Yamaha PSR 550 Keyboard

The G2M™ Universal Guitar to MIDI Converter.

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vac911
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Yamaha PSR 550 Keyboard

Post by vac911 »

Will the G2M work with a Yamaha PSR 550 keyboard?

I'm assuming that if it will work all I would have to do is plug guitar into G2M, G2m into the midi connection on the back of the keyboard (via midi cable), then the keyboard audio out into my guitar amp. Is this correct?

Steve McA
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johnmc
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Re: Yamaha PSR 550 Keyboard

Post by johnmc »

Hi,

From a quick look at the manual, it would appear it will work. There's a "MIDI Basics" document at the following link:

http://download.yamaha.com/downloads/se ... id=1007004

The G2M transmits on MIDI channel 1 and it seems this is routed to track 1 on your keyboard.

John.
vac911
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Re: Yamaha PSR 550 Keyboard

Post by vac911 »

I bought the GM2 and have it plugged in to my Yamaha PSR 550 keyboard.

I have two problems.

The first one that I need solved is that the only sound I can play is the default Grand Piano.

I dial in organ, flute, etc. and it still plays piano. I need to get this problem solved or the GM2 is useless.

I've noticed that others on the forum have had the exact same problem with other keyboards.

Any solutions?
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james
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Re: Yamaha PSR 550 Keyboard

Post by james »

It sounds like the problem is getting the input MIDI channel routed to the sound you are selecting.

I never used a Yamaha PSR 550, and it's not obvious what the problem could be from reading the manual. Others have found that some keyboards simply don't fully support MIDI-In on channel1, and require it on another channel if you want to play a different patch. See these posts:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=103&p=385&hilit=piano#p385
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=257&p=382&hilit=piano#p382

Hopefully all you need to do is setup a track with MIDI channel 1 as the input and select the sound on that track. Does it matter if you are in MULTI mode or not?
vac911
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Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2010 9:05 am

Re: Yamaha PSR 550 Keyboard

Post by vac911 »

Okay, I finally figured out to do it. I have to set it through either voice 1,2, and/or 3.

Now, my next problem is that about 25% of the time the notes sound out of tune.

1 I'm playing slow.
2 Pitchblend = 2
3 violin, horns, flute, etc
4 tone on guitar is down
5 guitar tuned to 440 with good tuner

Any ideas?
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james
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Re: Yamaha PSR 550 Keyboard

Post by james »

If it's out of tune (i.e., not just a wrong note octave, for example), this usually means there is a problem with the pitch bend. Though, you do say it is set correctly to +/-2 semitones.

If you play one note then bend it slowly up 2 semitones, does it follow correctly?

Often if the pitch bend range is wrong, it sounds ok sometimes and very wrong at other times. Once it's set correctly, the sound from the synth should always match the pitch of your guitar, even if your guitar is not in tune.

Guitar tuning is important to ensure the correct MIDI notes are generated. Even if the notes are wrong, pitch-bend will adjust the notes so that they match the tuning of your guitar.
vac911
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Re: Yamaha PSR 550 Keyboard

Post by vac911 »

I tried it today with my Fender squire with humbucking pickups.

It played many more out of tune notes than my Ibanez. I tuned it very carefully, volume control, etc. but it was even worse.

I'm going to experiment with pitch blend settings at 0,1,2,3, etc. and see what effect that has on it.

Then I'm going to check and adjust the Fender to make sure the intonation is correct. If that doesn't fix the problem then I'm stuck!

It seems to track okay when I bend the strings.

Can you elaborate on this a little more James "Even if the notes are wrong, pitch-bend will adjust the notes so that they match the tuning of your guitar".

Steve,
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james
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Re: Yamaha PSR 550 Keyboard

Post by james »

We've updated our FAQ on the main web site. It contains some background information so you can better understand what's happening and get better results. The G2M and i2M musicport FAQs are similar, but have slightly different viewpoints. I suggest you read both if possible:

http://www.sonuus.com/products_g2m_faq.html
http://www.sonuus.com/products_i2m_mp_faq.html
Can you elaborate on this a little more James "Even if the notes are wrong, pitch-bend will adjust the notes so that they match the tuning of your guitar".
Of course. I'll explain by an example. If you play a note that's at a frequency of 132Hz (which is a C3, approx 18 cents sharp), the G2M has several ways to represent this. Normally, it will send a C3 note and a pitch-bend corresponding to +18 cents. However, if it got the note 1 semitone flat wrong (B2), it would need to apply +118cents pitch bend to get the note back to the same point. (100 cents = 1 semitone.)

In both cases, the note + pitch bend represent the same frequency: B2 + 118cents = C3 + 18 cents = 132Hz.

Now, if your synth correctly interprets the pitch bend (i.e., it's pitch bend sensitivity is set to match the G2M), it will correctly reproduce the desired note (132Hz) regardless of which way it was created (B2 + 118 cents, or C3 + 18 cents).

Essentially, the G2M is acting as an encoder (frequency to MIDI), and the synth is a decoder (MIDI to frequency). So as long as both sides are using the same encode/decode (i.e., pitch bend range) it all works seamlessly.

Hence, if the note is detected wrongly (B2, C3, etc), the sound you hear should be the same because the actual note frequency is adjusted by the pitch bend data.

Does that make sense?
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