Yamaha DX7: does it work?

It should work, you'll need a midi interface for the Mac though. Like this.

And the normal way to use keyboards with GarageBand are just as midi inputs to the sounds produced in the Mac.

You will have to get a third party Audio Unit to get GarageBand to trigger the midi sounds on the DX7.

You can record the audio outs of the DX7 with an audio interface, though as a "Real Instrument" in GB.

I'm interested in this subject.

I have a Yamaha DGX 305 MIDI keyboard. There are two outputs: USB, which I've been using; and "phones/output" which takes a 1/4" plug.

The sound I get with the Yamaha and GB 2 is unacceptable. Just doesn't sound the way it does "in the room" without going into iMac. Apparently, that's not going to change. Fiddled around a lot, and cannot come up with an acceptable reproduction.

Question: Could I use my PreSonus FireBox interface to get the job done? The FireBox does not accept a USB plug, so it would appear I would have to get a 1/4" cable, bring the Yamaha out thru its "phones/output" jack, and into the FireBox via one of its jacks in "the back." Not supposed to bring a MIDI w pre-amp into either of the front "mic/instruments" of the FireBox, I'm told.

If I do this, would it still come into GB as MIDI, or a real instrument.

My final option would appear to be: record the Yamaha as a real instrument, using two mics (I have Shure SM57s), because the Yamaha's speakers are on both ends of the top console.

Thoughts, advice, suggestions?

Thanks

I think before you start playing with any plugs you should get the difference between audio and midi straight.

If you are plugging your keyboard into the Mac via midi, you are not capturing its sound but only events: key down, key up, etc. What you hear depends on the software instrument that you chose in GB - by default, it's a piano, but there's a lot of options. As I said, it has nothing to do with the original keyboard's sound.

If you want to capture that sound, you'll have to use an audio out, like the phones/output jack you mentioned. You don't even need an interface, you can plug this right into the Mac's line-in (with a proper cable with a 1/4" plug on one side and a 1/8" plug on the other side). You'll need to create a real instrument track in GB, and you'll record a continuous audio stream as opposed to discrete events, so you won't be able to change single notes later.

(And yes, there is a theoretical third alternative: record your keyboard strokes as midi, manipulate them in the computer and trigger your keyboard on playback so it sounds like you were playing your original Yamaha. However, GB doesn't send midi out so that's impossible by default. There is a plugin called MidiO that does this.)

Thanks, Christoph

Yes, I continually have to remind myself regarding the difference between MIDI and analog.....or audio, digital, whatever "real" instruments are called.

I know that if I would "mic" my keyboard.....using two mics for its two speakers, left and right coming out of the top of the console......that would be a "real" instrument. (However, then it would also come in as "stereo"...with the lower octaves on the left channel, higher keyboard octaves on the right. Not particularly an acceptable idea.

What confused me is that if I would choose the "headphones/output" jack to bring it into the iMac audio line-in, it would also be a "real" instrument...or analog, etc. That's because, since my Yamaha keyboard is also a MIDI, I guess I just presumed that (excepting "mic" it) it was still MIDI. By the way, HangTime previously advised me that if I chose the "headphone/output" option on the keyboard, I would have to use extreme care with the volume...starting very low on the keyboard and then building up to where I would need to be. Otherwise, apparently, significant damage would be likely somewhere. Either computer,keyboard or both.

I don't think I will go with the GB MIDI output option. Too involved for me. But I truly want the keyboard sounds I play to sound like that in GB. I know that MIDI in to GB is basically a mathematical process, not audio. My problem has been, once the keyboard part is in, I simply cannot make it sound like the keyboard settings via GB. Not only that, the texture quality, velocity of hitting keys, etc. cannot be rectified in GB. At least by me.

Still not sure what I'll do about all this. Regardless of what I do, seems like I'll have to sacrifice something. For now, it would appear that I will do best to get the "genuine" sound of the keyboard into GB for playing things like "classical" music, and go MIDI when I want to play jazz, popular, etc. At least for the latter option, there would be other things going on.....like drums, guitar, horns......that alone should minimize the less than desired quality of the MIDI keyboard.

If you have any more for me, I'm here. In the meantime, thank you very much.