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Hi Petike,

The wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midi#MIDI_devices) on MIDI gives an okay description of how it works. (search for "thru") In your case with just a computer and the MP6 you could just use a USB cable. Note that neither the USB cable nor MIDI cables will carry audio signals, only MIDI data.

MIDI Thru is for daisy chaining several MIDI message-consuming devices together. If you had another sound or effects module you wanted to control with your computer, using sequencer software to play sounds on your MP6 and sound module simultaneously, you might then look at purchasing & plugging a USB/MIDI adapter into your computer and connecting it up with MIDI cables as follows. Your computer's MIDI Out to MP6's MIDI In, and MP6's MIDI Thru (which is an exact copy of the MIDI In signal it receives from computer) to the sound module's MIDI In, and MP6's MIDI Out back to the computer's MIDI In to carry the notes you probably want to play to the sequencer to record them. The MP6's MIDI Out does not copy the messages it receives in its MIDI In. It's old current-loop point-to-point network technology but its a standard and we should be thankful that we have one, I suppose. Sound modules, which don't generate note information, generally only have MIDI Thru, not MIDI Out.

But in your case you just want to play virtual (VSTi) instruments on your computer so you should be able to get by with a USB cable (like the one that comes with printers) from MP6's "USB to HOST" to the computer.

Unfortunately the sound from your computer can't come directly back to the MP6 because it doesn't have audio line in like some other boards. You could buy a mixer if you wanted to hear it all live and balanced, or just use free software 'Audacity' to record the computer sound and then combine it afterwards in Audacity with the MP6 instrument by opening a second track of your MP6's wav recording, synchronising them (a bit fiddly but possible), and exporting as a single track. Hope this helps.

Still interested to hear from anyone who has tried to play general midi files with their MP6, as per my first post. Thanks.

This will really help me decide whether to get the MP6 over the ES7.

Rapmaninov, due to the larger sound set, the MP6 will probably play MIDI files more accurately (in terms of mapped instruments) than the ES7.

Kind regards,
James
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From your comment, Behringer Xenyx 802 seems to sound not very good, but from comments from Amazon ( Behringer Xenyx 502 and Behringer Xenyx 802 ) it seems to sound fine (mainly Behringer Xenyx 502, which I think about to buy it). Strange

Well, it is only my opinion based on personal preferences. The best way is to try it live (or both of them) and then decide which one to buy.

Good luck!

Hello,
maybe a little off-topic question, but I live in a flat and my neighbor, living below me, argued about the noise of my Kawai MP6.

So now I play just using my headphones and stopped using external speakers while playing. The problem is, that just the key clicks seem to be too noisy.

As a piano stand, I use one from Konig and Meyer company (http://produkte.k-m.de/en/Keyboard-stands/Keyboard-tables/18950-TABLE-STYLE-KEYBOARD-STAND-black) and the stand is placed on a carpet.

Do you have any suggestions which could force my Kawai MP6 to sound as quiet as possible (for example thicker carpet, or to place something else between the Kawai MP6 and the piano stand)?

Thank you.

I had a Yamaha CLP 250 which was just like yours; noisy even with headphones! She thought there was vermin in the loft, or something. . . there are quieter keyboards. But it depends on how hard you hit it!

If you`re able to expose the keybed, it might be possible to replace/add some felt or other material to deaden the sound. Best of luck! Nobody needs bad neighbours . . .

The MP6's keyboard action is already one of the quietest available, so it may be difficult to reduce the volume further.

However, an extra layer of carpeting below the stand, or some absorbent material between the MP6 and stand may help.

Kind regards,
James
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No way , I bought my Kawai MP6 2 months ago, so I will not open it manually , because that would break the warranty. But thanks anyway for your suggestion .

So I will try to add some "layers" between the MP6 and the stand, and between the stand and the floor and I will see.

Thank you for your answer.

I cannot guarantee that this will completely eliminate the sound that you are hearing, however it may help to reduce additional vibrations that contribute to extraneous noises.

Kind regards,
James
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I compared the noise level of my MP6 and W.Hoffmann V120. Please note that this was not a professional measurement whatsoever, I just used a mobile app. The loudest noise of ff for the MP6 was +25dB over the noise level and +35dB for an acoustic (with the silent mode on). I sold my Yamaha p-85 but I can tell that it produced much louder thumping noises than the MP6. Anyway, I woke up my kids several times playing the MP6 at night. As for my acoustic, it is placed far away from the children's room .

All the best,
Romek

I must ask, how is the organsound in the MP6? I like the sound of the organ in the nord electro 3.

My current solution for now is to play my Kawai MP6 only from 10:00 to 20:00. I told my neighbor below me to knock on my door when he will still be annoyed by that key-click sound also in the day. I hope, I will never see him again in my life, damn ultra-sensitive neighbor .

Just got my new MP6. Terrible user manual. Thank you HisKidd for starting this thread. Kawai should pay you. I'll definitely be combing over the posts in the coming days, since the MP6 doesn't sound or feel so great out of the box.

Congrats jaymes677!

I'm inclined to agree - the MP6 manual is pretty terrible. It was largely an updated version of the MP5 manual, which was an update of the MP4 manual, etc.

Fortunately, the instrument itself is very good, however.

Cheers,
James
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jaymes677…

One of the wonderful things about the MP6 is that it is so tweak able. You can get the sound you want by adjusting the various parameters. I have learned after three years that the piano sounds are better without adding the ex effect. Just adjusting the various voices, normal, mellow1, mellow2, bright1, bright2 and dynamic will result in some beautiful sounds that sound natural and not as "metallic."

I've never really understood what's not to like about the MP6 sounds. I have tried Pianoteq's sample offering, and I much prefer the MP6 sounds.

You can adjust the "cutoff," and "attack" for brightness, and the reverb depth and delay to your own preferences. Just experiment, it's user friendly.

Lot's of bang for the buck with this board. It's hard to find a bad review anywhere, and a number of professional musicians are using the MP6 as their gigging board.
It compares very favorably with keyboards costing much more. I really believe it has staying power.

If you want a great understanding of the various parameters, download James' MP11 manual and read the section explaining the various adjustments for the "Virtual Tech." He did a great job explaining how each parameter effects the sound.
Much of what he wrote will help you understanding your fine tuning of the MP6!

Congrats!
H.K.

Thanks. Where would I find this MP11 manual?

jaymess677…

This link should get you to the manual:
https://www.kawai.co.jp/worldwide/support/manuals/pdf/MP11_EN_20131211_R101.pdf

You can save it to your computer as a pdf document. Start at page 40 (Editing),
and read through those pages including the virutal tech information. You will come across terms you're familiar with from use with the MP6. Our own Kawai James has worked on the manual, so in addition to what you read, you have the option of asking him questions here in the forums. Just address your question to "James" in your reply, and he will answer at his first opportunity.

There are a number of forum members who are using or have used the MP6, so you will likely be able to receive answers for a specific question from them as well.

Play On!
H.K.

Please bear in mind that the MP6 operation is very different to that of the MP11, so I'm not sure how useful the latter model's owner's manual will be in learning about the MP6.

Kind regards,
James
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