per Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 I am seeing a weird issue on my just-purchased CDP-S350. When I run my keyboard through an audio interface (Presonus iTwo), some of the tones (eg HonkyTonk Piano, Arabic, Indian, etc) produce extremely low (close to zero) volumes. Other tones (such as Stage and Grand Pianos) sound just fine. All tones come out fine through the Piano speakers; the problem occurs only when routing the audio from the headphones out into the audio interface. Is this a known issue, or some weird way in which some tones are sampled? Anyone else facing this issue? I want to record the audio from the keyboard straight into my laptop through the audio interface, and this issue is preventing me from doing it. Thanks PER Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Saucier Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 Are you still getting a true stereo signal? It sounds like phase cancellation in the stereo signal is causing the issue, possiblity due to the cable. What type of cable are you using? Is it seated properly in the jacks? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Tompkins Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 @per Does it sound normal through headphones? If so, then then problem is the connection between your CDP-S350 and your audio interface. As Brad mentioned, some stereo sounds can collapse when the left and right are merged into mono. What you describe really sounds like this is what is happening. I'm guessing Casio took extra care that the main piano sounds didn't do this since lots of players use mono keyboard amps. You should be using a cable configured like the one pictured: 1/8-inch stereo for the CDP-S350 and separate 1/4-mono for the left and right inputs on your iTwo. And as Brad also mentioned, make sure all the plugs are fully inserted. 😀 I've been there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
per Posted August 10, 2020 Author Share Posted August 10, 2020 Thanks for the response @Brad Saucier and @Rod Tompkins. I've been running a stereo 1/8" to 1/4" cable (as in the picture below) from the keyboard into one channel of my iTwo (I use the other channel for a mic). The connection does not look loose, but maybe I should try another cable and see if I face the same problem. I'll also test if the sounds are off if I use the headphones and report back to you. Thanks again PER Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Tompkins Posted August 10, 2020 Share Posted August 10, 2020 @per The cable you're using is definitely the issue. You are effectively summing the stereo output of the piano to mono, and that is causing some extreme stereo cancellation on some of the tones. You need to be splitting that stereo headphone jack to 2 plugs, a left and a right so you can use both inputs on your iTwo. Make sure you have left and right hard-panned in your DAW or you'll have the same problem. Give it a try! You will be amazed at how much better all the piano sounds are in stereo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
per Posted August 10, 2020 Author Share Posted August 10, 2020 @Rod Tompkins Oh I see. Does that mean I cannot use the piano and a mic simultaneously? That'd be a bummer. Is there a possible workaround? Thanks so much for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Saucier Posted August 10, 2020 Share Posted August 10, 2020 You'll need a cable like Rod pictured. Furthermore, your current cable is connecting an unbalanced stereo signal from your keyboard to a balanced mono input on your interface. That's not a good scenario. Also, be sure to change the input mode on your interface to line level rather than guitar level. Make sure the light is off on the guitar button. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Tompkins Posted August 10, 2020 Share Posted August 10, 2020 3 hours ago, per said: Does that mean I cannot use the piano and a mic simultaneously? @per Correct. You need 3 audio inputs, but only have 2 on the iTwo. A great workaround would be to record your playing via the USB-MIDI connection and your singing with the microphone using one input of your iTwo. Using this method you'll be simultaneously capturing the MIDI data from the keyboard and the audio of your voice. Then you could use the MIDI track to replay your piano performance to record the CDP-S350 audio in stereo. The advantage of having a MIDI recording of your playing is that you can easily fix mistakes or experiment with using different sounds in your CDP-S350 and in your DAW. Be sure to use headphones recording this way to keep audio from the CDP-S350 speakers out of your vocal track. You will pick up some of the mechanical sounds of the keyboard, but it shouldn't be too bad. You could also just record your voice and piano in 2 separate passes with the iTwo, but I'm assuming you want to capture a cohesive singer/pianist performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
per Posted August 11, 2020 Author Share Posted August 11, 2020 Thank you. Appreciate the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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