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Joined: Nov 2019
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Hello everyone... I have a Yamaha clp 745 and would like to add more voices with vst. I have no prior experience installing vst. Can you please recommend an Apple/windows laptop...DAW...l Like most people...I would like to do that with minimum investment.. Thanks in advance
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The CLP-745 has 533 instruments voices + drum sets.
Do you have something specific in mind? More acoustic piano voices?
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Thanks for responding I want Steinway and grandeur for sure
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Hello everyone... Can you please recommend an Apple/windows laptop...DAW...l Like most people...I would like to do that with minimum investment.. I have a mac Air laptop, and installing Pianoteq on it was very easy, and it all runs very smoothly. I don't have a DAW, but I do have a Sound Blaster PLAY! 3 because the sound it creates is much better.
Playing the piano is learning to create, playfully and deeply seriously, our own music in the world. * ... feeling like the pianist on the Titanic ...
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Joined: Nov 2019
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Hello everyone... Can you please recommend an Apple/windows laptop...DAW...l Like most people...I would like to do that with minimum investment.. I have a mac Air laptop, and installing Pianoteq on it was very easy, and it all runs very smoothly. I don't have a DAW, but I do have a Blaster PLAY! 3 because the sound it creates is much better. I thought a DAW is a must
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No, it's not. Many (most?) piano virtual instruments are available as VST plugin and as standalone version...
Last edited by Georg Z.; 12/08/21 09:28 AM.
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If you are using Windows, make sure you install ASIO drivers for your audio interface... If there are none available from manufacturer of your audio device, you could use ASIO4ALL.
Without ASIO drivers you may have latency issues...
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I have a mac Air laptop, and installing Pianoteq on it was very easy, and it all runs very smoothly. I don't have a DAW, but I do have a Sound Blaster PLAY! 3 because the sound it creates is much better. Animisha, do you plug the soundblaster to the speakers of your DP or to external speakers? Do you have (feel) some latency?
"La critique est facile, mais l'art reste difficile"
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I have a mac Air laptop, and installing Pianoteq on it was very easy, and it all runs very smoothly. I don't have a DAW, but I do have a Sound Blaster PLAY! 3 because the sound it creates is much better. Animisha, do you plug the soundblaster to the speakers of your DP or to external speakers? I plug the soundblaster into my laptop, because I have a controller (VPC-1) and get my sound from Pianoteq. I plug my headphones or my external speakers into the soundblaster. Do you have (feel) some latency? When I first got the soundblaster, it worked like a dream. But then I downloaded their Control Panel software and I got a tiny delay - enough to make playing the piano impossible. So I uninstalled this control panel and the delay was gone.
Playing the piano is learning to create, playfully and deeply seriously, our own music in the world. * ... feeling like the pianist on the Titanic ...
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Joined: Jun 2018
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I thought a DAW is a must As Georg Z. said, it is not. It worked fine even without my Soundblaster. I really couldn't believe how easy it all was.
Playing the piano is learning to create, playfully and deeply seriously, our own music in the world. * ... feeling like the pianist on the Titanic ...
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Thank you Animisha. I have seen one in a well known web retailler (name has something to do with a Brazilean forest) for 12 euros. So I will give it a try.
Because I do not want too much cable and artefacts around the piano, I think it could be a nice option for me. I hope it will work fine. Thank you for the insight concerning the control panel.
"La critique est facile, mais l'art reste difficile"
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Broadly speaking, you will need to set up the signal chain as follows:
1. Piano midi signal out to your computer;
2. VST in computer receives the midi signal and converts it to digital piano sound data;
3. VST digital piano data output to the computer's soundcard or an external soundcard for conversion to analog and some amplification to get it up to "line out" levels;
4. Soundcard analog piano output to an external amplifier;
5. External amplifier output to external speakers.
SETUP DETAILS:
Regarding step 1 above, there are two common vehicles for transporting midi signals from piano to computer. The oldest is the "midi ouput" terminals on the piano. These take a special "midi" cable and will likely also require a small "midi to USB" converter to get the signal into the computer via a USB port. There are combo cables on the market that have the "midi to USB" converter built into the cable.
Regarding step 2, the VST will have some facility for identifying your piano from a list of possible inputs. You will need to find this and tell your VST which input (your piano) that you want your VST to listen to.
Also, regarding step 2, be sure to check the website of your VST supplier for details regarding how much computer power their VST requires. It might required a certain amount of storage, a certain access speed for that storage, and may have minimum processor speed requirements. Obviously, do this before purchasing a computer. The external soundcard can come in many forms. The simplest, and oftentimes, least pleasing, is the computer's internal soundcard. These tend to be the lowest sound quality available. Alternatively, you can use an external DAC to do the digital to analog conversion and send the DAC output to your amplifier. Another option is to take whatever digital output your computer soundcard offers (many computer soundcards offer no digital output) and plug it directly into a digital (digital co-axial, digital optical, or USB) input on your amplifier which has an internal DAC combined with its amplifier.
BUDGET:
If you want to save money, and maybe even get great sound, you can try using equipment that you already own. If you have a stereo or home theater receiver and speakers, you can use them, oftentimes to great sound. That is what I have been using for the last couple of years, and I have very nice sound with very little investment. In the USA there is a huge market for high quality, used amplifiers and speakers on media such as Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, etc.
Also, your timing is great! In my experience, the two months following Christmas is the best time of year to purchase used audio equipment as all those who received new sound systems for Christmas are looking to dump their old stuff in January and February. The market gets flooded with high quality equipment, competing for a small number of buyers.. Prices go through the floor.
If you need to buy a computer, find the minimum specs required by your VST, and then consider buying an "off-lease" desktop that meets those requirements. My favorite computer source (I'm in the USA) is MicroCenter. They have warranted, off-lease, high quality computers at low prices. My current computer meets all of Pianoteq's requirements and cost about $250 from Microcenter.
Also, I recommend a desktop over laptops just due to their more robust physical construction, and the resulting increase in durability. There are adequate desktops with very small footprints (mine is 12"x12"x3", smaller than any lapltop I've owned).
This forum is a great place to ask questions. Good luck with your sound adventure.
Last edited by Ralphiano; 12/08/21 12:13 PM.
Ralph
Kawai VPC1 Garritan CFX Pianist since April, 2015
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Uugh, the "edit" timer ran out on me!
Regarding step 1 in my previous post, the best/easiest midi connection is piano USB to computer USB. This depends on your piano having a USB output, You have to check for this. This connection requires only a simple USB cable with the appropriate ends that match your equipment USB ports.
Last edited by Ralphiano; 12/08/21 12:30 PM.
Ralph
Kawai VPC1 Garritan CFX Pianist since April, 2015
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One great thing with the CLP-745 is that it has USB Audio. This means that you can access the pianos built in audio interface. Just connect the piano to the computer with an USB cable and then in your program (DAW or standalone) choose your piano where you choose your interface in the audio settings. Now you can play the VST through the built in speakers or the headphone output on your piano, very convenient! Just don't forget to put "local off" in the piano settings, otherwise you'll hear both the VST and the built in sound (if that isn't what you want). If you are using Windows, make sure you install ASIO drivers for your audio interface... If there are none available from manufacturer of your audio device, you could use ASIO4ALL.
Without ASIO drivers you may have latency issues... For better latency performance, you can download a Steinberg driver provided by Yamaha. No need for an external audio interface.
Last edited by johanibraaten; 12/08/21 01:52 PM.
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." - Albert Einstein
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Joined: Jun 2021
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I found it fairly simple with my Roland FP30, just a usb cable to my computer. On the computer I installed Native instruments Komplete 13 which I bought in a sale. I also have a Native audio interface connected to the computer and my KRK Rokit speakers connected to that. I have now upgraded to the Roland FP30X and now I can play the sounds through the keyboard if I want. If your piano has usb audio you will not need the audio interface.
Piano:Roland FP30X Casio CT-S1WE Arranger: Yamaha PSRS970, I have sold this, not decided yet to replace it. Plus Native instruments VST Noire etc.
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Joined: Nov 2019
Posts: 47
Full Member
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OP
Full Member
Joined: Nov 2019
Posts: 47 |
Broadly speaking, you will need to set up the signal chain as follows:
1. Piano midi signal out to your computer;
2. VST in computer receives the midi signal and converts it to digital piano sound data;
3. VST digital piano data output to the computer's soundcard or an external soundcard for conversion to analog and some amplification to get it up to "line out" levels;
4. Soundcard analog piano output to an external amplifier;
5. External amplifier output to external speakers.
SETUP DETAILS:
Regarding step 1 above, there are two common vehicles for transporting midi signals from piano to computer. The oldest is the "midi ouput" terminals on the piano. These take a special "midi" cable and will likely also require a small "midi to USB" converter to get the signal into the computer via a USB port. There are combo cables on the market that have the "midi to USB" converter built into the cable.
Regarding step 2, the VST will have some facility for identifying your piano from a list of possible inputs. You will need to find this and tell your VST which input (your piano) that you want your VST to listen to.
Also, regarding step 2, be sure to check the website of your VST supplier for details regarding how much computer power their VST requires. It might required a certain amount of storage, a certain access speed for that storage, and may have minimum processor speed requirements. Obviously, do this before purchasing a computer. The external soundcard can come in many forms. The simplest, and oftentimes, least pleasing, is the computer's internal soundcard. These tend to be the lowest sound quality available. Alternatively, you can use an external DAC to do the digital to analog conversion and send the DAC output to your amplifier. Another option is to take whatever digital output your computer soundcard offers (many computer soundcards offer no digital output) and plug it directly into a digital (digital co-axial, digital optical, or USB) input on your amplifier which has an internal DAC combined with its amplifier.
BUDGET:
If you want to save money, and maybe even get great sound, you can try using equipment that you already own. If you have a stereo or home theater receiver and speakers, you can use them, oftentimes to great sound. That is what I have been using for the last couple of years, and I have very nice sound with very little investment. In the USA there is a huge market for high quality, used amplifiers and speakers on media such as Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, etc.
Also, your timing is great! In my experience, the two months following Christmas is the best time of year to purchase used audio equipment as all those who received new sound systems for Christmas are looking to dump their old stuff in January and February. The market gets flooded with high quality equipment, competing for a small number of buyers.. Prices go through the floor.
If you need to buy a computer, find the minimum specs required by your VST, and then consider buying an "off-lease" desktop that meets those requirements. My favorite computer source (I'm in the USA) is MicroCenter. They have warranted, off-lease, high quality computers at low prices. My current computer meets all of Pianoteq's requirements and cost about $250 from Microcenter.
Also, I recommend a desktop over laptops just due to their more robust physical construction, and the resulting increase in durability. There are adequate desktops with very small footprints (mine is 12"x12"x3", smaller than any lapltop I've owned).
This forum is a great place to ask questions. Good luck with your sound adventure. Very helpful...thank you
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Joined: Nov 2019
Posts: 47
Full Member
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OP
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Thanks...I really appreciate your input
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Joined: Jun 2018
Posts: 3,263
3000 Post Club Member
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Thank you Animisha. I have seen one in a well known web retailler (name has something to do with a Brazilean forest) for 12 euros. So I will give it a try.
Because I do not want too much cable and artefacts around the piano, I think it could be a nice option for me. I hope it will work fine. Thank you for the insight concerning the control panel. I hope it works for you! I was also surprised that it was cheap, even though I paid a bit more than you did. One day, my Macbook Air got overheated, and once it was back to normal again, I found that the internal sound had disappeared. Now this would have been a disaster, but because I already had the Soundblaster, I just used it and did not have to repair my Air, which would have been both expensive and a hassle.
Playing the piano is learning to create, playfully and deeply seriously, our own music in the world. * ... feeling like the pianist on the Titanic ...
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Joined: Nov 2020
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1000 Post Club Member
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As already mentioned, the clp745 can take usb audio in and play it through its speakers.
So to use an external computer you do not need an external audio interface or speakers.
You simply plug the computer into the keyboard with a single usb cable.
The cable carries midi data (key velocity data) to the computer and sends audio data back to the keyboard via the same cable.
So you do not have to buy any hardware.
As mentioned you can use digital audio workstation software and virtual studio technology plugins.
There are also some programs that are purely hosts for the VST and geared for live production versus music recording.
And there are standalone virtual instrument programs.
One option for the computer would be to use an iPad or even iPhone.
There are a number of reasonably priced standalone and plug-in virtual instruments for iOS.
Although at least for right now, the more sophisticated piano virtual instruments are not iOS.
If you are a little tech savvy some virtual instruments can be used on the small raspberry pi computer boards.
Good luck!
Last edited by Purdy; 12/09/21 11:07 AM.
FP-90x, PX-330
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Hello everyone... I have a Yamaha clp 745 and would like to add more voices with vst. I have no prior experience installing vst. Can you please recommend an Apple/windows laptop...DAW...l Like most people...I would like to do that with minimum investment.. Thanks in advance Minimum investment and laptop is usually a contradiction. For low latency get the Focusrite or Steinberg UR22mkII interface. You need to connect those to an amp if you connect external monitors or high Ohm headphones to them. For large sample libraries you probably want a corresponding SSD, better NVM.e. One of the best piano VST (Garritan CFX) comes with 130+ GB of samples, which you want to have on at least a SSSD. Reconfiguring your system to fit the needs of a new VST makes Windows 10 desktop PCs the logical choice if you are price sensitive. 16 GB RAM is recommended. Single core (single-thread) CPU speed is more important than many cores. VST usually don't produce much load on the CPU, so there shouldn't be any need for a silent system. Just make sure that all fans are regulated. However, mileage might vary depending on your personal preferences/needs. Also, smaller systems (laptops) can be louder because air circulation can be more problematic.
Last edited by Marc345; 12/09/21 10:44 PM.
HW: MP11SE, Touche SE (+Arturia Keylab Ess. 88, Akai MPK249, in reserve: GEM Promega 3) SW: Garritan CFX, Ravenscroft 275, Modern U, Noire, Absolute 5, Acousticsamples B5 Pics: https://imgur.com/a/GZgdFm3
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