Need help connecting R3 to computer to record with FL Studio

kinotsu · Post by **kinotsu** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 11:59 pm

Edit:
I made a new topic,please go here instead:

http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... 891#274891

Hey guys,I need help connecting my Synthesizer to my computer so I can record with it with and play my Synth into a program like Fruity Loops Studio using the Synths built in effects and not the programs.

I'm sort of really new at this and I was't sure what cable to get,my choices were a MIDI cable or a USB cable.

So I went to Sam Ash and asked the guy which should I use and what each did,and so he told me MIDI only uses the computer programs effects,and he didn't really explain USB but he said I don't really need it. So he ended up giving me a Stereo cable I think? This is it Stereo Breakout TRS

He said that I can hook that to my Synth and into the back of my computer and I should be able to play through and that I'll hear it on my computer.

Not sure if its the right cable though,but if it is,where am I supposed to connect it?

There like 3 plugs ,a left, a right, and a ground.
And where am I supposed to put what cable in where?

Theres a buncha holes in the back of my R3 that it fits in,so I dunno what goes where.
And also,am I supposed to do something separately on FL Studio so it can detect my Synth or something?

Sorry for all the questions,Im just really new at this.

xmlguy · Post by **xmlguy** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 12:18 am

You aren't putting the cable into the right hole. (That's what she said).

Which holes have you tried?

The cable has one wire labelled with an L and another with an R?

Of all the holes on the back of the synth, guess which ones might be the right ones for a cable marked L and R?

kinotsu · Post by **kinotsu** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 12:22 am

xmlguy wrote:You aren't putting the cable into the right hole. (That's what she said).

Which holes have you tried?

The cable has one wire labelled with an L and another with an R?

Of all the holes on the back of the synth, guess which ones might be the right ones for a cable marked L and R?

Lmfao,I've been saying those "Thats what she said" jokes all day xD

But back to the point,yeah ones a left and right cable.

And on the back of the R3,theres Output L/Mono and R,and theres also Phones and Audio Input 1 and 2 which has a switch for Line and Mic.

xmlguy · Post by **xmlguy** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 1:19 am

You listed the jacks that might work. But you didn't guess which ones of those should match the cable. Bzzzt. Try again.

Hint: There's only one RIGHT answer, when you've got a cable marked L and R.

kinotsu · Post by **kinotsu** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 1:23 am

xmlguy wrote:You listed the jacks that might work. But you didn't guess which ones of those should match the cable. Bzzzt. Try again.

Hint: There's only one RIGHT answer, when you've got a cable marked L and R.

I put the L plug in the L Output and the R plug in the R Output <.<;;

And I hooked the 3rd part of the plug to the back of my comp where supposedly my computer speakers go.

I go on Fruity Loops Studio and start hitting random keys on my Synth but I hear nothing :/

xmlguy · Post by **xmlguy** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 1:29 am

You got the R3 side right now.

On the computer side, the speaker jack is for sending audio to speakers. The R3 is not a speaker. The computer should have an audio input or aux input jack. That's what you need to hook the cable too.

Then the computer can hear the R3. You might not be able to hear what the computer hears, if you don't have speakers hooked to the speaker jack or headphones to some headphone output on the computer. You can hear what the R3 is sending by hooking headphones to the Phones jack, but that may not be exactly the same as what the computer is hearing. The computer will also have a mute function and a mic/line level that may need to be adjusted.

kinotsu · Post by **kinotsu** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 1:49 am

xmlguy wrote:You got the R3 side right now.

On the computer side, the speaker jack is for sending audio to speakers. The R3 is not a speaker. The computer should have an audio input or aux input jack. That's what you need to hook the cable too.

Then the computer can hear the R3. You might not be able to hear what the computer hears, if you don't have speakers hooked to the speaker jack or headphones to some headphone output on the computer. You can hear what the R3 is sending by hooking headphones to the Phones jack, but that may not be exactly the same as what the computer is hearing. The computer will also have a mute function and a mic/line level that may need to be adjusted.

I tried everything,I plugged the 3rd plug to every single jack that it can fit in on my computer and I still heard nothing,even some on the front that have a picture of some headphones and another with a picture of a mic,though like you said,I might need headphones or something,but even after I tried recording it it recorded nothing,so obviously its not picking it up.

Is there no other easier way?

Would a USB cable work?

musikmachine · Post by **musikmachine** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 5:30 am

Are you sure audio is coming from the R3? Try plugging some headphones and playing a few notes.

If there's no audio local control could be turned off or if it's an arp patch it won't play if sync is set to external and the r3 isn't receiving clock.

It goes left and right out of the r3 to left and right IN on your computer soundcard. Once you have your cable connected and there is an audio signal from the r3 open fl studios preferences and select your soundcard in audio prefs.

Try playing a few keys and if there's no audio open the mixer panel and on the right hand side where it says audio click on the drop down menu and select your soundcards input. The audio should now be coming into FL.

The next step would be to connect either a usb or midi cable (usb works great) so you can record midi parts into FLs piano roll. It's pretty straightforward but you need to get the audio working first! Btw, you could probably do with some better cables than that eventually.

xmlguy · Post by **xmlguy** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 8:43 am

Plug in a headset with a mic into the computer. Get that mic recording first. Then plug the R3 cable instead of the mic into the same jack. You WILL NOT HEAR ANYTHING on the computer until you put headphones or powered speakers into the computer output AND you start recording in the DAW software. If you have a mic hooked up to the computer, you're not going to hear that either until you start recording. The audio input to the computer does NOT automatically get sent to speakers or headphones. The software has to do that. You can also test the audio using the Sound Recorder accessory program, if you are running a PC with Windows/Vista.

kinotsu · Post by **kinotsu** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 9:10 pm

musikmachine wrote:Are you sure audio is coming from the R3? Try plugging some headphones and playing a few notes.

If there's no audio local control could be turned off or if it's an arp patch it won't play if sync is set to external and the r3 isn't receiving clock.

It goes left and right out of the r3 to left and right IN on your computer soundcard. Once you have your cable connected and there is an audio signal from the r3 open fl studios preferences and select your soundcard in audio prefs.

Try playing a few keys and if there's no audio open the mixer panel and on the right hand side where it says audio click on the drop down menu and select your soundcards input. The audio should now be coming into FL.

The next step would be to connect either a usb or midi cable (usb works great) so you can record midi parts into FLs piano roll. It's pretty straightforward but you need to get the audio working first! Btw, you could probably do with some better cables than that eventually.

Thanks,that was very helpful.

But I'm guessing theres no jack on my computer to connect it directly to my sound card?

Because my computer only has a mic and headphone jack in the front,and in the back it has like 6 jacks that are all different colored,all have the same symbol though,and one of them connects to my computers external speakers,leaving 5 available.

I checked my R3's settings and in the MIDI section,Sync/Clock is set to Internal and the local control is turned on.

I already went and chose my sound card on FL Studio audio settings too which is a ASIO4ALL v2 sound card,and I changed the mixer input to the same,but when I still press any keys on my Synth,no sound occurs.

So I went ahead and I plugged that 3rd plug into every individual jack on my computer while simultaneously pressing a key on my Synth each time I moved the plug to another jack to see if any sound would happen.

Nothing so far.

Any ideas?

killedaway · Post by **killedaway** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 10:31 pm

like xmlguy says, you must either have a track in your recording software currently recording in order to hear anything, or at least armed to record.

X-Trade · Post by **X-Trade** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 12:25 am

in windows 98 and XP (dont know about vista), the setting for the audio input on windows mixer may affect the input level.

kinotsu · Post by **kinotsu** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 12:41 am

The mixer volume is at full blast :/

I got a USB cable and so far I'm able to use the programs sound effects,but not the Synths built in effects itself.

X-Trade · Post by **X-Trade** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 12:49 am

kinotsu wrote:The mixer volume is at full blast :/

I got a USB cable and so far I'm able to use the programs sound effects,but not the Synths built in effects itself.

not quite sure what you mean like this.
a synth has 'patches' or 'programs', the effects in the R3 are part of the programs, such as delay, reverb etc...

the USB only carries the MIDI to allow you to control soft synths etc in your computer.

re the cable, on my computer here the connector for stereo line in is the blue one, the pink one is also input but i think it is the mic (which is usually mono). try either.
the icon looks the same at a distance but if you look REALLLLLLLY close, the line coming out of the icon is actually an arrow, most of them point out, but the pink and blue ones point in. its usually standard between most computers with some differenes,

also, you know the windows mixer has two modes - input mode and output mode. the inputs also appear in output mode, it controls the level of that input which is sent to the outputs for a kind of 'indirect' monitoring. make sure you go into preferences or something like that and check the inputs aren't muted.

kinotsu · Post by **kinotsu** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 1:21 am

X-Trade wrote:
kinotsu wrote:The mixer volume is at full blast :/

I got a USB cable and so far I'm able to use the programs sound effects,but not the Synths built in effects itself.
not quite sure what you mean like this.
a synth has 'patches' or 'programs', the effects in the R3 are part of the programs, such as delay, reverb etc...

the USB only carries the MIDI to allow you to control soft synths etc in your computer.

re the cable, on my computer here the connector for stereo line in is the blue one, the pink one is also input but i think it is the mic (which is usually mono). try either.
the icon looks the same at a distance but if you look REALLLLLLLY close, the line coming out of the icon is actually an arrow, most of them point out, but the pink and blue ones point in. its usually standard between most computers with some differenes,

also, you know the windows mixer has two modes - input mode and output mode. the inputs also appear in output mode, it controls the level of that input which is sent to the outputs for a kind of 'indirect' monitoring. make sure you go into preferences or something like that and check the inputs aren't muted.

Ah,I never noticed that about the blue and pink jacks,now I realize it does point in. I still don't hear any sound though after plugging into them,so maybe I'm doing something wrong?

Not sure....

I'll make a new topic though so I can try to explain myself better of what I'm trying to do,as I don't think I was clear enough here,this is it:

http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... 891#274891