Synthesia doesn't work with my e-piano Roland RD-700GX

Trouble with Synthesia, your keyboard, or adapter? Think you found a bug?
When describing problems, always mention your OS and game version (shown at the bottom of the title screen).

If your keyboard has USB or MIDI ports, there is a tremendously high chance (>99%) it will work with Synthesia. See what you'll need on the keyboards page.
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sunshineh
Posts: 2

Post by sunshineh »

Hi,
I have two e-pianos
-Roland RD-700GX
-Yamaha P-45
and a Samsung Galaxy Tablet with the full Synthesia version.

When I connect my tablet with the piano, I switched to MIDI in the android selection and on my Roland RD-700GX I also activeded the USB MIDI Thru SW.
In Synthesia get an "USB-Port für Android-Peripheriegeräte" but Synthesia can't recognize my piano. I tried 3 different USB-Cables nothing is working :-(

On my Yamaha P-45 Synthesia doesn't recognize, that I swiched it to a piano.

What can I do??
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Bavi_H
Posts: 116

Post by Bavi_H »

When discussing MIDI connections, be aware that "thru" means "send a copy of data coming in on the MIDI IN port out on the MIDI THRU port (or MIDI OUT port)."

On your Roland RD-700GX, the "USB MIDI Thru Sw" setting sends a copy of data coming in on the MIDI IN port out over the USB cable. (In the Roland RD-700GX Owner's Manual, see page 142: "USB MIDI Thru Sw ON: Performance data from the device connected to the RD-700GX's MIDI IN connector will be sent to your computer.")


To send keyboard key presses out over the USB cable, it looks like you need to do the following:

1. Press the EXTERNAL/INTERNAL button to put the keyboard in EXTERNAL mode.

2. Turn on the UPPER 1 button, and turn off the UPPER 2, LOWER 1, LOWER 2, and SPLIT buttons. This will set the entire keyboard to the UPPER 1 part. (If multiple parts are enabled, pressing a key can send multiple copies of the key press to Synthesia and cause problems.)

3. On the display screen, move the cursor to the OUT column and the UP1 row and make sure the setting is ALL or USB so MIDI data will get sent out on the USB cable. (If the setting is 1, 2, or 3, data will be sent out on one of the MIDI OUT ports and not on the USB cable.)

(In the Roland RD-700GX Owner's Manual, see page 97, Selecting the MIDI Connector to Use for Output)
Nicholas
Posts: 13135

Post by Nicholas »

Also: the MIDI option that Android provides is misleading, too. That makes the whole tablet/phone report itself as a MIDI device itself, so that it can become a MIDI instrument (by using an app that provides inputs and generates MIDI messages).

For apps that simply work with connected MIDI devices, you never need to choose that option.
Synthlias
Posts: 3

Post by Synthlias »

Having some problems with my Roland RD-700GX aswell. I'm using Roland USB MIDI interface UM-ONE. MIDI sound is coming through fine, but there is noticeable delay, which makes playing impossible with Synthesia. Any ideas how to improve the delay? My laptop should be powerful enough (Predator Helios 300). I'm very new to working with MIDI :) Thanks!
Nicholas
Posts: 13135

Post by Nicholas »

Are you also using your RD-700GX as your MIDI output device? Or are you using the built-in MIDI synth? Usually sending Synthesia's output to your digital piano will be the absolute fastest thing out there. The built-in synth is a lot faster than Microsoft's own MIDI synth included in Windows, but neither one can hold a candle to the hardware synth in most digital pianos.
Synthlias
Posts: 3

Post by Synthlias »

Nicholas wrote: 10-12-21 2:34 pm Are you also using your RD-700GX as your MIDI output device? Or are you using the built-in MIDI synth? Usually sending Synthesia's output to your digital piano will be the absolute fastest thing out there. The built-in synth is a lot faster than Microsoft's own MIDI synth included in Windows, but neither one can hold a candle to the hardware synth in most digital pianos.
I'm trying to use my RD700GX as MIDI controller. MIDI delay between the time I play and what comes out of Synthesia is just too much right now. I wonder if the problem is in my piano settings or computer?
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jimhenry
Posts: 1899

Post by jimhenry »

Synthlias wrote: 10-12-21 11:46 am I'm very new to working with MIDI :) Thanks!
While MIDI is basically simple, it is something that takes a while to grasp.

If you are bothered by the delay between pressing a key and hearing the sound, focus on Nicholas' advice to use your RD-700GX as your MIDI output device. There are three "MIDI things" happening when you play:
  1. You press a key and a MIDI message is sent to your computer saying the key has been pressed;
  2. Synthesia generates a MIDI message saying play a musical note;
  3. A MIDI synthesizer receives the MIDI message saying play a musical note and generates the sound you hear.
The first two things happen very fast. You are unlikely to hear a delay caused by those two steps unless there is something seriously amiss. The third step is the one that takes time, especially if the MIDI synthesizer is a "soft synth", something that runs on your computer.

Synthesia does not generate sound. It just generates MIDI messages and sends them to a MIDI synthesizer that you can choose. By default, the MIDI messages are sent to a fast soft synth included with Synthesia. But if your keyboard can play sounds, which it can if it works as a stand alone keyboard, you can tell Synthesia to send the MIDI messages from your computer to your keyboard. The keyboard will play sounds much faster than any soft synth. This should clear up your delay issue.
Jim Henry
Author of the Miditzer, a free virtual theatre pipe organ
http://www.Miditzer.org/
Synthlias
Posts: 3

Post by Synthlias »

Thank you both for the detailed explanation! Took me a while to understand what I'm doing :anxious: but everything is working now when I changed the MIDI output.
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