Nord User Forum

[pokes73]

I have played piano/keyboard since the early 80s, however, I have mainly focused on the 88 white and black keys... But last year I bought a Nord Electro 4D to use as a B3 light and I'm starting to discover many other fun uses This is new territory for me though...

Here's where I need help from you experts:
As I said, I have the Electro 4D, but I want to connect it to my Yamaha CP300 so I can play many of the cool Nord EP/Clavi sounds on the CP300 because the 4D has a SW keyboard. I know there's a bunch of software out there, but I want my setup to be very "stage proof". So if anybody knows of a good way to do this with a dedicated "box/hardware", I would appreciate all the help I can get.

If this was unclear; I want to easily control/play the Electro 4D from CP300 without having to use a PC/Mac, preferably from a separate box with buttons/knobs which are easily accessible when playing live. Maybe this can be done with good old fashion MIDI cables between the keyboards, but I don't want to have to do a lot of navigating in the menus when playing...

This might be a stupid question, but I'm tired of googeling and finding crap or overkill solutions.

MIDI novice

[Leo Castro]

Just put the two keyboards in the same midi channel and conect midi out on the yamaha to midi in on the nord. Check that the Nord midi interfase "P" is active on midi menu. Good luck!!

[orcoaffamato]

I think he needs something like this: http://www.doepfer.de/R2M.htm

[RedLeo]

I think he needs something like this: http://www.doepfer.de/R2M.htm

No, he really does not.

Leo Castro's advice is spot on. What he needs is what MIDI is basically all about: one MIDI lead, job done.

To the poster, I would say that adding any external boxes or gadgets to try and make the job easier will likely only give you more problems than you started with, not to mention more leads, maybe power supply, and then trying to figure it all out and make it all work. I understand your reluctance to menu-dive, but your needs are likely to be fairly simple, basically transmitting MIDI notes, some controller information, and possibly Program changes. I don't know what the Yamaha is capable of doing MIDI-wise, or how easy or difficult it would be to work with, but I would suggest following Leo Castro's advice for starters and see how it works out for you.

You can always add more fancy stuff later once you've used your system for a while and found out how it's working for you in practise. Live-proofing is usually about having less rather than more stuff - a simple MIDI-MIDI connection with a MIDI lead is the most reliable solution of all. And to be honest, I'm not quite sure why you'd need an external box to control your Electro when it's right in front of you.

[neolithic]

+1 to the two Leos (Red and Castro) for that advice Remember the KISS principle! (Keep It Simple, Stupid!)

[OBDave]

Am I missing something? It looks like CP300 has DIN5 MIDI jacks, so all you need is a MIDI cable and to set the MIDI channel appropriately.

Check out page 90: http://download.yamaha.com/api/asset/file/?language=en&site=uk.yamaha.com&asset_id=7642

edit: oops, read the whole thread. At least I feel validated now. :p

[pokes73]

Sounds like "KISS" is the best advice. I will at least try that (MIDI cable) first. Thank you all for good advice