Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Need some recomendations for addons for a silent grand

Hi all,

I was fortunate enough to just purchase a new Yamaha C7X SH. I primarily got the silent feature so it could be hooked to a set of speakers, not really for headphone use, so when I have people over, I can entertain using the digital sounds as well as the acoustic ones. There are a few things I want to buy, but I'd like to get some input first, because I don't want to just throw money away.

• I want to buy either a Yamaha Motif Rack XS or a Roland Integra 7, and plug it in the MIDI In on the sound module. This can be done right? I assume that's what the MIDI In is for. The 19 sounds on the SH module itself isn't satisfactory for my needs.
• What speakers should I buy for this? I'm looking at a pair of the Yamaha DXR15 or DSR15. Is this overkill for my needs? Would I appreciate the quality of these speakers for this purpose? I've noticed that Roland sells speakers specifically for keyboards, so maybe this would be a better choice?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Jason

You may want to ask this question on the Piano World "Digital Pianos - Synth & Keyboards" forum. The question of best speakers has come up many times.

Your choice of a passive PA speaker is probably a good choice. I recommend that you go to a nearby Guitar Center, or a music store that has a full line of pro sound. I would avoid Roland keyboard amps.

MIDI data doesn't carry any sound, only events about timing and velocity of notes played/to be played. So MIDI is like the rolls used on a player piano.

About adding external synths/sound modules, you can but you will instead plug them in the MIDI OUT of your SH piano.

So your SH piano MIDI OUT --> External modules MIDI IN

On your piano, the MIDI IN serves for an external sequencer or computer MIDI OUT to trigger the sounds in your SH module.

So using a computer, you can play on your SH piano and record a performance (SH MIDI OUT --> sequencer/computer MIDI IN), then use your recorded MIDI file to trigger your SH or other sound modules (sequencer/computer MIDI OUT --> SH/sound modules MIDI IN).

Tony, thank you for your input on the speakers. That's good enough for me. I was just curious if those were a terrible choice, which it seems not to be. Also, I posted here because I thought a question primarily related to a Yamaha acoustic was better suited for here.

Bosen, my mind went completely blank. thank you! I had a Kurzweil MicroPiano years ago, and I totally forgot how it works. So I guess the SH device is simply a passthrough, yes? The speakers would end up being plugged into the Motif Rack XS, right?

Jason, it depends - if you plan to use only sounds from external modules like a Motif or Roland, I would connect their audio outs directly into your new amplified speakers inputs. Connect the audio/aux outputs of your SH in the new amplified speakers inputs only if you want to hear the SH sounds. Again MIDI outs/ins for MIDI, and audio outs/ins for sound.

I also agree with Tony to choose something else than Roland - their sound isn't clean/"flat" at all. Another point to consider will be how many inputs are available on your new amplified speakers. If you plan to use several sources/sound modules, you might also need a mixer if there's not enough inputs on the amplified speakers.

Is there a way to have them both active at once? I don't think so, since the midi plug 'disables' the SH source sounds.

Almost certain you can use the SH sounds plus any other external module(s) simultaneously.

Thank you both for your help. I really appreciate it.