Yamaha NU1 Hybrid Piano Set Up

[Paul M]

Hi -  this is my first post and new to Cakewalk but wow what a program!

My aim is to record separate midi tracks so I can play piano duets with myself. I fully understand all the principles (if not every nuance of the program so far).

I have turned Local Midi OFF on the piano. When i play "live" and recording the track, it all sounds ok, but when I replay the midi tracks (back through the piano), it sounds like there's a fractional echo or some artefact being introduced to the sound.

It's so close to the original sound of the piano but there's something going on that I can't work out.

In case you need this info: Connection is via USB cable.

Have watched lots of YouTube Channels to try and figure this out and searched here but can't seem to find a solution.

Any ideas?

Thanks a lot in advance

Paul

[John Vere]

Most people use the keyboard to input midi data and then use a VST instrument to play it back in Cakewalk. This is less complicated than using hardware as a sound source. 
If you use the keyboard as a sound source then you have to re record the audio output to an audio track. This is only desirable when the keyboard has sounds that are not available as VST instruments. This is pretty rare, Piano and the other sounds that they generate is well covered by VST’s so no need to use your hardware. 
Tutorials #2 , 12-13-14 cover this. 

 

Edited July 6, 2022 by John Vere

[Paul M]

Hi John,

Your reply was really appreciated and I understand where you're coming from. 

I think it prudent I go through your tutorials first (I have already viewed all of those on YouTube by another guy ADK).

Once I've absorbed your videos and experimented, I'll get back to you with how I got on.

Thanks once again for your help and guidance.

Regards

Paul

[David Baay]

Like many users with higher-end digital pianos, I often use hardware piano sounds in preference to VSTis. I will respectfully disagree with John and say that the best hardware is generally superior to the best plugins in this realm, and the Yamaha NU1 is certainly among the best.

Are you direct-monitoring the Yamaha's output or input-monitoring back through an audio track in CbB and out to a monitoring system?

If the latter, possibly you are recording both MIDI and Audio, and getting phasy sound from the layering of the real-time MIDI driven output with the recorded audio on playback.  SOP for working with a hardware piano/synth is to record only the MIDI initially, edit it as necessary to perfect the performance, and then arm an audio track to record it and mute/archive the MIDI track after recording the audio.

Most of the other setup issues that would cause echoing (e.g. the piano transmitting on two channels or connected via both USB and DIN MIDI ports) would manifest while playing live as well as on playback. 

In any case, make sure you have the Input of the MIDI track set to a specific port and MIDI channel of the Yamaha to avoid recording duplicate MIDI events.

 

 

 

Edited July 18, 2022 by David Baay