# Need help connecting yamaha keyboard!!!



## AP25 (May 7, 2006)

Hello,

I have a Yamaha PSR-420 piano keyboard.

I also have a Dell Dimension 5100 desktop with a 3.0 Ghz Pentium IV with 1.5 GB of RAM, and 450 GB hard drive.

When I bought my keyboard, it came with no installation CD for your computer or any cables. (We bought the keyboard when I was pretty little so, about 8 years ago?). My dad went out and bought a MIDI program for our old Windows 95.

The program came with a cable. On one end are MIDI IN and a MIDI OUT connectors. On the other end is a male and female DA-15 (game port adapter).

My current computer no longer has a DA-15 connection, instead I have loads of USB ports.

Now, I also bought a joystick a while ago. It was designed to plug into the DA-15, but just incase you had a newer computer, it also came with a male-DA-15-to-USB cable.

Right now I have my Yamaha plugged into the MIDI cables, then converted to USB, then plugged into one of my USB slots.

When I turn my keyboard on or off, my computer does not alert me that anything has been connected or disconnected. In fact, my computer does not even recognize that I have anything new plugged into it.

My question for all of you:

What do I need to do to get my keyboard communicating with my computer? Do I need to download some drivers? I went to Yamaha's website but I couldn't find any drivers for the keyboard I have. 

I am using FL Studio and trying to get my keyboard to output to FL Studio so that I can record songs I play through my keyboard via MIDI.

Any suggestions? I know it's an old keyboard but I'm pretty sure it's possible to get working. It has MIDI capabilities built into it and is designed to output to a computer. It may be old, but it used to work at one time with my older computer. I'd like to get it up and running again with my new computer.

Thanks so much for reading all this and helping me out here. I'm really at a stand-still. Thanks for your help!


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Hi, :wave:

I think the simplest and probably easiest way to record from the piano is to run a cable from the piano line out to the computer line in. Use a recording program to record from the line in.

It will not be in MIDI format, but you can covert it to MP3, WMA, and other formats.


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## AP25 (May 7, 2006)

I need to have it in MIDI. I have been recording the way you suggested for three years now and it's not what I want. My keyboard is just a small cheap keyboard. Its instruments don't sound very realistic. But if I can convert it to MIDI, I can mix, edit, and assign each instrument to a more realistic soundfont. Plus I can edit velocity and pitch, and if I make a mistake during the recording, I don't have to completely start over again because I can just edit that one small note.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

You can always get a sound card that has a MIDI/Game port.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829118103

Did the adapter you are showing in the picture come with a CD? You will need drivers for that usually. Check in the device manager for any devices with yellow or red !'s or any MIDI/Game ports.


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