Topic: Cubase and Yamaha PSR-S775 issues

[dlbeaty]

For years I have been working out my arrangements in Cubase to play Yamaha styles. I record the bass chords in Cubase, send them to the keyboard set with the external clock and play back the styles for recordings. I upgraded from the PSR-730 a while back and discovered that the S775 was a bit more complicated, but it worked out.

Recently I upgraded to a newer version of Cubase. I can send MIDI both ways just fine, use the keyboard to trigger VST instruments and play back MIDI files with the S775, but I cannot play the same bass chord MIDI files from the same songs that used to trigger the styles anymore. I have tried every possible setting in the keyboard and in Cubase. I set the accompaniment and the sync start, start the cubase file, the light goes off like it normally does but no sound. I have went back and forth between the old VST5 and Cubase SX3 and 9.5 Pro. It only works in VST5.

The annoying thing is that I did stumble on a solution once a month or so ago, and it was fine. I cannot find my notes if I did write it down. Can anyone help me?

Dan

[overover]

Hi Dan,

In order to control the automatic accompaniment of the S775 via MIDI Chords (i.e. Note events) from Cubase, you must define a specific MIDI channel in "Function > Menu 1 > MIDI > Edit > Chord Detect" (e.g. Port2 Ch16). You then send the Chord track from Cubase to this port/channel.

When using the USB-MIDI connection you would have to use the "Digital Workstation 2" port in this example. (You could also activate ALL channels of Receive Port 2 in "Chord Detect", then it would not matter on which channel the Chord notes are transmitted, as long as you have set Port 2 (Digital Workstation 2) as the output port for the Chord track. Also see the attached screenshot.


P.S.
Note that the changed MIDI settings must be saved as a User MIDI template so that they are available again after a restart. To do this, first press EXIT once to leave the MIDI EDIT page. Then go to the USER drive with TAB and save your new MIDI template there under a meaningful name. Important: Make sure that the new template is actually ACTIVATED before you close the MIDI display completely by pressing EXIT again!


Hope this helps!

Best regards,
Chris

[dlbeaty]

Chris, thanks for the reply. I appreciate this forum because there is usually someone here that understands what I am trying to do! You wrote:

"Hi Dan,

In order to control the automatic accompaniment of the S775 via MIDI Chords (i.e. Note events) from Cubase, you must define a specific MIDI channel in "Function > Menu 1 > MIDI > Edit > Chord Detect" (e.g. Port2 Ch16). You then send the Chord track from Cubase to this port/channel."

The thing that I was able to do before in the older Cubase was to use Cubase to start and stop and set the tempo with the internal clock of the Yamaha off. I found that simply setting the "chord detect" in the keyboard does trigger the style to play. Only the two are not in sync. I can set the tempo in the keyboard to match, but it is not ideal. As soon as I set the clock to MIDI, nothing.

Today I connected the MIDI out to my older keyboard, the PSR-730 and the behavior is the same. With Cubase VST5 I had both keyboards triggered by MIDI files sent from Cubase. I know they are communicating because the chord changes are being displayed on the screen of the keyboard. The difference seems to be with the different versions of Cubase. But that is even strange because in normal mode the chords are played through the keyboard fine and with the external clock as well.

What else could I be missing? Still studying the Cubase manual, with little luck.
Dan

[dlbeaty]

Well, I finally found the same solution I found before but forgot! In Cubase under Transport Panel, there are settings for synchronization. The "save" setting was below the screen so I did not save it before. Under Project Synchronization Setup I needed to check the MIDI Port I was using to send the clock destinations.

Dan