Can the CT-S1 be used to play back MIDI files?

[ryaneuler]

Suppose I have some MIDI files, can I let the CT-S1 play them back?  (using its good piano sound)

 

 

[Brad Saucier]

You can, using your computer or smart device connected by MIDI.  

[ryaneuler]

15 minutes ago, Brad Saucier said:

You can, using your computer or smart device connected by MIDI.  

 

I mean, it is not to use CT-S1 as an external speaker and play back the WAV...  it is to use CT-S1 and render the instrument sound using the instrument sound inside of CT-S1

 

[Brad Saucier]

As I said, you'll need to use MIDI for that.  The Casio Music Space app (for phones and tablets) has a built in MIDI file player which can use the CT-S1 as a sound generator.  Or, if you're using a computer, DAW software is the best way.  Either way, a MIDI connection is required.  The CT-S1 cannot play MIDI files internally.  

[Chas]

1 hour ago, ryaneuler said:

 

I mean, it is not to use CT-S1 as an external speaker and play back the WAV...  it is to use CT-S1 and render the instrument sound using the instrument sound inside of CT-S1

 

 

As Brad, says above, connect your CT-S1 to a MIDI compatible device and you can send MIDI to it. This is not the same as playing a WAV file. 

 

Most synths/ electronic keyboards can receive and play back MIDI sent to them from an external MIDI player/ sequencer, but unless they are a workstation or arranger type of keyboard, many cannot load in an entire MIDI file and play it from within the keyboard itself.

 

MIDI connectivity does not automatically mean it will be a MIDI player. You play the MIDI file in an external MIDI player/ sequencer, and send the real time MIDI over a USB MIDI cable to the CT-S1 for it to play it using its sound engine. 

 

 

[fynngauss]

so can you send MIDI file to the CT-S1 and let it play using its internal sounds, and then record it as well?   (like using VST or a "plugin" with a DAW... like Ableton Live, it can save a 5 minute song as a .flac file in 30 - 45 seconds using VSL's VST)

 

When you said: MIDI connectivity does not automatically mean it will be a MIDI player. 

Do you mean: and CT-S1 happens to be a MIDI player.

 

That is, most digital pianos can be a MIDI controller (as an input device for computers), but not all of them can be the other way around: take the MIDI from a computer and play it.  And CT-S1 happens to be able to do that.

Edited August 31, 2022 by fynngauss

[Chas]

You may be confusing a MIDI file with MIDI data. 

 

A MIDI file is a digital file that contains all the MIDI information of a track/ song. It will have the .mid file extension, and it can be edited in a suitable MIDI editor/ player app. It can also be copied and shared the same as any other digital file i.e. a .DOCX Word document, a .PSD photoshop document etc.

 

You cannot send a complete MIDI file to your CT-S1 because the S1 is NOT a MIDI file player. You can however send MIDI data to your CT-S1 from an external device playing a MIDI file. To send MIDI data to your S1, you would need to run an app or a DAW (that can play a MIDI file) on a computer/ tablet, load the MIDI file into that app, then that app can play the MIDI file and send/ stream the MIDI data via a USB cable to the S1. The S1 will receive that MIDI data in real time and play it using its internal sounds. 

 

Most modern digital keyboards/ pianos can send and receive MIDI data. That means they can be used as a controller keyboard for a DAW. They can also receive MIDI data that will trigger their internal sounds. This is completely separate from sending or receiving a complete MIDI file.

[fynngauss]

ok... that's fine... not send a MIDI file but send MIDI data... to me it is somewhat like, ok, you cannot send an mp3 file to the piano but you can send mp3 data... I suppose the difference is whether it is a file or a stream of data.

 

And then it gets to this question: can most digital piano act like VST plugin and send back the sound to the DAW, so that the DAW can record it as a WAV or FLAC file?  (particularly, can the CT-S1?)

Edited September 1, 2022 by fynngauss

[Chas]

Think of it like a TV  and a DVD disc. Modern TVs have no way of having the disc physically put into them to play them.  But if you have a DVD player, you can put the disc into that and the player will output the data to the TV, the TV will decode the data and display it on the screen. Thus a DVD disk is a "file", a DVD player is the "MIDI player" and the TV is the "keyboard" that can reproduce the digital information being sent to it. 

 

Regarding using the CT-S1 as a "VST" and recording the audio, yes you can except a VST produces audio differently to an external MIDI sound source.

 

A VST produces sound from within the DAW itself. It's all done using program code and algorithms. When you "play" a MIDI track and route it through a VST, it's generating and processing the audio digitally in real time.  When you render/ export the DAW project to an MP3/ FLAC/ WAV, it's all done digitally to create the final output file that can then be played back as a conventional digital audio file.

 

To record the audio into a DAW from your CT-S1 that is being played either by MIDI from your DAW,  or you playing it manually, you need to connect the analogue audio out of the CT-S1 to the audio in of you computer/ sound interface and route that audio to a record track in your current DAW project. Then, when you hit record, the live audio from the CT-S1 will be recorded into the track you selected. Once you have recorded the audio, you can then use the DAW to export (mix down) this track as an MP3 or format of your choice, either on its own or as part of a multitrack recording.