Jump to content

PX-150 and Garage Band


Lilly

Recommended Posts

Just purchased a PX-150 for my daughter we want to use garage band sounds we are using the midi usb to hook up her Mac laptop we can here the new sounds from garage band through the laptop speakers but not through the keyboard speakers the normal sound comes out of the keyboard speakers .  Need help we were told that when we purchased this we could use a number of sound programs such as garage band to create an unlimited amount of different sounds.  She cant do gigs through a laptop speaker! please help

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Lilly and welcome!

 

To use the laptop sound at a gig, you will need to connect the laptop headphone/audio output to a speaker system.  The PX-150 cannot be used for this.  It does not have audio inputs.  The laptop will be unable to send sound to the keyboard for listening on it's speaker system.   You will need to look elsewhere for speakers. There are tons of choices depending on your needs.  From small to large.  Let us know if you need any more help.   

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 She cant do gigs through a laptop speaker! please help

 

The Privia speakers probably won't cut it for gigs either. I would look at a small powered PA speaker with 2-3 inputs. You can find these new as low as $100. I would avoid keyboard amps (for sound quality reasons) and home multimedia speakers (for portability reasons). 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually it sort of depends on what she means by "gigging" and how much she's willing to spend on gear.

 

Is it just a small club or a large hall?  Is the setup semi permanent or is she at a different club every week?

 

With the right cabling and connectors almost any line level amplification will work, but if she's doing professional gigs at a club or hall then chances are there's already a mixing board and house sound rig she can plug into.

 

If she has the budget then I'd recommend a small mixer and a set of stage monitors so she can hear herself over the rest of the band.

 

Is there a band or is she a solo act?

 

If it's only for home or studio use then the Klipsch media speakers I recommended are fine and a low budget option.

 

Also I'm not sure what the outputs are on the PX-150.  Are they Left Right 1/4" mono or are they 1/4" Headphone Jack or are they 3.5mm mini plug?

 

If she's plugging the PX-150 into the headphone outs then she'd need a stereo DI box as well.

 

As for inputs, she'd need at least 4 on the PA speakers or Mixer.  2 for the stereo piano and 2 for the laptop stereo.

 

Until we have a bit more info take all the advice given with a grain of salt.

 

Gary ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's a simple flowchart showing how to correctly hook up your PX-150 so both the piano and the garageband sounds can be heard thru the speakers.

 

The Mixing board is optional depending on whether or not you are plugging into a house sound system.

 

Likewise, if the piano sounds scratchy and distorted you may have to buy a DI box and the appropriate adapters and insert it between your piano and your computer's audio line input.  If your computer has a blue and red input select the blue one, that is line level.

 

The Klipsh multimedia speakers I listed would plug directly into the computer's green soundcard output.  Otherwise if using studio monitors or a house PA system you'd need the appropriate cable, 3.5mm stereo TRS to dual 1/4" TS mono cable.

 

To plug the audio from the PX-150's headphone jack to the computer you'll require a stereo 1/4" TRS Stereo to 3.5mm Stereo TRS cable.,

 

Lastly if your Apple laptop is like many out there with only a single audio jack, you'll have to invest in an external USB soundcard to give you access to the jacks you'll need.

 

You will be able to set all the other settings once and control volume and mix of the garageband and piano using the laptop's mixer.

 

Let us know more about your needs, your setup and if you have any more questions.

 

post-14-0-08628500-1434950669.jpg

 

post-14-0-08628500-1434950669_thumb.jpg

 

Gary

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No need for multiple cables running from the headphone out of the Privia or laptop, and really no need for a mixer.   Simply run a mono cable from the headphones to one input of the PA speaker, a mono cable from the laptop to the PA, and then a USB cable from the Privia to the laptop.  

I'm curious -- why would you have the audio from the Privia going into the laptop?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Running the Privia's audio thru the laptop allows you to control the mix easily from the computer's mixer.  Suppose she wants to hear only the privia, or only the garage band or both layered upon one another.

 

With this arrangement she can control any of these mixes from the audio mixer in the laptop.

 

Otherwise if she runs the privia directly to the multi input monitors she'll need a monitor with dual stereo inputs or 4 mono inputs.

 

Plus if she's using any effects plugins she can also apply them to the privia.

 

Gary

Link to comment
Share on other sites

She doesn't need dual cables -- only a single mono cable.  Using that argument the laptop, your diagram would need to have 2 cables coming from the Privia and laptop into the mixer.  And if you are advocating using the laptop for mixing, why the separate mixer?   Look, it's OK to get fancy in the studio, but in a live setting you want to make it as simple as possible WITH REDUNDANCY.***

PRIVIA ---> MONO CABLE FROM HEADPHONE OUT*****  (1/4" to 1/4") ---> PA SPEAKER INPUT ONE

LAPTOP ---> MONO CABLE FROM HEADPHONE OUT (1/8" to 1/4") --> PA SPEAKER INPUT TWO
USB FROM PRIVIA TO LAPTOP
^^^ I use this setup all the time and it works like a charm and adds redundancy***. ^^^

OR
If you DID want to run audio into the the laptop***:
PRIVIA ---> MONO CABLE  TO LAPTOP LINE IN *****(1/4" to 1/8") ---> MONO CABLE FROM  LAPTOP TO PA SPEAKER LINE IN (1/8" to 1/4")
USB FROM PRIVIA TO LAPTOP
***The thing I don't like about this set-up is laptops can be wonky. If something happens to the laptop during the show you lose ALL your audio. If you have the Privia hooked up directly to the amp the way I do, you have something to play while the laptop reboots. ^^^

 

 

***** Note you CAN run stereo from the Privia to the laptop with a single cable, but using stereo live is usually not a good idea, even if you have 2 speakers. Unless it's a very small room and the speakers are place just right, stereo in a live setting is usually a waste, and can even be detrimental, as people close to one speaker or on extreme sides of the room will be mostly hearing just that one side of the stereo spread. 

 

 

Bottom line is for a live setting, the simpler the better unless there is a pressing need to do something more complex. And REDUNDANCY - your know, Murphy's Law and all that. LOLOLOLOLOLOL

Link to comment
Share on other sites

First of all we haven't heard back from the OP on what the actual venue is.

 

Secondly, what kind of cable is Stereo TRS 1/4" to Mono TS !/4"?

 

Thirdly, every time she wants to turn off the Piano voice she'll end up having to slam the volume knob down to zero on the keyboard while reaching over to the laptop to turn up the garageband voice.

 

She'd have to be a frigging octopus to manage that in a performance.

 

Lastly she's using a macbook which are generally considered to be pretty stable machines.

 

Gary

 

PS.  There's no need to yell....  I can hear you just fine. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

First of all we haven't heard back from the OP on what the actual venue is.

 

Secondly, what kind of cable is Stereo TRS 1/4" to Mono TS !/4"?

 

Thirdly, every time she wants to turn off the Piano voice she'll end up having to slam the volume knob down to zero on the keyboard while reaching over to the laptop to turn up the garageband voice.

 

She'd have to be a frigging octopus to manage that in a performance.

 

Never said a stereo to mono 1/4" cable.. read it again - I said a mono 1/4" cable. A simple mono instrument cable is all that's needed - all the stereo sounds from the headphone jack are summed quite nicely to mono.  And as far as needing to be an "octopus" to operate my set-up: Nope! The volume on the Privia is very well placed and I can  operate everything quickly and easiliy even with one hand.  

Here I made a video to demonstrate what I'm talking about:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StZ7YLfC0yM

 

 

Look, there is no right or wrong way to do this (well there ARE wrong ways, but whatever) - The point is to make it as simple as possible. The less equipment,  the less there is to fail or set-up.  I only need 3 cables total to make this whole set-up go.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Using a MONO TS cable plugged into a STEREO TRS Jack will effectively short one output channel to ground..

 

THIS IS BAD JUJU and will probably end up blowing out an Output Transistor on one channel.

 

Why you haven't already blown one out with this arrangement is a mystery to me but I would NEVER plug a mono plug into a stereo jack unless I wanted to smell smoke.

 

Gary

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is a diagram illustrating what I'm talking about.

 

TRS_Pinout.jpg

 

 

 

 

2-audio-cable-plug-diagram.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

What you effectively have plugging in a mono jack is a dead short between ground and the right channel.

 

This is not a "summing" configuration.

 

This is a blown right channel waiting to happen.

 

Gary

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes If your PA has enough inputs that is another option. I have never had an issue with a mono cable into the headphone out.  The manual mentions using a mono cable will result in only one channel being heard (which doesn't seem to affect the sound) -  but nothing about potential damage.   I have also use mono cables on laptops, iPads and iPhone over the years with no issues -- and those are all stereo jacks. I think the shorting issue may have happened in older electronics or poorly designed circuits.

Regardless,  even if I used  "Y" cables, my system still only requires 3 cables and three pieces of equipment  for a simplest set-up -- that was the point I was trying to make. 
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Like I said in my original post, the mixer was OPTIONAL and all you need is three cables as well.

 

1) TRS to TRS privia to laptop.

 

2) USB AB Privia to laptop.

 

3) TRS out from laptop to whatever loudenboomer you're using.  Could be an amp, could be a mixing board, could be a set of powered monitors, could be a set of computer speakers.

 

Like you said, it's a matter of preference.  I prefer having all my inputs under control of a single mixer, in this case the mixing software for the soundcard of the laptop.

 

And AGAIN I say the original poster has not stated what this venue is she's playing.  It could be a club.  It could be a friend's birthday party.  It could be the Hollywood Bowl.

 

Each venue will have different requirements.

 

Gary

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And there's a reason why on 99% of pro gear there are independent L/R 1/4" mono outs.

 

Using a headphone jack to drive a line level amp introduces all sorts of line level and impedance issues that could again result in a blown amp input.

 

A kludge is to use a DI box to match up the levels between the headphone jack and the amp input.

 

Pros, however, used TS Mono Cables from TS Mono outputs or better yet Balanced TRS Mono outs when available.

 

Call me a snob, but I don't seriously consider any keyboard that forces you to drive an amp from the headphone jacks to be of professional quality.

 

 

Gary

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...
On 6/23/2015 at 3:53 AM, Null said:

Using a MONO TS cable plugged into a STEREO TRS Jack will effectively short one output channel to ground..

 

THIS IS BAD JUJU and will probably end up blowing out an Output Transistor on one channel.

 

Why you haven't already blown one out with this arrangement is a mystery to me but I would NEVER plug a mono plug into a stereo jack unless I wanted to smell smoke.

 

Gary

 

Hi Gary, 


I was just going through this thread and saw this comment against using a TS cable plugged into a TRS jack. This might blow a channel??

Can I please request some proof behind this, or a reference to any article that can confirm this as from what I have read, at multiple forums, using a TS cable on a TRS output jack is safe, as in case of most audio interfaces.

 

The specific case I have is- my audio interface (Behringer UMC404HD) has only balanced outputs, XLR and TRS but my studio monitor (M-Audio AV42) has only RCA inputs. I'm using TS to RCA cables and everything seems to be working fine.

 

Please comment.

 

PS: This is nothing to do with PX 150, I would just like to clarify this comment.

 

- Jitin

Edited by Jitin
spelling correction
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jitin

 

Gary is no longer an active member of this forum.

 

What I am about to describe may seem overly simplified, depending upon your experience.  If so, I apologize:

 

For a STEREO plug (TRS):

 

T = Tip        = Right channel connection

R = Ring    = Left channel connection

S = Sleeve = Common ground return

 

For a MONO plug (TS):

 

T = Tip        = Signal connection

S = Sleeve = Ground return

 

The SLEEVE on a TS plug extends down into the area that would normally be occupied by the RING connection on a TRS plug, such that when a TS plug is inserted into a TRS jack, the SLEEVE of the plug shorts the RING (Left Channel) connection of the jack to ground.  On a low level input, such as a Line-In or Mic-In, or a low level Line-Out, the voltage levels there are too low to cause any harm, although it may introduce some annoying hum into the signal path, but on high power output circuits, you are essentially shorting the power amplifier's left channel output to ground, causing it to draw excess current, resulting in a blown output fuse, if it is fused, or overheating and eventual failure of the output transistor(s), if it is not fused.  Some keyboard models have current limiting protection on their final power output stages, but which particular models are anybody's guess, and on those models that do not, the damage is not always immediately apparent, but could well shorten the life expectancy of your unit.  In your particular case, you appear to be working at Line Levels, so you should be OK.  You are just losing the stereo, but you should be able to obtain a TRS-to-RCA adapter, in order to have both the right and left channels:

 

1/4" TRS to RCA:

https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-TRS-202-inch-Insert-Cable/dp/B000068O1K/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1499816045&sr=8-5&keywords=trs+to+rca+adapter

 

1/8" (3.5mm) to RCA:

https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CMR-206-Stereo-Breakout-Cable/dp/B000068O33/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1499816045&sr=8-12&keywords=trs+to+rca+adapter

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.