Hi all,
Hoping I am posting in the right place! I recently got my hands in the digitakt and am really enjoying the workflow but am having some connectivity/midi issues. This is my first hardware setup and I had envisaged connecting my yamaha digital piano (p121) to the digitakt to make use of one of the midi tracks and jam directly over my beats using the inbuilt yamaha voices. The Piano has a usb midi out and connects to my PC. Sadly I discovered it does not have a 5 pin midi out (I mistook the sustain pedal output!). I have been looking into ways I can connect on other forums and the Kenton USB host looks like an option but it is quiete expensive so I wanted to be sure it will achieve what I need before investing.
My question is firstly if anyone has any experience connecting a digital piano or other instrument to the digitakt using and midi host (usb/ din convertor) similar the kenton.
Secondly, if it will connect will I be able to play piano into the digitakt through one of the midi tracks and will the audio from my piano play through the digitakt or out of the piano? My concern is that it connects but my only options are to sequence the piano from the digitakt (with audio playing out of the piano) or to use the piano to play audio tracks in the digitakt.
Sorry for the long winded question. Massively appreciate any guidance anyone can share as I am a little lost. My desired setup seems uncommon.
Retrokits RK-005 will solve your problem with standalone USB MIDI host mode and will give you analog sync and 5 pin in and out for use with other gear. Very inexpensive as well. You should also have a small mixer to use for the incoming audio from both, you do not want to run the audio from the yammy through your Digitakt. Once you have it all hooked up with MIDI you can easily use the piano to play the internal sample tracks of the Digitakt as well as play live using the piano into the MIDI tracks of the Digitakt to sequence the piano, treating it like a live MIDI looper, and you can sequence the piano with the Digitakt while retaining the ability to continue playing the piano live on top. You’ll need to learn how to configure this but with a host like the RK-005 and a small mixer, you can do it.
You should have no problem using a MIDI host device with the P-121 and the Digitakt.
Using the MIDI connection via a host, you can use the P-121 to play and record note messages on the Digitakt’s audio tracks. You can also record your playing onto the Digitakt’s MIDI tracks and use that to play sounds on the P-121.
With only a MIDI connection, the audio still comes from your piano because MIDI does not carry audio.
However, you can connect the audio AUX output of the P-121 to the audio inputs of the DT. This would enable you to sample the sound coming from the P-121, and listen to the sound from the piano and the DT simultaneously on the outputs of the DT. You could do this without a mixer, although a mixer would make things more flexible.
You could also send audio over USB from the P-121 to a computer. The DT also does this, so you could mix the audio from the two in computer software if you ever need to.
Edit to add: in fact you can also likely route MIDI between the P-121 and the DT using a computer, without the need for a standalone MIDI host box.
Thanks so much for the response. Never been inclined to seek advice on a forum before but noticed that the threads on here we very informative. It’s great to know it will work and I dont need a mixer. As you can probably tell midi is a bit new to me (no audio transmitted!) So I really appreciate the advice.
Peter is technically correct that you can use the inputs to monitor the audio, but in a practical setting you do not want to do it this way. You DO need a mixer. On your mixer you may have a B group or aux out from the mixer sent to the Digitakt for the purpose of sampling your piano and any other gear that you will connect to the mixer. There are many reasons to use a mixer versus using the Digitakt inputs, which I don’t really want to write out, so just trust me.
Peter you rule, you’re always popping in with helpful breakdowns.