Seriously??

You mention I think 9 separate items there (hardware/software). To answer your question (which is ???) someone would need to know something (even a bit) about all of them.

I know nothing about any of them. Some I've never heard of.

The only thing I might suggest is that you try to set up the absolute basic config (i.e. control source - keyboard ?) sending midi data to sound generator (tone module) sending audio to amp). Does this work? If not, what do you get?

Once you've got basic set up, add other items one by one, ensuring system still works as you add each one.

Your starting point seems WAY too complicated. For a first system??

Geoff

Hi Geoff!! Thank you for your answer !! All what i know is the Yamaha keyboards have a midi and audio sequencer,and if i connect properly the 5 units (Yamaha PSR S900,Yamaha MX49,Roland JV1080,Korg X3R,and the Boss Dr.770) with MIDI and i have the right software ,the 5 units have to sound in sincron,this call Synth Layering.

Hello,

What do you mean by 'audio sequencer'. I would suppose such a thing is possible, although I'm not sure about the level of technology needed to achieve such a thing. The USUAL sequencer stores a succession of commands (usually midi), allows the resultant sequence to be edited, and played, and it's only at the final point (same as playing a key on the keyboard, etc) that the result becomes audio.

I would assume that if you connect all the devices together using midi out --> midi in, then something will play. I assume you've connected the various audio outputs to something?

Note that midi is handled using 16 channels. Some devices may handle more than 16, i.e. 32, but that gets into USB connections etc which is more complicated that I want to get into just now. Each channel, on each device, may be set to a specific sound. Each device may or may not SEND midi data via one or more channels. Some devices may be fixed, i.e. the send data on channel x ONLY, or receive midi data on channel y ONLY. Other devices may be able to be programmed to send and or receive data on specif channels.

If I was using multiple devices, I would set my master to send on ALL channels, and I would set one instrument to receive on certain channels, another device to receive other channels, and so on, such that all 16 channels were receiving something. Each receiving device would need it's audio output to be mixed together to one audio output. I for example use a Fostex keyboard mixer, and various midi devices are plugged into that (audio) and using the controls of the mixer I can turn indiv units on/off, play them all together (overlaying) etc.

You can properly overlay just one instrument, by setting one channel to one sound, setting another channel to another sound, and having both channels play the same notes at the same time. Even with the same patch on both channels, small variations in the sound setting between the channels will affect the mixed sound. This is one of the uses of the sequencer.

With the setup you now describe, is there any need for the 'software'?

Also, the very fact that you're doing this through midi would automatically achieve the 'synchronisation' you refer to. That's what midi is designed to do. ALL midi commands are time stamped.

Geoff

Further to a bit of checking via the web.

I don't know what you're trying to achieve with all the bits you refer to. What is your plan?

Keeping to the various pieces you listed in your later posting, even these seem inconsistent.

As far as I can tell, the two Yamaha pieces are keyboards. The PSR is more sophisticated in terms of sounds, and includes 'arranger' processes which I assume constitutes the 'sequencer' you referred to. So, as the driver/master for your setup, this could be one option.

The other Yamaha seems to be just a keyboard. However, it may well be a better KEYBOARD than the PSR, and it's more of a pure 'synthesiser' than the PSR, so for certain sorts of work this may be a better master.

Either keyboard could be used as a tone generator driven by the other keyboard. Just would make things a little more complex.

The Roland and Korg devices are tone modules, as far as I can tell, and they need the midi control from the other devices (or from midi data coming from a computer). They need to be subservient to something else..

As for the BOSS drum box, how will this fit in? Yes, it CAN be driven by midi, from the rest of the system, but I suspect that any one of the other 4 devices could prob do as well. If you're going to try to use the BOSS as it's designed to be used, this will NOT fit in with the rest of the system? Then you would have synchronisation problems? There COULD be a role for the BOSS, if you got into a position that the quantity of midi data being processed was overloading the other units, so the BOSS could take the load off by handling all the percussion data (channel 10, usually), and the other devices should then be programmed to make them NOT receive data on channel 10. This could be useful. However, given the capabilities of the other units, you'd have to be producing some pretty heavy stuff to be in this position.

However you start, you'll need some sort of audio unit that can receive the audio output of all the devices being played (say 5, stereo ?, so 10 channels) and allow this to be selected/mixed to one audio output. Do the other devices you originally mentioned include something like that?

Geoff

Hi Geoff!! I don"t know how to say Big Thank You spending your time for answering my letters. I have all ready synchronization with Yamaha PSR S900,Roland JV1080,and Korg X3R sound modules,but i would like connect to PC and i don't know with software good (Ableton Live Lite,Cubase Lite,Ableton 8) for just a simple home playing.I don't want to record,just playing songs for my self.

I forgot to tell you in my previous posts i have a 10 channel Yamaha audio mixer. Regards Kalmy

Hello,

I'm not familiar with the software packages you refer to, but I've no doubt they do what you want in a way not too different from systems I'm familiar with.

First of all, you need some sort of midi output on your PC. You may need input too at some point, but leave that aside for now. This can be a speific midi port (a 5 pin DIN socket) or it might be using USB, which will require specific drivers on the PC end, and USB input on at least the first of the external devices, or some sort of interface between the devices to provide the link.

All my bits are just midi connectors, no USB. Some of the packages you refer to may have USB connectivity built in.

Either way, I believe you'll need to tell the various devices that they are linking via USB rather than midi, which may be the default. Some more modern devices may default to USB, or may be able to tell automatically.

With the midi cables, you would just daisy chain the devices, i.e. PC OUT to keyb IN, Keyb OUT to module 1 IN, Module 1 THRU to module 2 IN. Then, whatever plays on the PC will go to all three units, and depending on channel settings etc (as referred to previously) you could be playing all three units, which should have all their audio outputs connected to mixer so you can fade indiv units in or out as needed. This same connection would allow you to play the keyboard manually, and send part of the midi data to the modules as required.

Again, it may NOT matter at all if all three units are making noise, as you could control what you actually HEAR using the faders on the mixer. This is how My system is set up, I presently have only three of my units connected up, but I have them all playing via the mixer. In effect, all three are responding to the midi data, but I use the mixer to fade in the one I want, and fade out the others.

I assume you can do something similar via USB.

When things are set up, you need to load your midi files into the software, and play them. See what happens. The software should have simple facility to load and display a midi file, allow some editing, and allow playback, although all three progs you mention may be much more complex that needed for just this task, which may make things more complicated.

Geoff

Thank You Geoff!! I listen to you and i will due definitely what you wrote above. Yes both keyboards has USB connector and both have 5 pin DIN (Midi) sockets bat only MIDI IN and MIDI OUT. The sound modules has MIDI IN,OUT and THRU sockets. Thank You again! Regards Kalmy

Hello again,

You should have no problem connecting either Keyb to the modules, as you can just use the Midi. Thru, by the way, is usually better for daisy-chaining (i.e. linking units in a chain) as it is closely connected to the IN socket and simply passes the IN data to THRU, whereas OUT is sending data that has come from the electronics of the unit and MAY (?) be delayed slightly. You would however need to use OUT if the module was transmitting midi data (say a bulk dump of memory containing your saved patches etc) to a data recorder or computer.

But you have no USB connection into the modules?

I don't know much about the USB side of things, you'd better read the manual for the keyb, to see if midi data received via USB can be transmitted via midi cable (rather than by USB again). It's quite possible that it can, the USB is merely a 'transport', and the keyb must receive it as normal midi to be able to respond to it, therefore it should be able to transmit midi. BUT, do you HAVE to set the unit as USB _or_ midi, or can you maybe set receive as USB and send as midi?

Depends on how your computer can send to the keyb regarding what problems you might have there.

Geoff