casio wk7600 midi data to garageband help needed

[slegnav]

I am using GB10 and have no problem playing the casio  keyboard and using virtual instrument track to capture/record data which works perfect.  I am struggling with how to record the accompaniment data into a suitable virtual instrument that can capture all the a and b (I question whether (A) data can be sent?) tracks..I do not see a general midi vsti in GB  and if I choose keyboard I only get certain elements that do not translate correctly.  I have set midi out to ch 1 and also the accomp out and local control to on.   I also have tried to determine if I can set up multiple track inputs but that is apparently not an option for GB. Also on a slightly tangential related topic the casio shows up in the general midi settings but when I choose input for device on an audio track(not an availalbe option for virtual instrument?) only the mic shows up or system settings-  but not the usb midi device so GB either does not allow that or I am not doing something correctly.  Any help with this dilemma would be much appreciated and I hope this topic has not been discussed to infinity and I just missed it...hope this confusion makes sense to someone...

 

thanks!

[- T -]

Yes, the WK-7600 "A" (Auto-accompaniment) tracks do transmit MIDI data to the USB port, but you have to turn the AccompOut function "ON":

 

     Press the FUNCTION button.

     Press the RIGHT ARROW ( > ) button to go to Page 2/2 of the -Function- menu.

     Press the DOWN ARROW ( V ) button to go down to MIDI.

     Press the ENTER button to go to the -MIDI- menu.

     Press the DOWN ARROW ( V ) button TWICE to go down to AccompOut.

     Press the + button or use the Data Wheel to change the AccompOut field from oFF to on.

     Press the EXIT button twice to return to the home display screen.

 

This will include the Auto-accompaniment's associated UPPER, LAYER, SPLIT, and Auto-Harmonize Tracks.  The sequencer track chart on Page 70 of the WK-7600 manual shows this data going to Tracks  A-05,A-06, A-07, and A-04, respectively, but the WK-7600 display and the MIDIOX test program shows it going to Tracks A-01 thru A-04, respectively.  There appears to be an error in the manual.  When LAYER is active, Track A-06 (A-02) is multipled to Track A-05 (A-01) internally for the note on/off signals for the UPPER-1 tone, and note on/off data is transmitted to the MIDI output only for Track A-06 (A-02) and NOT for Track A-05 (A-01).  This could present a problem for anyone attempting to control layering on a remote sound module from the WK-7600's control panel.  Layering would have to be done manually on the remote module, itself.  Here again, this could present a problem for "live" play.  I view this as another of the Casio design shortcomings that keep these keyboards from being the truly "professional" units that Casio would like them to be.  For related information on this discussion, see the following reply that I made to a similar thread here this evening:

 

http://www.casiomusicforums.com/index.php?/topic/9227-song-sequencer-casio-at-3/?view=getlastpost

 

 

NO !  Garageband does not include a GM voice bank, and I dare say that the Apple designers would take your question as a bit of an insult, as they surely see Garageband's voices as an antithesis to those "crummy old GM sounds".  The quickest way to match up rhythm notes coming from the WK-7600 to the proper tones in Garageband would be to assign the tones manually in Garageband on a track-by-track basis.  It might be possible to substitute the appropriate WK-7600 tones in a rhythm that would result in the proper selection of Garageband tones for that rhythm, and then save it as a User Rhythm on the WK-7600. Obviously, this would require turning the WK-7600's master Volume control to bottom in order to mute the resulting cacophony from the WK-7600's sound circuits.  This "muting" could not be done with the "Part ON/OFF" switches in the MIXER, as switching a part off would also switch off the MIDI note data being sent to the USB port for that part (track).

 

 

The WK-7600 will not show up as an "input device" on an audio track for two reasons.  First, even though the WK-7600 can upload and download audio "files" via USB, it can not transmit/receive "live" or streaming audio signals via USB, but more importantly, no MIDI device would show up as an "input device" on an audio track, because MIDI is not audio (sound).  MIDI is a system of computer control codes and a communication protocol for telling sound modules how to make their sounds.  MIDI is the electronic equivalent of the slotted paper rolls used in player pianos.  Those slotted paper rolls certainly can not be considered "sound", but they do tell the piano how to make its beautiful sounds.

[- T -]

C O R R E C T I O N

 

This is to correct the statement I made in my previous reply, above, about the manual apparently being in error as to which Song Sequencer tracks the UPPER-1, UPPER-2, LOWER, and Auto-Harmonize tones were played on, and on which MIDI channels their corresponding MIDI data was transmitted on.  After further investigation, I have expanded this topic to include the Arpeggio data, as well.  To my knowledge, this information should apply equally to all CTK/WK-6XXX/7XXX models, as well as the AT-3/5.

 

Auto-accompaniment rhythm data is always played/recorded on Song Sequencer Tracks A-09 through A-16 and is transmitted on MIDI Channels 09 through 16, regardless of the keyboard's "mode".

 

The UPPER-1, UPPER-2 (LAYER), LOWER (SPLIT), Auto-Harmonize, Arpeggio data is considered part of the overall Auto-accompaniment feature, and like the rhythm data, is also played/recorded on the "A" Tracks, but which particular tracks they are played/recorded on depends upon what mode the keyboard is in, with the exception of the Auto-Harmonize data, which is always played/recorded on internal track A-04 and is transmitted on external MIDI Channel 04.  In regular "play" (that is - non-recording) mode, the UPPER-1, UPPER-2, and LOWER data is played internally on Tracks A-01, A-02, and A-03 respectively.  The keyboard's display screen shows this, and the MIDI-OX external MIDI monitor indicates that this data is transmitted on external MIDI Channels 01 through 03, respectively.  Arp data, in regular "play" mode is also played internally on Track A-01 and transmitted on external MIDI Channel 01.

 

However, in "record" mode, UPPER-1, UPPER-2, and LOWER data are played and RECORDED on Tracks A-05, A-06, and A-07 (as shown in the manual), and are transmitted on external MIDI Channels 05, 06, 07 respectively, and the keyboard's display screen changes to agree with this.  Also, in "record" mode, Arp data is played and recorded on Track A-05 and is transmitted on external MIDI Channel 05.  When a recorded Song Sequencer file is played-back, data disbursement is in the "record mode" scheme.  So, the manual is not actually in error, it just does not tell the whole story.  I consider this information important to those who connect their keyboards to DAW software or external sequencers, and at times, are at a loss to explain why they are not receiving MIDI data on the MIDI channels where they expect it to be.  The MIDI channels this data is received on depends, to some extent, upon what mode the keyboard is being used in.

 

Now, as I have already explained above, when LAYER is on and the keyboard is in regular "play" mode, data is played only on Track A-02 and is transmitted only on external MIDI Channel 02, rather than on both A-01 and A-02 and transmitted on both MIDI channels 01 and 02, as one would expect.  This phenomenon carries over into record mode, whereby LAYER data is played/recorded only on Track A-06 and is transmitted only on MIDI Channel 06.  So, when LAYER is on, the UPPER-2 data does double duty for both UPPER-1 and UPPER-2, regardless of what mode the keyboard is in.

 

I would like to thank members "slegnav" and "Moh.Ali Ahmed" for their recent posts that prompted me to get involved with this enough to dig this information out.  Up to this point, I have considered recording from the CTK/WK's into my DAW a bit of a crap-shoot, and when data ended up where it did not expect it, I tended to blame my DAW software, but from this point on, as long as I pay attention to what I am doing, I should find my data exactly where I expect it to be.

[slegnav]

Tnicoson,  I can't thank you enough for doing the additional research and digging into this deeply and for Moh.Ali Ahmed's post  to further advance understanding of this subject.  I think this will help a lot of people who use casio equip and have scratched their heads on the confusion of midi data  translation etc.,  I'm still trying to wrap my head around why the change depending on mode but to borrow a phrase  I learned in school...."we don't want to design it here!".  Thanks Again!!!!!!