Connect SX700 to Studio One DAW?

[Andyfr]

Hi
I'm trying to find out if the SX700 is the one for me. I did have a PSR70 back in the 80s but that has been my only experience of an arranger keyboard. I didn't touch a keyboard for many years until I retired and wanted to get back into music. I bought a Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol S61 and a Maschine Mikro MK3 plus lots of VSTs and got the Studio One DAW on my PC although I am finding it all a bit daunting, also having no speakers in the keyboard means I have to be connected to the PC every time.

I'm wondering what the capabilities of the PSR SX700 regarding connecting to my PC and the DAW. I have a Focusrite audio interface so I assume that I can use that.

I'm planning on selling the S61 and also the Mikro MK3 and getting the SX700 if I think it's right for me.

Any advice welcome.

Thanks

[maarkr]

I have an SX900 and have used Studio One for years.  I've had limited success in connecting to my desktop and tie into Studio One.  I was hoping I could tie into SO and record the SX output into separate tracks in a project but no.  I also would have liked to send SO midi to the SX, but no.  I build most all SX styles in the keyboard, and may use SO to save some riffs or other audio clips to a multi-pad in the SX.  I also hoped that audio clips would loop seamlessly with the SX tempo, but no.  You can record the audio out into SO, but as one track, basically the same as recording the audio in the SX.  Of course, the learning curve is big for the SX so I may not have learned how to do this yet.  I've seen online that Cubase being more successful at  talking with the SX.

[Andyfr]

Thanks for the reply. Is it possible to connect the SX700 to my PC and use it like a MIDI controller with VST instruments in SO as I do with the NI S61? I want to be able to use it both as an arranger when I don't want to connect to my PC and MIDI controller so that I can use all of the Native Instruments virtual instruments I have, is this possible?

[maarkr]

You can hook up the midi to the SX like any other midi board and play it like a normal input if you turn off the accompaniment.  You can also set up the SX in SO and record channels 9-16 into midi tracks from the SX, but you must assign a VST to each track of course.  The thing I like about the SX900 is the Chord Looper.  I'm not a great two-handed keyboard player so I can create styles with the chords (with the other LH parts) for the four Variations and concentrate on right hand chords and leads and keep up with changing any other song parameters.
I've heard of maybe building the midi in the DAW and sending that to the parts on the SX but haven't figured that out so if anyone can chime in with that process... I thought maybe it could only be done on the Genos?

[Andyfr]

That sounds like I can achieve what I want, which is an arranger keyboard when I don't want to connect to the PC and when I do connect I can use it as a MIDI controller keyboard to use the VSTs I have in SO.

Thanks for your input, it's been very helpful. I just have to sell, or PX, my existing NI keyboard and pad controller.

[overover]

Hi Andy,

The best way to connect the SX700 to the PC is via USB-MIDI:

First (!) you connect the SX700's USB-to-Host terminal to a USB socket of the PC (using a USB type "AB" cable and power on the SX700 if you haven't already. Then (!) install the Yamaha USB-MIDI Driver V3.1.4 on your PC (for current Windows systems you need the 64-bit version).
>>> https://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/musical_instruments/keyboards/arranger_workstations/psr-sx700/downloads.html

On the SX700 go to "Menu > MIDI" and select the preset MIDI template "KBD & STYLE". This will send the RIGHT keyboard section (to the right of the Left Splitpoint) on MIDI Channel 1 ("Upper"), and the LEFT section will be sent on Channel 2 ("Lower").

In the DAW on the PC, select the "Digital Workstation" entry of the Yamaha USB MIDI Driver as the MIDI Input device.

By the way, to control the SX700's Song parts from your PC (MIDI Port 1 / Receive), use "Digital Workstation 1" as the MIDI Output device in your DAW (recommended). However, to directly control the SX700's Keyboard parts (MIDI Port 2 / Receive), you use "Digital Workstation 2" as a MIDI Output device in the DAW (required less often).


Hope this helps!

Best regards,
Chris

[Andyfr]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the details, that's exactly what I want to do.

Regards

Andy.