Old Motifator threads are available in the Archive.
vo.van
Total Posts: 24
Joined 12-26-2011 status: Regular |
Hi All, Happy New Year! while struggling with Steinberg Cubase setup and going thru manuals I realize that USB port may not provide the anticipated functionality. My questions are with regard to limitations of USB ( vs Firewire ) whether or not it is possible
1. recording simultaneously several MIDI tracks, as in Song mode from Motif into Cubase Al5;
2.1 for single midi track 2.2 multiple midi tracks 2.3 multiple midi and multiple audio tracks Thanks! |
MarPabl
Total Posts: 560
Joined 09-08-2011 status: Guru |
You can do this with USB. Read those articles:
For this, you must install the FW16E FireWire expansion to the Motif XF |
selbalicious
Total Posts: 207
Joined 09-30-2011 status: Enthusiast |
And let me just point out that I recently got my XF8 configured with a reasonably powerful laptop running XP SP3 and I have the firewire card on the XF8. Once I got everything configured correctly it was an absolute DREAM recording multiple tracks of 24-bit yumminess into Cubase AI5. I used “With PC” as the monitoring setting (on the XF) and this seemed to give me the best tradeoff between the XF8 and the laptop. Once my tracks were inside Cubase, I was able to mix/master them down easily and perfectly. And this is an older laptop with 1Gb of RAM and an older CPU. What I love about Cubase and the Yamaha drivers in general is that they seem to be very backward compatible and run just fine on older hardware. Very nice system!
Kevin B. Selby
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Bad_Mister
Total Posts: 36620
Joined 07-30-2002 status: Moderator |
The Motif XF does not use the “Yamaha Steinberg USB Driver” at all. Not at all. The only synthesizer that currently uses that driver is the MOX6/MOX8 - that driver is used for MIDI and AUDIO (the MOX is dual Stereo USB outputs via that drvier). It is multiple ports of MIDI and 2 stereo Audio outputs. The Motif XF does not use that driver at all, and does not do any audio via USB, period. Rather the Motif XF uses the “Yamaha USB-MIDI Driver” which is MIDI ONLY. The “Yamaha Steinberg Firewire Driver” is used for the Motif XF, this driver gives the XF multiple ports of MIDI and AUDIO (16 audio outputs, 6 audio returns)
Current situation:
If you see a driver with just Yamaha, as in the Yamaha USB-MIDI Driver it is a MIDI only driver, and works for the majority of Yamaha MIDI synthesizers and keyboards (all of them except the new MOX6/MOX8 which requires a MIDI/AUDIO ASIO driver) USB while plenty fast (everyone wrongly thinks its about the speed, it is not both USB and FW have more than enough speed for music), its about the bandwidth. The USB drivers are just now getting to the point where they can handle data like FW has for years now. Because Yamaha has literally scores of products that use various drivers, it is very important to read, and verify that you are getting the not only the correct driver, but the one that matches the requirements for your computer’s OS. Please READ CAREFULLY. Hope that helps. |
vo.van
Total Posts: 24
Joined 12-26-2011 status: Regular |
Thanks a lot. Your kind advise saved me tons of pain. So for USB connection all I need to have is Yamaha MIDI USB driver. So what would be a purpose of StudioManager, how it is implemented for USB connection - I guess scenes in setup will not be available ( the first tab); only the midi settings (second tab) would be in use? |
DrLizardo
Total Posts: 4
Joined 01-03-2012 status: Newcomer |
Hey there, I’m new to this site. I’m debating back and forth as to whether I shall acquire a Motif or a Mox. I want to record guitar and vocals with the workstation I get, and I get the impression from this thread that if then want to transfer the audio into my computer, if I get a Mox, no problem, I just connect via usb and go, but with the motif I’d have to get the FW expansion board and a computer with a FW port, which would be a significant additional expense. I’m totally new at this so I just want to be clear on this point. Thanks. |
5pinDIN
Total Posts: 11891
Joined 09-16-2010 status: Legend |
A Motif XS or XF also has options other than using FW. For some, see:
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Bad_Mister
Total Posts: 36620
Joined 07-30-2002 status: Moderator |
Well, its a good thing you spoke up and asked the question… because just because the XF uses FW expansion to record audio directly to a computer - that is a very special audio interface - don’t mistakenly think the MOX is more powerful than its big brother the XF. We are talking 16 simutaneous audio bus outputs. Not everyone needs all that power. The Motif XF, out of the box can be used to record MIDI and audio - nothing additional to buy. the Motif XF’s Integrated Sampling Sequencer will allow you to designate any track to record MIDI data or audio. You have 6 minutes and 20 seconds of continuous record time for an audio track. 12 minutes and 40 seconds for SDRAM.
You can record via the XF’s A/D Input directly to the internal SDRAM of the XF.
In this fashion you can IMPORT your audio tracks into a Cubase Project.
If your computer is not a dozen core monster or you are just tired of dealing with computer latency issues. You can record your audio tracks to the XF and then just IMPORT the data, as necessary. It is really cool especially when you connect your XF to your computer via Ethernet, you just Save your Motif XF ALL file right on the computer and import the data to Cubase.. Quick - easy - painless If you are doing more advanced recording, where you require more simutlaneous audio recording capabilities that is when the FW16E is a powerful option. Make no mistake, it’s not for everyone, but nice to know you can go there when you’re ready. |
DrLizardo
Total Posts: 4
Joined 01-03-2012 status: Newcomer |
Thanks for your replies. I certainly don’t imagine that the Mox would be more powerful than the Motif. On youtube you can watch Bert Smorenburg pipe Keyboard audio and bass guitar straight through the mox into cubase via usb, as well control a soft synth via usb and have the sound piped back out to the keyboard’s audio outputs. So to me at this point it looks like if I want to get that direct connectivity that I can have with a mox6 for $1200, I’d be looking at a minimum of 3k for a 61 key motif plus fw expansion board and computer with fw port. I do understand the superiority of the fw connectivity but I’m thinking mox/usb is going to be fine for my rank beginnerness. |