i'm hoping somebody can advise me on how to set up my casio px 330 with cubase, or really any other midi software, in order to record and playback multichannel midi. the problem lies in the fact that the px330 has pretty weak midi capabilities

- for example, i can set channel 1, in cubase, to play a GM Piano, and channel 2, to be GM strings, but i can't figure out how to set channels to be any of the px330's non-GM sounds (e.g. its main sound, GrandPiano is much better than its GM Piano, but since it's not GM i can't find a way to set it).

- on the keyboard itself, for example when i'm playing it in order to record my strings, say on channel 2, i cannot easily get the piano to transmit only on specific channels. i believe there is setting deep in some menus about which channel to transmit on, but it's very tedious if you want to be swapping back and forth between two.. so i end up having to play it using the main Grand Piano sound, setting up Cubase to receive and record on all channels, then setting the playback instrument as strings. which means, when i'm recording i can't actually hear the instrument that i want to have it play back as.

does anyone know any good tips for setting up the px330 for recording multichannel midi?

thanks in advance.

The midi implimentation on the PX-330 should be explained in the manual. You might also find some videos on you tube showing you how to set up cubase. If you are trying to record the internal sound of the PX-330, you can use the flash memory built into the 330's 17 track on board sequencer and save it to a SD card and import it into Cubase. You could also connect the 330 to the computer via the line out of the 330 to the line in of your computer and record it with Cubase.

thanks, yes, i've read the manual and also i'm able to record the piano fine into cubase. basic setup isn't the problem, it's the multi-channel part that i can find no information about. every other digital piano or synth i've used before let's you assign multiple midi channels, each to a different patch or sound, but from what i can tell on the 330 you can only set a single channel, i.e. the piano as a whole, and all its sounds get set to the midi channel that you set deep inside one of the menus. there must be (??) a way to do this properly, like it is on pretty much every other keyboard.... or am i too optimistic?

I would like to learn the answer to this too. Though in my case, I can't even get the patch to show up in Cubase. This is my first time trying to use MIDI. I've used Cubase for years, and my PX320 as an audio input for several years.

just giving this question a little *bump* in case anyone else in the last couple of months has any ideas about this since i'm still stuck with it!

Is local enabled in the menu settings of the PX-330. If it is not, you won't be able to use any of the piano internal sounds.

It used to be the case that you had to select midi multi mode to play different voices from the same device. But I think now, multi-mode is the default, or is automatically selected when required.

I had exactly the same doubt with my Roland HP302, but it turns out that it will respond to different sounds on different midi channels simply by selecting them inside the computer sequencer/ recorder (Cubase etc). The type of voice selected is most easily done by selecting General Midi (GM1 or GM2) in the instrument map.

It was not necessary to change the midi mode or channel inside the piano - all you need to do is disable LOCAL ON so that sounds are controlled through the computer and not by the settings in the piano.

It sounds like you're sending simple Program Change commands from Cubase to the PX330, and that will only give you GM sounds. If this is like other Casios I have used, you have to also send Bank Change (MSB/LSB) info to get to the non-GM sounds. I believe you should be able to assign any of the PX-330's 16 sounds to any of its 16 channels that way. It is all done via your software (Cubase, or whatever else), it cannot be done from inside the piano itself.


The procedure is detailed on page 40 of the PX330 manual. The settings you're looking for are shown on page 42. It looks pretty straight forward. But I'm not sure why you need to set the PX330 to transmit on different channels in the first place. I don't know Cubase, but you should be able to leave the piano transmitting on the same MIDI channel (typically 1), and allow Cubase to reroute it to the desired MIDI playback channel.


Can't you use the PX330's front panel controls to select the same string sound you'll be using for playback? Why do you have to leave it on piano? Though if this is the approach you take, you'd want to make sure Cubase isn't echoing MIDI IN to MIDI OUT while you're recording, or else whatever you're playing "live" will also be sent back out to the keyboard.

But I think that's all academic because I think the preferable approach is to turn Local Off and let Cubase send your playing back into the Casio over the desired MIDI channel while you're recording, as I alluded to in the previous paragraph.

The only thing that I think is a little "different" about Casio's MIDI approach is that the MIDI IN is usually treated as a source completely apart from the keybed itself. This allows someone to playback a 16 channel MIDI sequence and then play a 17th sound over it, live from the keybed, at the same time. For your purposes, it might make sense to look at it as a 16-channel MIDI playback device, and a 1-channel MIDI recording device, in the same box. So turn Local Off and think of it as a simple one-zone soundless controller hooked up (MIDI OUT) to a 16-channel MIDI sound module (MIDI IN), and I bet it all falls into place.

Hello all,

I'm a new pianist, started playing six months ago, got my new casio privia 330 two months ago,,

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Cross-posted 3 times, yikes haha

Hey!

I found a similar problem today with my PX330, linking to Cubase through a Lexicon Lambda.

Taking the midi out from Cubase to the PX330,it would only play GM tones. Even setting the patch setting to 'OFF' in Cubase (which then sends no patch change information to the keyboard) it would just default to GM sound 1 (crappy piano).

But, if I connect the PC to the PX330 via a USB cable (not the midi in), and select the new midi connection in Cubase - it works as a typical midi slave, playing the midi track with whatever keyboard sound I change it to. I don't understand why this worked though!

Also, it created some weird feedback hum in one of the speakers, but at least I can access the non-GM tones now!

I don't think you will be able to use the PX330 (with non-GM tones) as a multi-track midi player though. I don't think it was designed for such a function.

My Yamaha QY300 (15yrs old now!) is exactly that - a multi-track midi player/sequencer which acts as 16 different keyboards. Glad I hung on to it!

So ... the 10 built-in demo songs work by ...

A possible reason for the extra hum may be that the midi connection through the Lexicon Lambda is opto-isolated, but the USB connection is producing a ground loop?

Eureka! I've just made a discovery on my PX300!

After getting the non-GM sounds to play using the USB cable, I didn't work the next time I tried. So,it meant that it 100% had to be something that I'd done differently with Cubase. The Midi setting within the keyboard are so basic that there was no other rational explanation.

My great discovery - you need to have the 'monitor' button on (for your midi channel). Then if you select a non-GM tone on the keyboard, it switches to it without drama!

As for using the PX300 as a multitrack midi player using the non GM sounds - no wiser!