MIDI OUTPUT AUDIO

[holtbran]

I recently setup my keyboard, Alesis Recital, with Waveform. Almost everything works perfectly fine. Except midi output. All of my keyboard inputs are recognized and work well with the different plugins. Playback audio works with everything I select as an output ( headphones, speakers, monitors). But I cannot get playback audio to my keyboard speakers. Audio playback works with my keyboard in Synthesia with all channels selected for midi out. But in Waveform, I am unable to get playback audio. All channels are selected for midi output. My keyboard is selected as the output destination. I've disabled and re enabled the keyboard. Is there a step I am missing??? Any help is appreciated

[Peter Widdicombe]

It looks like that keyboard doesn't really function as an audio output device from other sources (i.e. the computer); although it MAY handle MIDI input as well as output; so POSSIBLY you could feed MIDI data back to the keyboard from Waveform or other DAW. It has audio OUTPUTS, but no audio INPUTS; and the MIDI jack is for MIDI data only.

Online manual isn't really clear on what computer input is provided, but does indicate the computer interface is for MIDI only.

If you want MIDI back to the keyboard, you want to make sure you know what MIDI channel it responds to, and then set the MIDI output from Waveform to that channel.

[holtbran]

Thanks for your reply. The keyboard is connected to the computer via USB midi. It is able to function as an audio interface for sound output from Synthesia ( midi track is played back through the keyboard). And it is selected as a midi output and input device in Waveform. According to the manual, whatever is recorded using midi is automatically a midi track, and therefore should technically be able to be played back through a midi output device. I've selected "all" as channel output just like it is in Synthesia, but maybe it operates totally different with Waveform.

I'm sure I'm just one click away, or a different placement of plugins from getting it to work. I'll keep playing around with it. Thanks for your reply again.

[Watchful]

I've kvetched before that Waveform's integration with hardware isn't terribly well-documented, but its actual implementation is very good.

There are a few ways you can integrate a physical keyboard with Waveform.

1. "I want to use my keyboard to control a plugin synth on a track."
- Set the track's MIDI input to the keyboard
- Default audio output
- Drag/drop a synth plugin onto your track of choice, to the left of the volume/pan slider plugin on the right.
Playing notes on the keyboard should (a) cause the input symbol to light up in time with your playing and (b) you should be hearing the plugin sounding through your computer.

2. "I want to have Waveform control my keyboard."
- Have some MIDI clips on the track in question
- Ensure the track is set to default MIDI output
- Make sure the keyboard is set to receive MIDI (same channel, etc.)
- Press play on the track, and you should hear your keyboard play out through its speakers, the headphone jack, and/or its audio jacks

3. "I want to record my playing on Waveform as MIDI."
- Set the track's MIDI input to the keyboard
- Default audio output
- Arm the track for recording (make sure the red circle on the input as as angry a red as you can get it by clicking on it!)
- Press record on Waveform
- Play your keyboard; the MIDI notes should record on a new clip it creates on the fly.

4. "I want to hear my keyboard's audio integrated into Waveform."
For live performances, you obviously want your keyboard to produce the sounds (see option 2, above) out its own audio outputs. But if you want to record the audio from your keyboard into Waveform to use it as an audio track, you can do this:
- Ensure your keyboard's audio outputs are connected into your audio interface
- Set the track's audio input to be your audio interface
- Track output is default audio
- Play your keyboard, and you should hear its audio appearing within Waveform.
- Optionally, you can now record that audio by arming that track and pressing record.

5. "I want to record both MIDI and audio from my keyboard."
Example: you're got a great idea for a solo or a new part, and you want to record the audio into Waveform, but also want to preserve the MIDI in case you want to export that to sheet music or make some additional backing parts with a plugin later on.
- Create a track
- Set the track's MIDI input to the keyboard
- Default audio output
- Arm the track for recording
- Create another track
- Set the track's audio input to your audio interface
- Default audio output
- Arm the track for recording
- Press record and play your keyboard. Your notes will record as MIDI on the first track, and as audio on the second track.

6. Use the Insert plugin, which is one of Waveform's hidden and totally undocumented gems.
- One one track, leave it as your default audio output.
- Set the input of your track as your keyboard (this will be a MIDI track)
- Use the Insert plugin (go to your plugins, look for Waveform plugins, then Utility, then Insert.
- In the plugin, under "Name," put something like Alesis to help yourself out.
- In the plugin, under "Send device," select your keyboard's MIDI input
- In the plugin, under "Return device," select your audio interface

Insert will take your MIDI, send it to your keyboard, but return its audio back to Waveform through your audio interface. This is a great way to experiment with sending MIDI to your keyboard and listening in real time to the results. Once I discovered it, I saved the above configuration as a preset so I can drag and drop it into any track; I've created one for every piece of hardware I have so I can have multiple going in a single project (one track per insert plugin).

Insert can be used for more than just keyboards--you can send any track (MIDI, audio, plugin, whatever) to an external hardware effects box, a guitarist's stomp box, or whatever, and the audio output comes right back into Waveform to record for yourself.

I am hopeful one of the above steps works for you.

[holtbran]

Thanks for the reply. Maybe #6 would help me out.

[Peter Widdicombe]

If you HAVE a .vst on a MIDI track, it may "swallow" the MIDI notes and the track output is actually audio, and not MIDI; so redirecting that audio output to a MIDI device will not be heard. If this is indeed the case, remove or DISABLE the VST, and while you then can't hear it on the computer, the MIDI can then be redirected to the MIDI external device.

[Watchful]

Yes, good point: if you have a tone-generating plugin on a MIDI track, that gets priority. Many effects plugins, too, can block the flow of MIDI data.

If that's the case, as Peter says, remove the plugin from that track and try options 2 or 6, above.

Remember--once it's hitting Waveform as *audio*, you can add effects plugins to that audio track and really manipulate your synth's audio output with chorus, delay, EQ, compression, and anything you'd like.