Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Did I make a mistake buying this? Help??

Idk if I should return this or not.. after pressing buy now on Reverb I found this article from 2005.. that says, "Hi. Recently my mate got himself this peavey studiomix control surface for 80€. It was designed to work specifically with Cakewalk 8 back in 1999 and it is in a metal case with motorized (!) faders. These units are now floating about the internet dirt cheap because this unit sends NRPN instead of CC, but with an app called studiomixmap you can convert the NRPN to CC and assign each fader, knob and toggle switch to a CC, which you can then send to ableton live, and back from ableton live to the unit to get motorized faders working!"

Full article: https://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php?t=22145

I don't even know if their talking about my same model or not.. all I know is it's from the same year as what I just bought..


The item I just bought: https://reverb.com/item/5335528-peavey-studio-mix-1999-gray


I want to connect my Motif Rack XS to this Peavey Studio Mix and assign the faders to be used for controlling the different layers of volumes of each instrument then connect it to my keyboard. I DO NOT want to involve a computer... at all. Is it possible to avoid a computer with this fader box? It has Mid in and Out on the back.

I did research on Google and Youtube.. but there doesn't seem to be TOO much info online about this Peavey fader box.. I did see some guy using it with a DAW on his PC and another guy using it with a video game on Youtube.. so I figured it MUST work with my Motif Rack XS.. but then I found that article after pressing buy now..


I'm pretty new to fader midi boxes.. so Idk if I made a mistake buying this.. it was so cheap and brand new, and it had midi and faders, so I just assumed it would work perfectly..

It also says no returns.. not sure how to cancel an order on Reverb.. BUT I don't want to cancel it if I can get it to work with the Yamaha Motif Rack XS without a computer..

Thanks in advance everyone! (be nice in the comments, I'm still learning.)

Here is the manual: https://www.manualslib.com/manual/121111/Peavey-Studiomix.html


I think it explains it on page 13 about connecting it to a keyboard via MIDI.. but not sure if I NEED a computer??

I would suggest you make every attempt to CANCEL your order immediately ..... POST HASTE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then, you can sit back and figure out all this other stuff ... AND .... if you still want it .... and it is still available ..... Re-order it.

Good Luck

It looks like a MIDI controlled audio mixer to me, not a MIDI control surface.

Oh yea, definitely! I asked for a full refund from the seller and asked him to cancel it about half hour ago, about 45 minutes after buying it. I'm so stressed with this. I hope it actually works without me needing a computer.. What makes this worse, it that it's from 1999.. so I have no idea if even that is the right manual for it. The pictures inside look like the Peavey device fully.. so I guess it is the right manual? Not sure.

The first sentence of the "Introduction" part of the manual talked about using this unit with a PC. Right after that, the first paragraph in the "What is the StudioMix?" Section also described the unit as something you use with a PC so my guess is that you'll need a PC.

I've read all your posts and can understand (and relate to) your eagerness to get going with all this equipment but I strongly suggest buying your keyboard (or controller), your sound module(s), get them all hooked up, play with them for a while then figure out what extra accessories/extra equipment you may want or need.

Thanks! I still hope there's SOMEHOW a way around using a PC, but probably not.. I just hope I get a full refund from the person I bought it from.. Either way, I already know for sure that I'll need a midi box with 8 faders for the Yamaha Motif Rack XS, because I won't be using a midi controller keyboard.. so any faders that come on the keyboard that I want to buy, will automatically be used for that keyboard. I will then be layering instruments on the keyboard with the keyboards built on faders controlling the volume of each instrument layer individually, and then layering the Motif Rack XS instrument layers over my keyboards layers using the external Midi fader box to control the volumes of each layer of the Motif Rack XS instrument layers individually. I already have it all planned out... mostly. lol I may not know what keyboard I want to get yet, BUT.. I do know that I'll need a fader box the achieve my end goal on the Yamaha Motif Rack XS end. So I'd rather focus on buying that now, as I research different keyboards to save time. I'm currently looking at the Kawai MP11SE, which will allow me to do exactly what I want to do using Midi zones and the audio input of the keyboard. I just wish that Kawai model had way more internal sounds. That's what's stopping me from going for it fully..

At 15 I knew for sure I was going to have a car in a couple of years and I knew I was going to need a keychain so I bought a very expensive keychain. I did buy a car before I turned 17 but had no idea what happened to that expensive keychain!

You haven't bought a digital piano or controller or synthesizer or sound module so everything you know you will want may be from reading or asking a lot of questions. Reading and asking questions is great but until you actually get your fingers on these instruments and play some music, it's all just a lot of... theory.

Haha Well.. if I somehow lose my future midi fader box.. which will probably be a foot long thick box that will be stored in my small bed room still in one spot, mostly untouched.. I shall question my sanity. Haha :P All jokes aside, I totally get what you mean though! It's completely understandable! It's definitely still a theory for sure, as you said, but I really doubt a keyboard is going to surprise me with 8 secondary faders to layer the Yamaha Motif Rack XS with to be fair, so.. it's leaning closer to fact than theory currently to me. I mean.. I would LOVE if I could find that on a keyboard that has 88 wooden keys (not balanced, and it can be a stage piano too, that's fine with me) that feels as good as people say the Kawai feels, and a load of amazing sound samples and 3 pedals + the expression pedal and both wheels.. but I don't think it's invented yet unfortunately. lol One can dream. Haha The Kawai MP11SE does have 4 knobs for a Rack Midi Synth like the Motif Rack to use for volume controls.. which is great, but useless, as I want to raise multiple volumes at once, so knobs won't work unless I grow 3 more hands. lol and even if it had 4 faders for the Motif Rack XS, I'd still need 4 more to make 8 in all.. Maybe the next model will have faders instead.. and hopefully more sounds than just 40 something.

Would you happen to know of any keyboard that does what I want by any chance? Maybe it does exist and I just missed it.. I am pretty new to keyboards, hence this confusion on Reverb with the Peavey.. lol Maybe I just missed it? Who knows.


Thanks for reading all of my posts btw! I really appreciate it!

I love my MP11se but I only use it for piano and electric piano. I'd never, ever play organ on it. I don't even play synth parts on it. You can't really have THE perfect keyboard for everything. That's why in your first post, I suggested a MP11se for your piano playing and a different keyboard for synth, organs...

if you're more into synths than piano right now, spend more money on the synth and maybe get a used Casio PX-5, PX-560 or PX-160 for piano. I still have 2 Casio 88-note pianos, they are great for gigging and non-classical playing.

If you're more of a serious classical pianist, buy the dp with the best action you can afford and add the synth of you dream later.

The most important thing is to spend less time reading and more time playing. After 45 years of buying expensive photography equipment, high-end audio/video equipment, guitars, pedals, tube amps, pianos, synths, cars, motorcycles... I can tell you one thing for certain: there's always something newer better, much better, more beautiful coming along. If you keep reading, pretty soon you may not even want the Motif or MP11se anymore; you'll be reading about something else. Play, even if you don't have the best gear, just have fun playing, experimenting, improving. If you do that, I promise you're gonna end up with the gears you want (and they probably won't be anything you've mentioned in here)!

Out of curiosity I looked for alternatives. Most controllers these days assume you are going to connect to a PC. I suppose is a sheer matter of Market.

The closest thing I could find was this drawbar controller:
https://www.voceinc.com/manuals/voce-midi-drawbar/


There are different models of this particular brand. I have found some others. Apparently, most if not all are not new, you would buy them used. It must be possible using the sliders differently from their original purpose, i.e. volume control instead of organ drawbar controlling (I have seen a guy on a video using a drawbar controller to control piano parameters on a DAW). So this may provide you with a different perspective and give you some food for thought and basis for further research.

Another possibility is this controller by M-Audio:
https://www.m-audio.com/products/view/code-25-black


Yes, it comes with a keyboard. But it is compact. It is not clear to me if it works stand-alone though. And the product's page states it is sold in EU only. But, again, it may give you another perspective and food for thought and material for further research (to determine if it suits your needs)

Viscount Physis Piano K4 EX (it also has internal sounds)



Viscount has other models too. Maybe there's a suitable plain master controller without sounds that's a little cheaper(?)

Arturia KeyLab 88 MkII



Arturia might have other suitable models too. I didn't check.

And then of course the question is do these have the necessary "zones" or whatnot to control several Motif patches at the same time.

But there are 88 key controllers/stage pianos with faders.

Though they won't have Kawai action with wooden keys inside.

The "DAW Controllers" category (as it's called on Thomann) might have something usable.

https://www.thomann.de/gb/daw_controllers.html

But if (as) they work via USB then some USB -> MIDI magic box is needed. Those do exist.

https://www.thomann.de/gb/kenton_midi_usb_host.htm

Examples of compact USB based (😐) fader controllers:

https://www.thomann.de/gb/korg_nanokontrol_2_black.htm
https://www.thomann.de/gb/korg_nanokontrol_studio.htm

Sweelink suggested Studiologic Numa Compact 2X. If the sliders are assignable to different functions, in this case to control the volume of other devices, I think it is one of the best suggestions in terms of functionality and affordability.

The Arturia Keylab has that nice extension to place a laptop over it.


Good call. If they make the connected USB devices working stand-alone (other than being configured, which may require a PC), it is a great idea and opens up several possibilities, beside Korg's.

Someone actually developed alternative ROM firmware for that Studio Mix controller which converted it from a Cakewalk-specific device into a fully configurable MIDI controller.

http://www.sonicware.de/index_en.html

Caveats:

• Website seemingly not updated in 14 years.
• Windows computer still required to run the software that did the configuring.
• It cost money.

Thanks SO much for searching for that for me! Unfortunately, I don't find a "buy" button when I click on how and where to buy, also, as I'm in the US it would cost $106.. seems a bit pricey for my budget especially after paying with tax and shipping about $146 for the Peavey.

Thanks again!

then again.. buying the chip is still tempting.. because other MIDI only fader boxes can be WAY more expensive.. Do you know where the "Buy it now" button is on the site?

Thanks! Viscount Physis Piano K4 EX looks great but there just seems to be SUCH little info on it online.. just a few crappy Youtube videos, and only ONE Youtube video from the company themselves looks awesome.. but the version they have on their site with wooden keys is unexistent on Youtube and Google from what I see.. which sucks.. I can't risk buying a keyboard that I literally can't really do too much research on.. Lastly, this is just a nit pick, but why blue? lol Who's bright idea was that to make such a cool keyboard look like a blueberry? lol It is tempting though...

Thanks again!

Maybe someone that did not like that other company that makes theirs look like strawberries. LOL.

Would you say the MP11SE action is too heavy of an action for you to play synth stuff? I totally get that about organs though, I understand that they feel better with even balanced action, but my room is very small with limited space.. and I can't really fit two pianos in there, and having them on top of each other would annoy me, because that would mean I have to stand to play one or else risk my form and posture and maybe risk hurting my hands playing at some weird angle while sitting. I primarily want to focus equally on playing virtual instrument samples, and playing real piano.. my goal isn't necessarily to practice only and play for fun, even though I will be doing that, but to make actual real songs, plus some other stuff. So I feel I need a keyboard with all 3 pedals, the soft pedal, the sostenuto pedal, and the sustaining pedal, and an expression pedal being the fourth.. and since synths don't have that, other than the Viscount Physis Piano K4 EX above.. (but I'm ify on it since there'sSO LITTLE info on it... it even has a version with wooden keys on their site.. and it's unexistent online... which is so annoying.. because the keyboard seems SO perfect.. but I'm not getting something without researching it first.) So, I feel I have to get a stage piano with Hammer action to play my Yamaha Motif Rack XS with.. JUST so I can get the 3 piano pedals for when I want to play classical in the future.. if I get a synth.. I don't think it's possible to get those 3 pedals... so... logically, my BEST all in one solution here, is to just get a stage piano that will get me the 3 piano pedals and an expression pedal, and I play my Motif Rack XS on it... which will leave me with playing organs on Hammer action weighted keys. It's a fair compromise I guess.. MAYBE I can buy a cheap balanced action 88 key Midi controller after.. and stack it above.. and just stand to play organ and burn some calories I guess. lol and IF I want to play 2 organs like a real organ while feeling like a creep in a medieval watch tower playing organs in the year 1604, well.. I can do that now, with balanced action above and and Hammer action below. lol I just fear for my posture and hurting my hands while playing the above one. That's the last thing on my mind right now though, even though it sounds like fun. lol


So.. getting a stage piano with graded Hammer action, seems to be my BEST best for an all in one solution, all while saving space. Plus.. since I've never played a real organ before.. I wouldn't really know that the action is off. Which is great for me. lol

Btw question, I'm currently researching Hammer action, VS the action that the Kawai MP11SE has with wooden keys.. what's the difference between the two from your personal experiance playing them?

Talking about playing them in person, TRUST ME, I would go to Guitar Center in a HEARTBEAT and test out every action and keyboard I wanted, and compare them all for for 2 hours.. but.. corona. I'm not risking that right now. lol


Thank for the advice! I really appreciate it! Oh wow! 45? That's really cool! I've been a professional musician for about 16 years. I started when I was around 11 - 12. I play more than 10 instruments currently. Piano and guitar being my latest tackle. My main is drums though. If this where a drum forum, I'd be the one giving advice instead of asking a million questions like I am here with keyboards. Haha Soon after, I plan on learning the entire stringed section of the orchestra, because I don't want to have to rely on paying people a comically huge bag of money, when I can just play everything myself and record the entire orchestra one by one for free. lol But for now, high quality orchestral samples on a keyboard will do nicely, along with a Wind Controller mod for my Yamaha Motif Rack XS for the wood wind sections.

Haha! My thoughts exactly!