and event signaling data. So you will never hear the X50 sounds in Ableton using only a midi or USB-midi cable. Midi can be used to play midi notes sent from a midi track in Ableton, and it can be used to play softsynths or record the note data when you play the keyboard, but not the actual sound that the X50 produces.
You need to plug cables into the X50 L/Mono and R outputs to go to some audio input jack on your computer or attached to your computer with a USB audio interface. Then you'll be able to hear and record the audio from the X50 in Ableton.
You need to plug cables into the X50 L/Mono and R outputs to go to some audio input jack on your computer or attached to your computer with a USB audio interface. Then you'll be able to hear and record the audio from the X50 in Ableton.