Okay, I’ve got a few questions and you guys have been extremely helpful so far. Let’s see if my luck carries over here.

I recently bought a used ES6 and, as some of you can tell from my posts in other threads around here, have so far added the following expansions:

1) PLG150-VL Board and BC3 Breath Controller
2) Expanded the sample RAM to 1Gb
3) Addes several Voice Libraries (B’s Knees, Vintage Keys, Axxe, Leads, Hypnotic Stepz, etc.

I have my ES6 hooked up to my PC (Dell Vostro 1.8Ghz Dual Core with 3Gb RAM running XP SP3). I just upgraded to Cubase 5 and everything is running as it should on that end. I have both USB hooked up directly to the ES6 and MIDI through a M-Audio MIDISport UNO interface. I have a Terratek 2496 PCI Audio Card already installed and working in the PC.

Based on threads/recommendations I have read either here or elsewhere, I intend on adding the following:

1) PLG150-AN (Slot 1)
2) PLG150-DX (Slot 3)

These I am sure I want to do, the rest I’m not sure about:

3) mLAN16e Card
4) i88x Interface
5) 01x mLAN Mixer

Can someone please explain to me why I would want or benefit exactly from the last three additions? I understand these items are getting harder to find but if I see one I don’t want to go off half-cocked and buy something I don’t really need. My PC doesn’t have a firewire port (that I am aware of anyway) so if I need to add one please let me know. You guys are very detailed in your explanations to others about HOW to get these things hooked up and working. I’m more interested in the benefits of having them and how they would help me in my music making process. But I need it explained down here where a 5th grader can understand it (not to offend anyone who wishes to take a stab at it).

As always, thanks in advance for your advice. This site has been a godsend in helping me get my mind wrapped around what I have so far and thanks again to those who have put up with my stupid questions. Sorry for rambling, but I wanted to give you folks as much info as I could.

Brad

The first thing you need to address is how do YOU want to work and what would be the most comfortable approach for YOU to meet your objectives.

“A lot of gear” only amounts to “a lot of gear” if you can’t get it to work for you and get the results you are after. Negotiating the “learning curve” on anything is unique to YOU as the first thing you should consider.

Are you more comfortable working with MIDI or Audio? Does it make a difference?

I’m sure the i88 and the 01x can be purchased on eBay,but as I understand it are no longer in production.
http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/ContentDetail/ModelSeriesDetail.html?CNTID=5025221&CTID=207900

I believe this is the most recent recording system. There are others that are associated with Steinberg that you might want to take a look at as well.

Personally, I use the mLan system. For “me” it is very convienent for what I want to do. I work in Audio with the intent to learn MIDI as well.

Just trying to give you some things to think about before you start shelling out more cash. Just about everyone here has their own way of doing things. Check into the Steinberg section as well for even more options that are being employed.

The most anyone can offer is suggestions and process options. In the end, it still boils down to how YOU work,want to work and are capable of working.
Just a thought.......

Thanks Dukester, I appreciate your input. I think I’m sort of the opposite of you in that I use MIDI more than Audio, but here is why ...

I probably should have given a little more background on the way I record. I have my Motif set up as described above. I noodle around on it ALL the time. I am learning to record patterns and songs, I am playing around with the Voices and Performances, I got some cool new sounds for it and am loving it. I think of it as my “idea pad” so to speak. If I get an idea going and want to develop it further, I fire up Cubase.

Within Cubase I have access to way too many VST’s such as Omnisphere, SampleTank XL, Sonik Synth, Oddity, M-Tron, VIOne, etc. not to mention all the cool tools in C5 that I’m stumbling across. In Cubase I can take that germ of an idea and develop it, add audio, etc. but what I’m missing is an easy way to move my Patterns/Songs over into Cubase from the Motif. I’m having to “reconstruct” everything from scratch. As some of you only know too well, sometimes that next cut isn’t as good as the original. So to reiterate, I record almost everything ss MIDI tracks first and then add audio almost as an afterthought. The exception to this would be someone coming over and wanting to record something solo “acoustic”. Even then, I’ll usually pull out the Zoom H4 and record them into that and then transfer the audio track into Cubase later.

I can see the mLAN being a solution for moving MIDI back and forth all at once as opposed to track-by-track. Now that is IF I am understanding the capabilities of the mLAN card. It would also, if I understand it correctly, make my Motif my audio interface thereby taking the place of the Terretek. Is this correct? Also I believe that moving other data (ie. Voices, Performances, and the whole Studio Manager thing with the editors and all) would work more seamlessly. Is this correct as well or am I not understanding the whole mLAN concept properly? I guess I have gotten so used to being in Cubase and pulling up a VST instrument that it would be great if I could pull up my Motif the same way and be working with the sounds in it like I do other VSTi’s. I know this ability comes with the new XS Series out of the box but will this path lead me closer to being able to do it like that with my ES?

Next step up would be integration. If I added the 01x Mixer, it would replace a Behringer Eurorack UB1204FX Mixer that I’ve been using for 5 years. No problem there as I can incorporate the old one into my live rig. If I understand correctly, this would add “Total Recall” and “Snapshot Automation” to the mix (as well as the cool moving faders). If again I understand it correctly, integrating the 01x would then give me the option of using EITHER the Motif or the 01x as my audio interface. If I have the 01x I could route all my audio through the mixer and then save different “scenes” or “setups” for different ways of working. Looking at the 01x, I see 8 inputs with only the first 2 having XLR. That would not be a problem in my own recording environment and I can always add an i88x if I need more inputs (again if I understand THAT unit correctly). If I didn’t want/need a mixer then the i88x could very well serve as an audio interface as well, is this true?

Again, thanks guys for your patience ... hopefully others around here will get something out of this discussion as well. I agree with you Dukester that I don’t want to just throw money at this hoping some or all of these tools will solve problem(s). As you mention, the learning curve could also create more problems than they solve as well. Thanks for your words of wisdom and hopefully others will input theirs as well.

Brad,

A few notes:

1. Did you know that with Cubase and “Total Integration” you can setup the Motif ES as a VSTi? See Bad_Mister’s post in this older thread as well as the referrence link for more information.

2. Adding the mLAN interface will not help you when it comes to transferring songs and patterns to your computer. The MIDI capabilities of mLAN are equivalent to the virtual MIDI interface provided by the ES’s Host USB interface. Using either of these interfaces (or for that matter the standard MIDI interface) you can record all 16 MIDI channels at once into Cubase (or any other sequencer).

It would also, if I understand it correctly, make my Motif my audio interface thereby taking the place of the Terretek. Is this correct?

3. This is correct. The mLAN interface provides you multiple (virtual) MIDI ports, 16 Audio inputs from the ES to your computer, and 4 Stereo Audio Outputs from your computer to the ES all via a single cable.

4. In order to use mLAN, you must have a firewire port on your computer. Actually, once you have configured your mLAN, you can run an mLAN network without a computer connected, but you must use a computer to configure the netwrok. Thus, once configured, you could have a stand-alone system with a Motif ES, an 01x and an i88x.

5. Whether or not you could benefit from an 01x and an i88x really depends on your work flow. (I have both of these and they work well for me in my home studio.)

Regards,

Brad Weber

midinut - 18 June 2009 01:16 AM

Can someone please explain to me why I would want or benefit exactly from the last three additions?

Brad,

My ES configuration is:
1) PLG-VL slot 1 (with BC3a of course!)
2) PLG-AN slot 2
3) PLG-DX slot 3
4) mLAN16E
5) Cubase SX 3
6) Low latency SB PCMCIA ZX Card 24bit/96kHZ
6) M-Audio Axiom 25 via standard MIDI cable (for live playing, or some programming and composing when I’m far from ES).

I have bought mLAN card recently and I think that is the best thing I have in Motif. Why? Well, if you composing and would like to have a good quality recording you will notice why!
At the first time I have used folowing procedure (whitout mLAN), assuming I will use only one instrument (voice):
1) I go to Song/Pattern mode and define my mix. If I don’t use a template, I should also copy voice with its effects and sometimes arpeggio.
2) I recorded song as MIDI.
3) Then I go to Integrated Sampler and perform resampling. I should press play and wait till sequencer finish recorded MIDI sequence.
4) Now it is time to transfer recorded WAV to USB. Since on Motif USB is 1.1 it could be very slow, esp. if it is a song with a several voices and last aprox. 4min. This transfer could last more than 10min!
5) I plug USB to PC and copy WAV to hard disc. Fortunately, USB there is 2.0 so it is much faster.
6) Then I started Cubase SX, load WAV file and perform some final mastering using Yamaha’s plug-in FinalMaster, etc.
Are you tired? I was, beleive me!
Now, mLAN.
I create empty audio track in Cubase and attach appropriate mLAN channel. In Motif, I’m in Voice mode, since I’m recording only one instrument. I’m playing my song on Motif, while it is recorded in Cubase! And if I put as a insert effect Final Master, I have after playing finished audio material!!!
Try to count how it would last with previous procedure!!!
I hope that you understand the benefit. Plus, many endless possibilities for recording several tracks with or without effects, use Motif effect processor as external eff. in Cubase.
I’m also playing music with my friend who is now in Holand.
He send me his guitar audio tracks recorded as Cubase project, and immediately after loading I could hear his guitars along with my MIDI channels. All synchronized!
I don’t have experience with 01x and I read that is discontinued (also as mLAN, but I have bought it at wwww.wholesalemusic.com, thay still have it). For me, for a new level of easy and powerful recording mLAN is a must.

Alex