Hi!
I have a PSR 740, A powered mixer, 2 good speakers and a nice studiomaster wireless MIC. I do small shows for charity only but now am looking at it a bit professionally after many suggestions from people. I have a P3 IBM laptop which I had used once during our neighbourhood New Year's eve party. I just used it to play MP3s. I wanna use the laptop more extensively in my future gigs. I ws wondering after looking at Uncle Dave's setup...is the Laptop connected to the keyboard and when yu say utlising MIDI during a live show, what does that mean. What I wanna know is what CAN I do with my laptop and keyboard combined? Has the Laptop got to be connected to the KB or is it just for the breaks where I can play in some quick MP3s. Please advise
THANX

Your laptop has got more than enough power to have your MP3 player and a sequencer package loaded simultaneously so you can instantly use whichever is appropriate.

You should be able to connect the laptop to the 740 using a "to host" cable (plugs into your serial port) and the Yamaha Serial port driver that can be downloaded from Yamaha. This acts like a midi cable and plugs into the mini-din on the back of the 740.

However, you may have to fiddle your power saving and/or mouse detection settings to ensure that the serial port can be used for the Yamaha cable. On an oldish Compaq Armada 7792 I've been given, plugging in my homebrew "to host" cable locks up the computer! I think this is a mouse problem but I haven't found the setup section yet! The cable works fine on my desktop machine.

I use a Thinkpad A21m with a Technics kn7000 in two ways. Since I have not memorised the 1200 or so songs I have(not incl 1000 midi's),I have to read them as fake sheets. I scanned them into my laptop with the Paperport software that came with my Visioneer OneTouch USB scanner. Since my KB has an SD card,I have all my settings in the same order as the laptop.
The other use is midi tracks. I use midi tracks as a vocal backing as well as instrumental. I personally feel that midi can be overused and discretion used in selection.The melody track can be muted.

As far as connection is conscerned,I have three options.I can feed the sequence from the laptop midiplayer into my line in(or powered mixer in your case),or use USB or midi connection to the sequencer of the KB. In my case,the quality of sound is better using the voices in my KB rather than the GM2 midi voices,but I lose control of the KB somewhat if I want to play along with it. Most times the quality is good enough to play direct from the laptop with quality tracks.

I also use "MidiNotate",a $34.95 notation program that I easily set to show any midi playing,as a lead or fake sheet with chords. This is displayed on the laptop with lyrics(if present)also for vocals.

In my case I find the laptop very helpful indeed. Sorry for the long dissertation,but maybe it will at least partly answer your question.
Bernie

I have always bought keyboards that have audio inputs so I can send a mixer signal right TO the on board speakers. I have a 4 channel stereo mixer that combines my laptop audio out(mp3 & midi), my harmonizer, a guest mic and a dedicated out from the drums (when I need it).

This allows me to monitor all signals from the kb. I have my midi files loaded into folders that I keep up on the screen, and the VanBasco player does a nice job with these. The audio files are also in folders(40's, 50's etc ...)and winamp plays them very well. I can simply scroll to a title, and hit the enter key to play any file.
The midi files are being played by the sound card using Roland's Virtual Sound Canvas software, and they sound almost as good as if they came from a keyboard engine. For high demand sound .... I use a midi interface from the laptop into the Korg for better drums and brass parts.

I strongly advise any of you that are tied to lyric sheets to force yourselves to learn the words. It is SO important to have a comfort zone with the lyric before you can fully deliver the message. Reading is a habit, and it CAN be broken. You remember lots of other stuff ..... try learning the words to the stuff you do the most. A true professional show should not have the performer's eyes in a book. (That's for recording or practice.) When it's show time ..... Put on a show.
Once you learn the words, you can start to understand the lyric ... not before. You need all your attention to fully make it your own.

I use my Thinkpad 380Z (and my desktop) to drive my 740 using XGworks. This gives me access to the whole synth inside the 740 with essentially the same sort of capability as an MU80 or MU100 but with more DSPs and different non-XG instruments. In other words, I can change the sounds on the 740 much more than I could just using the keyboard features. Because of this, I now use the 740 as my exclusive MIDI synth since the sounds are far better than any but the high end sound cards (such as the SW1000XG). One of the nice things about XGworks is that it can generate styles just using the melody and chords straight off a fake sheet so you don't need Band-in-a-Box or Jammer and you don't have to swap programs because you have a powerful sequencer at the same time. The only problem with XGworks is that it doesn't really cater for keyboards but I've fixed that problem for the 740 and 2000 by reconstructing all the definitions and tables.

Bryan

Another LT suggestion is to get one with a Finger Mouse Pad ....not the type with the little RED knob in between the keys. It is far more easier to use your finger if you use the most "LEAST SENSITVE" mouse setting.
If not and if its to sensitive while your sufing files its too easy to set off a SMF or MP3 its most embarassing to a performer while playing a ballad and all of a sudden hear "Who let the Dogs Out" or something like that YIKES!!!!! Also put a "Tail" on your mouse curser...this will make it easier to see when you use it. I also use the up/down arrows and enter key besides the finger pad alot.

I come from a different school of thought on laptop use from some of the others. I use a Fujitsu P-2120 subcompact laptop with a single JBL EON10 G2 when performing with a grand piano, as I did for a brunch this past Mother's Day. It's a very small but powerful subcompact notebook. Here's the URL for the laptop if interested in more info:
http://webshop.fujitsupc.com/fpc/Ecommerce/buildseriesbean.do?series=P2

I use the Yamaha S-YXG50 softsynth because all of my midi files are in XG and I prefer the sound over the Roland VSC's. My only midi file player is the file preview function in Windows 2000 - I just open the folder where the files are and select the midi file I want with my mouse and a little "play" window comes up on the left. Simple and fast. I don't sing so I don't have to deal with lyrics, and all of my one-page leadsheets are in non-glare page protectors in a nice binder.

I chose the P-2120 because of it's small size and loads of features. It's my constant companion, so I can also tinker with my midi files anytime and I keep my album CD designs and promo on it. I am also using this as a softsynth studio with Reason and Sonar.

[This message has been edited by The Pro (edited 05-14-2003).]

Pro, I like the size, but I agree with DNJ, we need the touch pad..

What about sound cards?
If you using your keyboard to generate the sounds from MIDI than you just need a sound card with MIDI out, but if the LT is used to generate the sounds, what sound card do you use?
If you use a softsynth to generate the sounds, what sound card do you need?
If the sound card generated the sounds, what sound card do you need?
I'm confused on these issues.
Starkeeper

Softsynths use the stock internal soundcard of the laptop or whatever PC they are run on. In effect, they turn the computer into a sound module. They are totally software-based and are not dependent on the soundcard's hardware synth chip to play MIDI files, hence the term "softsynth".

Also on the touch pad preference - you can always get an external USB one... in fact that might be better because you could put it whereever you wanted.

[This message has been edited by The Pro (edited 05-14-2003).]

So if I used Native instruments B4 (a softsynth), then I could use any old soundcard?
Why would someone buy an expensive sound card like Soundblaster Audigy II?
Starkeeper

Yes, I use B4 myself (killer app) and it'll work with any old soundcard. You buy soundcards like the Audigy for the audio input capability and the drivers. And in case you didn't know: the B4 works best with ASIO drivers which give you a very low latency between when you hit a note on your midi controller and when the actual note plays from the softsynth. I have heard of people using ASIO drivers with their Audigy cards but I don't know much more than that. Lately I've had good success with a beta-version of a generic ASIO driver which will work with any WDM soundcard (http://www.asio2ks.de/). On a studio system I recently designed I chose the M-Audio 1010LT audio interface cards which has very good ASIO support.

[This message has been edited by The Pro (edited 05-14-2003).]

I use direct drivers for my B4. It runs at 15ms[can't get much better than that..]..

I use my Compaq Presario to run Cakewalk. I edit and run my MIDIs from there to a SC88, which then is sent to the mains. I use the audio out jack to play mp3s. If you use a parrallel MIDI interfacea USB or a "to host" connector to your arranger, it will use the Yammy's internal GM/XG sounds to play the MIDIs, but you will have some limitations in using your keyboard concurrently, SO you might want to have a second keyboard for playing OR use a sound module like te SC88, MU50, EM100, etc. If you have Windows98 or higher you should be able to use the "GS Wavetable Synth" as you soundsource - it's basically a Roland VSC engine.

------------------
Cass Pawlowski - Motown
PSR2000, SC88, Cakewalk

I just got finished learning to record and setting up my home studio. Now I have to figure this out? When does it ever end??

N E V E R ! ! !

BeachBum....

"That's What Friends Are For"

------------------
www.donnypesce.com

Sorry... using the beta-version of the generic ASIO2KS driver I got down to 2.2ms with the B4.

What do you do about the arranger parts, when using the B4?
Do you let the keyboard play the arranger parts and send a channel to the MIDI out to play the B4 softsynth?
Sorry for all the newbie questions, but, well, this is all new to me.
Starkeeper

Pro, my Laptop runs with out any glitches under a load[other applications] at 15ms, I could try an even lower latency and gamble on a pulse or hic up, but why? Not even yourself can tell the difference between 2.2 and 15ms..It is plenty fast..BTW, that must be some sound card that you are using, my B4 shows intervals of 5ms, the lowest at 10ms, the highest is 400ms...Yours is so accurate that it shows decimals[2.2ms]..Of course ASIO is the best drivers , but all applications will not work with it, that is why the Direct drivers are a good choice overall and beside, they work..

Starkeeper, that is exactly how I use the B4 with my G1000. I route the realtime parts that play the B4 to a seperate output[that is not connected to anything, making a deadend]. Then I can play the arranger as normal, and also a SMF and still be able to play the B4..This way allows me to select the organ patches on the B4, via program change using the"deadend" realtime part, controling the B4..

The Pro and Fran,
Thanks for all this great information.
Starkeeper

I think you missed my point: I got down to 2.2 ms with B4 using a beta-version of a new generic ASIO driver that will work with ANY WDM soundcard and Windows 2000/XP. In this case, I did this with my laptop which has a very basic SigmaTel audio chip. The point here is that once this generic ASIO program (ASIO2KS) is fully released it should be possible to get ultra-low latency with nearly any soundcard. So when I load up B4 as a VSTi with a program (I tested it with Acid) then I get closer to 10-15ms, without any noise artifacts. Same with Reason: I can get 8.7ms latency when playing one of Reason's softsynths alone but once I play a softsynth over pre-sequenced tracks then I get closer to 20ms. ASIO2KS is what displays it's latency in decimals.

The point isn't to get >2ms latency with a softsynth alone but >20ms when working with a fully loaded softsynth studios like Reason. Especially without paying an arm and a leg for an expensive audio card, or in my case on my laptop.

[This message has been edited by The Pro (edited 05-14-2003).]

I don't think this would work on my PSR550. I could probably send the melody channel to the MIDI out, but would not be able to send the real time output to another output, because there is only one output on the PSR550. I guess the real time part wud play along with the backing and the B4 would play also.
Arrrr.
Starkeeper

Pro, so in essence, it sounds like we are getting the same results..

Yup, if you can run a fully-loaded synth studio program on your laptop and still get 15ms of latency, that's quite good. I couldn't do that without ASKIO2KS... and the potential to do this with any soundcard and this program is very promising. Still - playing with 2.2ms of latency is great for bragging rights... I think that's faster than going from a midi controller to a midi sound module, which produces 5ms of delay I think...

[This message has been edited by The Pro (edited 05-14-2003).]

Pro. I have ASIO 2.0[update from Digigram], is this the same driver you are referencing as a Beta version? If so, could it now have been released?

Fran: No, what I'm doing has nothing to do with ASIO 2.0. Here's more info about the ASIO beta program I am trying out:
http://www.asio2ks.de/