Tripped up by changing interfaces (Yamaha keyboard)

I bought the kids a Yamaha keyboard a few years ago, not that expensive but well featured for the price, battery or mains powered and portable. Keys not weighted but weren’t fixed volume.

Ages ago I came across a MIDI to Bluetooth Yamaha adapter which plugs into and is powered by MIDI IN/OUT - ordered it yesterday as the price was a bit lower than normal and I thought it might offer a bit of fun with iPhone/iPad apps or computers without leads, admittedly there would be a bit of latency.

Collected the device tonight and thought I’d have a quick play.

Hmmm…I’d completely missed the fact that the keyboard didn’t have a MIDI interface but connected to other devices via USB!

:man_facepalming: :woman_facepalming: :person_facepalming:

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I clearly feel a bit of a twerp for not realising the keyboard didn’t have the MIDI DIN ports, and maybe the thread title is a bit dramatic but I think I’ve had similar experiences in the past with other devices.

WIth Naim it was perhaps missing thefact that the Nova does not have a digital optical/coaxial out.

I think you’ve dodged a bullet there.

Many years ago my son had a keyboard with midi out. I bought some software and a soundcard with the intension of recording to a PC.
Wasted a long time trying to get it to work. Couldn’t fathom it out, gave up in the end. :grimacing:

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I have an Alesis nanopiano and nanosynth that I bought years ago, both sat in a box. Both 100% midi. If I eventually get a controller keyboard i bet new ones won’t have midi. And a new Yamaha Roland etc probably has better in built sounds already!

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I managed to get a MIDI keyboard hooked up to an old PC with the appropriate MIDI cables and a Creative Labs soundcard with MIDI inputs.

Since switching to Macs I got a USB to MIDI interface cable for that old keyboard which worked well but the Yamaha is quite light and portable so I was hoping to use it with wireless MIDI to hook up to other devices from time to time rather than it being constantly ‘in situ’.

Looks as though they make some kind of USB to Bluetooth dongle which might have been the better option here unless it requires mains AC to work.

I’m unsure whether or not to try this Yamaha device with an older TechnicsSX-P30 88 key weighted keyboard I have - that has MIDI but it’s very heavy and not what I’d consider domestically portable, and if I set that up it might be as well just to use leads to avoid any latency over Bluetooth.

My keyboard skills are not that good, but I fancy dabbling again and do enjoy playing with software synths - there are apparently pretty good software synths available on iPhone/iPad these days and when I bought the Yamaha MIDI>Bluetooth device it was partly based on users saying how Yamaha apps were giving extended life to their older keyboards due to better sampled instruments on iOS apps which sounded intriguing.

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