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MIDI Keyboard Help

2K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  Hammertime 
#1 ·
I have a Yamaha PSR-225GM Keyboard, and am trying to connect it to my 17" 1.67Ghz Powerbook G4 w/1 GB Ram. For an interface, I'm using a cheapy, off of eBay, Midi to USB connector.

The device is recognized by OS X under Midi Setup, and I can play instruments with it in Garage Band. Latency issues and stuck keys are incredibly noticeable, to the point where the whole setup is nearly unusable. I haven't tried it in any other programs yet, but plan on doing that tomorrow with Finale and a couple others.

My first guess, is that I probably need to go with a "real" interface, but before I take that step, I wanted to see if you guys had any other input on steps I can take to improve keyboard response with what I've got.

Thanks!
 
#2 ·
I have the same Powerbook w/ Garageband and have run different keyboards into it. I use a simple M-Audio MIDI to USB connector with no problems. Exactly what IS the "cheapy, off of eBay, Midi to USB connector" that you have? Sounds like that's where your problem is.
 
#3 ·
#4 ·
Hmm. Looks like a no-name brand. Still, it's a pretty simple device and I don't know why it would have problems. It's more likely that it wouldn't work at all. Good idea to check it on some other system. Also, if you can borrow a MIDI connector, see if you have the same problem on your system with that one. Time to isolate the problem.
 
#5 ·
Another thought: restart. After you have the MIDI connected and set a track in a Garageband song, save the song, quit Garaqeband, restart the Mac. Then open the song and try playing again.
 
#6 ·
I've noticed that on a few Yamaha PSR series keyboards the MIDI ports seem to be under powered.

I use an M-Audio USB to MIDI interface which gets its power from the USB port.

Just something to consider.
 
#7 ·
I've had the same problem with my keyboard, and switching drivers did it for me. It went from 400+ ms to 12 ms. Of course my sound quality was worse, but not notably. I don't know if this could help you (and if you can pick the drivers in GB). It appears that Core Audio is the equivalent of the Windows driver (ASIO 4 All) I used. You might want to check this out.

http://developer.apple.com/audio/coreaudio.html
 
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