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I'm grateful for the help I got the first time round, and beg everyone's patience for help with new problems. It's a steep learning curve.

I'm using Goldwave as software, in case that makes a difference.

I now do get input directly to the computer as sound so that one is solved. Two things have cropped up:

- It's recording as mono, going into the "right". I'm doing an artificial "stereo" by copying the "right" onto the "left" so that you hear the same sound in both ears. It's not true stereo. I think that the lower notes should be heard in the left, the higher notes in the right, and the middle notes I guess would be distributed. Is that right?

- I also think the sound is being adjusted and equalized to a degree, so that my pianissimo comes out as mp, and fortissimo is made quieter. I'm trying to record music which ends with piano, and then sudden sforzando ff -- it's not there. The contrast seems muted.

I can record into the piano's recording device, and then let that recording play into the room over and over. That is the music that I then transmit over the cable into Goldwave. Therefore if I record this several times over, I should have exactly the same results each time, but that is not happening. I can also see it in the squiggles. As follows:

I had a very short passage of maybe 20 seconds or less. I turned the volume on the piano to 100% or 75% or 50% during playback to see if it made a difference to what was fed through the cable. It did. 50% played quieter than 100%, and with less contrast, just like it does through your ear phones. BUT, if I played it at 100% ... pause ... replay at 100% a second time - with the recording running the whole time, I did not get the same results. I saw a sharp spike the first time round, showing a high volume (it was a forte section) which subsided a bit, and then went down because it was diminuendo. The next time that sharp spike was not there, and the contrast was less. It should have shown the same thing in the squiggles since it was exactly the same music being played back.

So what is going on, and what can I do about it? Many thanks in advance.

First things first, you should be recording in stereo, not mono.

If only one channel is being recorded, I recommend you double-check your wiring configuration.

Kind regards,
James
x

What do I check for? I have a single jack even though the piano has two outlets. When I use headphones I hear a very low bass note in either ear, and in both. Does this help any?

I'm guessing your computer uses a 1\8" input which is stereo.

You might consider a Y cable, two mono plugs (from the piano) ending up into a single stereo plug (going to the computer).

Also, your piano might have a stereo output on one of those two outputs. A stereo jack (a three segmented plug) from the piano to your computer might give you stereo.

If you`re taking an output from the piano headphone socket, it will be stereo. On pianos these days, the stereo effect is not marked; there`ll be little difference between left and right. But put them together, and you get a semi decent stereo effect, but not pronounced. If you want to hear the audio with the headphones and you only have one output, use a "y" splitter for the two connections into the headphone socket.
This is fed into your computer "line in" socket at the back, which will hopefully be the same as your headphone socket on the piano. DON`T feed it into the mic socket. THat is mono!

It is fed into the "line in" socket. That was your advice earlier, and we did that.

What is the reason for the piano having two sockets?

FWIW --

A lot of recording software has "automatic gain control" for the input. That is, it will adjust the gain of the "Line In" or "Mic In" signal, to get a reasonable digital recording level. ["Reasonable", here, means what the _software_ is aiming for.]

A side-effect of this:

. . . The level of the softest passages may be raised,
. . . and/or the level of the loudest passages may be reduced.

So, if you can turn the auto-gain-control OFF, you may find that your "pp" comes out "pp", and your "FF" comes out "FF".

. Charles

PS -- I have no experience with Goldwave -- read the manual.

Two headphone sockets? One for you, one for your teacher or duet partner.

Two line in/out sockets? Stereo.

Do you see both channel meters (L and R) responding, while recording in Goldwave?
If not, have you selected 'stereo' in the 'File'>'New Sound' dialog box?

Quick question as I check these things out:

Does "DC Offset" play a role? - edit: I don't think so because the results are still the same. I have more volume and more contrast when it's turned off, but there is also faint high pitched crackling sound, while the piano also sounds "more real".

[I know almost nothing. (!!!)]


I had the piano play back its internal recording twice into the computer. I've drawn a line where the 2nd playback of the same thing starts. At the * the spike doesn't happen the second time.

It's been suggested that I switch to Audacity from Goldwave.

You can also see that one of the inputs flatlines (mono).

Audacity`s great and easy to use. It`s also free, enough to put a smile on any ole geezer`s face. I reckon you will lose a little light and shade after the recording process has taken it`s toll. But - I noticed this - keep the volume fairly high when you`re playing back and it`ll sound so much better!

This is the same snippet taken from my piano's memory, recorded with the DC Filter off, and how it sounded originally while it was still on. Either way, it's adjusting something but less of it is lost. (This is from something I was practising). I have an entry level Clavinova, CLP 320.
https://app.box.com/shared/static/qlxgrku4dj5d8e2ncp8a.mp3

From the image you posted, it would appear that there is a problem with the cable being used to connect the PC to the DP.
It should have a TRS (tip, ring, sleeve) jack on either end.
Could you describe what you are using?

The cable was plugged into an extension, and all the jacks seemed to be TRS. But we happened to have a spare extension, which btw also looked a bit thicker (which could be the casing) and I decided to use that one. Now it's stereo. The top is the same section that is in the other recording, same size. The bottom shows the same thing recorded twice, and we still have some kind of adjusting going on. But that's problem 2.

MANY THANKS! One thing solved.

Glad you have got stereo now

I have downloaded a demo version of Goldwave, and I will see if I can replicate the problem you are having.

Btw, If you record your playing 'live' into Goldwave, does it sound ok?

I really appreciate you trying this. That's above and beyond.

I haven't tried "live" yet. I had wondered if it would make a difference. In theory I thought that whatever is recorded into the piano will replicate itself in the computer as it plays, because it will be playing as if I'm playing. But why should I assume that it is so?

I just recorded a short snippet on a Yamaha keyboard, and played it back three times, whist Goldwave was running.
All three waveforms looked and sounded, identical, down to the point where I intentionally made the recording 'clip' at one point. ...puzzling

https://app.box.com/s/2fitstofcswgy588irso

It may be worth un-installing and re-installing Goldwave, just to be sure everything is returned to original settings, and try again?