Hello -- I'm completely new to reason and I am trying to get things set up.

I have a Yamaha Portable Grand DGX-500 keyboard that i've been trying to use with my computer. I plugged it up with a MIDISPORT UNO USB-to-MIDI. I am getting some response in reason, but the responsiveness of they keys is extremely sporadic. I can only get sound about half the time i press them and not all the keys work. Has anybody seen this problem? My computer is fast enough so it has to be either the keyboard or the USB.

Thanks

A lot of the time, it's to do with the sample buffer rate, and the sound card you have selected. Try adjusting these settings as a lot of the problems can be fixed this way. Go into Edit>Preferences>Audio.

If you're soundcard isn't the best then try downloading "ASIO4ALL" which is a very simple GUI which can improve a lot of problems.

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these have both improved it some, thanks =]

however, it is still pretty unresponsive. i guess the problem is the sound card. have any recommendations for an affordable sound card? I use a laptop so it would have to be something external i guess.

thanks again

Well it might not be the sound card, it might be acting up because you're running the MIDI through so many adapters and cables (length is a big factor, midi and usb signals can only travel so far) that it's not getting through properly.

It could still be partly to do with the soundcard though, so maybe if you tell us what soundcard you have we can recommend some types. If it's an intergrated sound card then there's not that much you can do hardware wise...

[EDIT]

Just saw the end of the post and that you're using a laptop - that means that the sound card is probably integrated into the actual motherboard, and there's not that much you can do about that.

I'm not too sure about the hardware myself, but if you really are stuck then I can link you to some good dealers. I do know that thomann.de and ebay are really good for hardware, but that's pretty much it.

Some good brands for Sound Cards I have used are Audigy and Creative Sound Blaster X-FI. I have the Audigy integrated into my Inspiron 1720 and then SoundBlaster in my Dell 9150 desktop, both work pretty neatly.

Still, ASIO is a performer's best friend, gets rid of all the technical jargon which is confusing for all of us.

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I just set it up on a PC with a better soundcard and I have the same problem. I am guessing the MIDI to USB converter is the biggest problem. 45 bucks down the drain, so frustrating. Hopefully I can return it and try something else.

Thanks for all your help.