Topic by jocar37

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Topic: Virtual keys play, but no sound

First, I will say I'm a MIDiot. I'm like a paint by numbers guy. I follow the steps, cross my fingers and hope it works. But it's not working now and I don't know why. We recently moved across country. When I set up my little music studio and connected my Casio keyboard to my computer, the keys on Pianoteq's virtual keyboard would move, but no sound would come out.I figure it must be a setting that was somehow altered, but I don't know what it could be. .

That said, the active MIDI inputs is selected for CASIO-USB MIDI, But the device window is selected for my MOTU interface.My Casioi keyboard is not shown as a n option. Should it be? If so, why isn't it showing and how do i ad it?  Also,when I go into the MIDI panel, there's a long list of channels marked "All Controllers Off" or "All Sounds Off." Like I said, I'm a MIDiot, but this looks like it might be the problem. Only I don't know how to turn any of these channels on.

Please help!

Last edited by jocar37 (20-11-2025 18:39)

Reply by Ferdi

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

Hi,

what you describe looks like your MIDI setup is ok, as virtual keys are moving.

some questions to dig deeper:
1. on the pianoteq main window, do you hear sound when you press the virtual keys with the mouse/trackpad?
2. does the audio meter in the middle of the window a level when you press keys?

3. what is your audio setup?
4. do you use speakers or computer internal speaker or headphones? what are they connected to?
5. in the device settings, what is selected under "Audio output"? do you hear sound pressing the "Test" button next to it?
6. If not, do hear sound from any other audio source, e.g. a youtube video, spotify or any audio player?

Last edited by Ferdi (21-11-2025 11:17)

Reply by jocar37

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

Ferdi -

Thanks so much for your reply. I hope my answers help.

1. No. No sound from the computer keyboard or the Casio keyboard
2. Yes, the audio meter jumps with either keyboard. And the Blues Demo starts. Don't suppose you know how to disable that?
3.Not sure I know what you mean by audio setup. I'm a MIDIot, after all. But I hope this is what you are asking: the Active MIDI inputs in Pianoteq are set to CASIO USB-MIDI, the audio device type is ASIO, the Device is MOTU M Series, the Active output channels have both Out 1 and Out 2 checked, the sample rate is 48000 Hz, the Audio buffer size is 256 samples (5.3 ms) and the bit depth is 32 bits.
4 The Casio is connected to a Henriksen amp.
5.See above. Guess that's not what you were asking for in 3. But no, no sound when pressing Test.
6. I never tried other sound sources before while my computer was connected to my Casio. I wouldn't have thought that was even possible. But no, I didn't get sound when I tried  Youtube.
Hope this helps.Sorry I didn't really understand some of your questions..

Reply by Pianoteqenthusiast

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

Hello jocar 37,

I don’t know much about these things but I have had same problem. Motu is your soundcard(audio interface) . It have to handle audio input and output.
Try to go to, system settings, in your computer and and choose, sound, and check: sound out  sound in. Motu have to be chosen  in both. That was my miss (with Focusrite soundcard).
Might help or not.

All the best,

Stig

Reply by jocar37

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

Pianoteqenthusiast wrote:

Hello jocar 37,

I don’t know much about these things but I have had same problem. Motu is your soundcard(audio interface) . It have to handle audio input and output.
Try to go to, system settings, in your computer and and choose, sound, and check: sound out  sound in. Motu have to be chosen  in both. That was my miss (with Focusrite soundcard).
Might help or not.

All the best,

Stig

Thanks Stig. Motu is already chosen, so guess that's not it. but thanks for the suggestion.

Reply by Ferdi

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

for a quick test:
what other option do you have in pianoteq "audio output"?
please select something else and see if you get sound.
I have something like "computer speakers" or "headphone" (if conected to the computer)

jocar37 wrote:

Ferdi -
4 The Casio is connected to a Henriksen amp.
5.See above. Guess that's not what you were asking for in 3. But no, no sound when pressing Test.
Hope this helps.Sorry I didn't really understand some of your questions..

I guess this is the issue.
with your current settings, all audio from your computer (pianoteq, youtube) is send to your MOTU interface.
that is a valid setup and probably best for your audio performance (sound quality and minimum latency).
you need to connect your speaker, or headphones, to the MOTU interface.

for a better understanding, the overall signal flow is:

casio -> USB to computer for MIDI only --> pianoteq receives MIDI and generates audio --> pianoteq sends generated audio to the audio device selected (headphones, internal speaker, MOTU) that is also via USB if using the MOTU.
As the MOTU does not have speakers (being an interface) you need to connect headphones or speakers to it.

just to get the complete picture:
if your press keys on the Casio keyboard, do you get sound from the connected Henriksen amp?
that would be the internal sound from the casio.
once you have pianoteq audio working, the most easy solution to not have both pianoteq and the casio playing audio simultaneously then is to just turn down the volume on the casio, so you only hear the audio via your MOTU.
If I guess your setup correctly (a common one), sound from Pianoteq will not come from the Casio's speakers (if existing) or speakers connected to the Casio (your Henriksen amp)

Last edited by Ferdi (21-11-2025 18:17)

Reply by jocar37

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

Sorry. Not following. The MOTU is connected to the computer via USB.That's how it has worked in the past. How do you suggest I connect it to the Henriksen? I don''t recall having to do that before we moved and I had to break down my music studio.
Also, to make the Casio work, I had to get someone to explain to me how to shut off MIDI Local. When it's off, I get nothing. When I swith Local back on, I get the Casio sounds. But Pianoteq's virtual keyboard still shows the notes I'm playing. I don't get it. what am I missing?

Ferdi wrote:

for a quick test:
what other option do you have in pianoteq "audio output"?
please select something else and see if you get sound.
I have something like "computer speakers" or "headphone" (if conected to the computer)

jocar37 wrote:

Ferdi -
4 The Casio is connected to a Henriksen amp.
5.See above. Guess that's not what you were asking for in 3. But no, no sound when pressing Test.
Hope this helps.Sorry I didn't really understand some of your questions..

I guess this is the issue.
with your current settings, all audio from your computer (pianoteq, youtube) is send to your MOTU interface.
that is a valid setup and probably best for your audio performance (sound quality and minimum latency).
you need to connect your speaker, or headphones, to the MOTU interface.

for a better understanding, the overall signal flow is:

casio -> USB to computer for MIDI only --> pianoteq receives MIDI and generates audio --> pianoteq sends generated audio to the audio device selected (headphones, internal speaker, MOTU) that is also via USB if using the MOTU.
As the MOTU does not have speakers (being an interface) you need to connect headphones or speakers to it.

just to get the complete picture:
if your press keys on the Casio keyboard, do you get sound from the connected Henriksen amp?
that would be the internal sound from the casio.
once you have pianoteq audio working, the most easy solution to not have both pianoteq and the casio playing audio simultaneously then is to just turn down the volume on the casio, so you only hear the audio via your MOTU.
If I guess your setup correctly (a common one), sound from Pianoteq will not come from the Casio's speakers (if existing) or speakers connected to the Casio (your Henriksen amp)

Reply by Ferdi

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

Ok, we'll figurre that out.

The MOTU is connected to the computer via USB

that is how it is supposed to be, the computer sends the audio to the MOTU via USB

How do you suggest I connect it to the Henriksen?

for a quick test, I suggest to connect a headphone to the MOTU.
Possibly, with your current settings, you will already get the pianoteq/computer audio from that.
I dont know the Henriksen amp, but I suggest now it is connected to the Casio using standard TRS cables.
Can you confirm?
The MOTU may have the same connection capabilities.
if you share the concrete model, I can give more advice.

regarding the Casio, the "Local Off" setting tells the Casio internal sound engine to just ignore when you press a key on the keyboard. As it still sends Midi to your computer, "local off" is a more advanced solution to my "turn the volume down" approach.
no need to deal with that right now, "local off" is fine if you want to play pianoteq.

But Pianoteq's virtual keyboard still shows the notes I'm playing

with the said above this is just how it should be, you are fine.

If connecting a headphone to the MOTU does not give you audio from that,
please share the options you have at Pianoteq Devices Audio Output settings.
Maybe you can take a screen shot?
If there is anything other than the mentioned MOTU, please try and see if you get audio from your computers speaker or headphones connected to the computer.

From what you said so far:
midi is working as expected on your computer, pianoteq and the casio.
casio settings are good as well.

this is an issue about how you connect headphones/speakers to what ever device is outputting your audio signal.

Last edited by Ferdi (21-11-2025 21:18)

Reply by jocar37

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

We just moved and I'm not fully unpacked. Haven't located my headphones yet, so can't try this.

Yes, the Motu is connected with a TRS cable.

The model is Motu M2. Hope that's what you were asking for.

Local Off was not the same at least in practical terms as turning the volume down. Unless  Local Off was engaged, I couldn't hear the Pianoteq sounds, if they were being played. Should they both be equally audible?

I believe I mentioned early on that the Active Audio Devices were simply notated as "Out 1" and "Out2" Don't know how a screenshot of that page would be more informative. But, as I've mentioned once or twice, I'm a MIDIot. so if it's a totally other screen you're asking about, would you mind specifying what it is and how I locate it?

I don't understand what you're asking for with "if there is anything other than the mentioned MOTU..." There's nothing else in my set up except a network extender attached to the computer. Is that significant?

I also don't understand how you conclude "this is an issue about how you connect headphones/speakers to whatever device is outputting your audio signal." I never had headphones connected to my setup, and it still worked. It seems to me I either unwittingly changed a setting,or there's a connection between devices that's not right, or ssomething was broken in the move.  I can't figure out what though.

The computer seems to function well on its own. The Casio on its own functions well as does the Henriksen. So the only thing I figure is the likely source of the porblem is something about how the M2 is set up or connected. But I don't know what might have been changed. Does this make sense to you? If so, any ideas about what might be changed on the M2?

Reply by Coises

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

jocar37 wrote:

4 The Casio is connected to a Henriksen amp.

jocar37 wrote:

Yes, the Motu is connected with a TRS cable.

Please forgive me for jumping in here... if I’m not helpful or if I don’t make sense, just ignore me.

In your previous, working setup, did the sound of Pianoteq come out through the Henriksen amp? If not, where did it come out?

To what is the Motu connected with a TRS cable? Just one cable? Which jack(s) (what are it/they labeled) on the Motu and which jack(s) on whatever is at the other end?

Are you sure that in your previous, working setup, the Henriksen was connected to the Casio, and not to the Motu?

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

Coises -

I misspoke. The Motu is connected to my studio computer with a USB cable.  Stupid mistake. so sorry. There's a TRS cable connecting the Casio to the Henriksen amp.That said, I don't recall the Henriksen ever being directly connected to the Motu. But I am having memory issues from a medical condition, so I wouldn't swear to it. I just think the amp was connected to the Casio keyboard, the Casio was connected to the studio computer via USB B and the Motu M2 was connected to the computer via USB C. I don't think there were any other connections between the Casio, the computer and the Motu. Are you suggesting I try connecting the Henriksen directly to the Motu?  I need to find my adapters to plug into the Motu. Not sure where they are yet.

Reply by Coises

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

jocar37 wrote:

There's a TRS cable connecting the Casio to the Henriksen amp.
[...]
I don't think there were any other connections between the Casio, the computer and the Motu. Are you suggesting I try connecting the Henriksen directly to the Motu?

If, as you wrote, “the device window is selected for my MOTU interface.My Casio keyboard is not shown as an option.” — which sounds expected — then there is no way the sound can come out of the Henriksen amp unless it is connected to the MOTU interface.

So if the sound used to come out of the Henriksen, then you had it connected to the outputs of the MOTU. Without knowing the specific models of your equipment so I could look up online documentation, I can’t tell you which jack(s) should be connected to which, using what kind of cable(s).

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

Coises,
Thanks for the reply.
As indicated before, the Motu is an M2.
The PC was custom built by AVADirect for my music studio.
The Casio is a CDP S360.
The Henriksen is the Bud 6.
Hope this gives you an answer. Thanks again.

Coises wrote:
jocar37 wrote:

There's a TRS cable connecting the Casio to the Henriksen amp.
[...]
I don't think there were any other connections between the Casio, the computer and the Motu. Are you suggesting I try connecting the Henriksen directly to the Motu?

If, as you wrote, “the device window is selected for my MOTU interface.My Casio keyboard is not shown as an option.” — which sounds expected — then there is no way the sound can come out of the Henriksen amp unless it is connected to the MOTU interface.

So if the sound used to come out of the Henriksen, then you had it connected to the outputs of the MOTU. Without knowing the specific models of your equipment so I could look up online documentation, I can’t tell you which jack(s) should be connected to which, using what kind of cable(s).

Reply by Coises

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

jocar37 wrote:

As indicated before, the Motu is an M2.
The PC was custom built by AVADirect for my music studio.
The Casio is a CDP S360.
The Henriksen is the Bud 6.

Based on the CDP S360 manual, it looks like you absolutely have to connect whatever is going to make sound (presumably the Bud 6) to the MOTU. I see nothing indicating that the CDP S360 can be an audio output over USB.

Based on the MOTU manual and the Bud 6 manual, I would say the best way to do this would be to connect the RCA jacks (the white and red ones) on the back of the MOTU to the 1/8-inch Aux in on the Henriksen. Use a cable like this.

Rationale:

The Henriksen CH. 1 and CH. 2 combo jacks appear to be designed for microphone and guitar inputs; a line-level input (like from the MOTU) would probably overload them. So it’s better to use the AUX jack, which is meant for line level. Presumably that is a stereo input that's summed to mono and sent through the channel 1 controls. (I've never seen a balanced 1/8" input, so I think it’s stereo TRS, not balanced TRS. The manual is not explicit.)

The MOTU manual, on page 19, says, “Quarter-inch analog outputs are not cross-coupled. Therefore, when connecting them to an unbalanced input, use a TRS plug with the ring disconnected. Not floating the negative terminal will short it to the sleeve ground and cause distortion.” Simpler than worrying about that — since the Henriksen AUX in is presumably stereo, not balanced — is to use the RCA jacks, which are unbalanced.

Last edited by Coises (26-11-2025 00:50)

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

Coises wrote:
jocar37 wrote:

As indicated before, the Motu is an M2.
The PC was custom built by AVADirect for my music studio.
The Casio is a CDP S360.
The Henriksen is the Bud 6.

Based on the CDP S360 manual, it looks like you absolutely have to connect whatever is going to make sound (presumably the Bud 6) to the MOTU. I see nothing indicating that the CDP S360 can be an audio output over USB.

Based on the MOTU manual and the Bud 6 manual, I would say the best way to do this would be to connect the RCA jacks (the white and red ones) on the back of the MOTU to the 1/8-inch Aux in on the Henriksen. Use a cable like this.

Rationale:

The Henriksen CH. 1 and CH. 2 combo jacks appear to be designed for microphone and guitar inputs; a line-level input (like from the MOTU) would probably overload them. So it’s better to use the AUX jack, which is meant for line level. Presumably that is a stereo input that's summed to mono and sent through the channel 1 controls. (I've never seen a balanced 1/8" input, so I think it’s stereo TRS, not balanced TRS. The manual is not explicit.)

The MOTU manual, on page 19, says, “Quarter-inch analog outputs are not cross-coupled. Therefore, when connecting them to an unbalanced input, use a TRS plug with the ring disconnected. Not floating the negative terminal will short it to the sleeve ground and cause distortion.” Simpler than worrying about that — since the Henriksen AUX in is presumably stereo, not balanced — is to use the RCA jacks, which are unbalanced.

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

You clearly understand this stuff very  well. I don't. That said, I don't think I've ever even seen a cable like that one. So I don't know how it worked before. I'm at a complete loss to understand what's happening.

jocar37 wrote:
Coises wrote:
jocar37 wrote:

As indicated before, the Motu is an M2.
The PC was custom built by AVADirect for my music studio.
The Casio is a CDP S360.
The Henriksen is the Bud 6.

Based on the CDP S360 manual, it looks like you absolutely have to connect whatever is going to make sound (presumably the Bud 6) to the MOTU. I see nothing indicating that the CDP S360 can be an audio output over USB.

Based on the MOTU manual and the Bud 6 manual, I would say the best way to do this would be to connect the RCA jacks (the white and red ones) on the back of the MOTU to the 1/8-inch Aux in on the Henriksen. Use a cable like this.

Rationale:

The Henriksen CH. 1 and CH. 2 combo jacks appear to be designed for microphone and guitar inputs; a line-level input (like from the MOTU) would probably overload them. So it’s better to use the AUX jack, which is meant for line level. Presumably that is a stereo input that's summed to mono and sent through the channel 1 controls. (I've never seen a balanced 1/8" input, so I think it’s stereo TRS, not balanced TRS. The manual is not explicit.)

The MOTU manual, on page 19, says, “Quarter-inch analog outputs are not cross-coupled. Therefore, when connecting them to an unbalanced input, use a TRS plug with the ring disconnected. Not floating the negative terminal will short it to the sleeve ground and cause distortion.” Simpler than worrying about that — since the Henriksen AUX in is presumably stereo, not balanced — is to use the RCA jacks, which are unbalanced.

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

jocar37 wrote:

You clearly understand this stuff very  well. I don't. That said, I don't think I've ever even seen a cable like that one. So I don't know how it worked before. I'm at a complete loss to understand what's happening.

OK. We’ll figure it out. You wrote before,

jpcar37 wrote:

There's a TRS cable connecting the Casio to the Henriksen amp.

Do you think you used that cable before? When you moved, was it packed like it was part of your previous setup?

I take it one end of the cable is plugged into the Phones/Ouput jack on the Casio. Does the other end have one plug, or two? Is/are the plug(s) the same kind as the one plugged into the Casio? — Similar but bigger? — Or something completely different? If the same or similar, also TRS? or just plain?

What jack(s) is the cable plugged into on the Henriksen?

One other thing. This might sound like a stupid question, but I don’t think you ever stated this definitely, and if I’m misunderstanding this, then nothing else will make sense. When you played Pianoteq before you moved, did the sound come out of the Henriksen amp? If not, where did it come from?

Last edited by Coises (26-11-2025 06:34)

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

Yes, that's the cable I used before.
It's what I understand to be a TRS with a larger (1/4"?) that goes into the Henriksen input jack end and a smaller (1/8"?) on the other end the goes into the Casio.
The sound came out of the amp when it's plugged in. I'm pretty sure it would come out of the Casio's speakers if I unplugged the Henriksen

Here's something I just remembered. I installed Pianoteq on a Surface tablet and because I don't trust my memory, I put a packing list on my phone so when I went to a jam, I would be sure to have everything I need. Everything, down to my stool, is on the list. It has the powercord for the Casio, the powercord and USB cable for the tablet, the powercable and 1/4 inch cable for the Henriksen. No other cord is listed.  The interface isn't listed. So could my memory be correct? Can't I run Pianoteq from a computer without attaching the computer to an interface? I can't believe I would have constructed this list without the interface, and I don't recal schlepping the interface.

Coises wrote:
jocar37 wrote:

You clearly understand this stuff very  well. I don't. That said, I don't think I've ever even seen a cable like that one. So I don't know how it worked before. I'm at a complete loss to understand what's happening.

OK. We’ll figure it out. You wrote before,

jpcar37 wrote:

There's a TRS cable connecting the Casio to the Henriksen amp.

Do you think you used that cable before? When you moved, was it packed like it was part of your previous setup?

I take it one end of the cable is plugged into the Phones/Ouput jack on the Casio. Does the other end have one plug, or two? Is/are the plug(s) the same kind as the one plugged into the Casio? — Similar but bigger? — Or something completely different? If the same or similar, also TRS? or just plain?

What jack(s) is the cable plugged into on the Henriksen?

One other thing. This might sound like a stupid question, but I don’t think you ever stated this definitely, and if I’m misunderstanding this, then nothing else will make sense. When you played Pianoteq before you moved, did the sound come out of the Henriksen amp? If not, where did it come from?

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

Hi Coises -

I am really befuddled. Pianoteq isn't working through my tablet OR through my studio computer. When opened on my tablet, it says "Open the device selection dialogue" and "use FlexASIO (ASIO)." When I open the device dialogue, it shows "Active MIDI Inputs: Listen to all MIDI inputs." Casio USB is NOT a choice, as it was when the Casio was connected to the studio computer. "Audio Device Type" is listed as ASIO, and Device is "None." If I click on the drop down on Device, there is an option for "FlexASIO." When I click on FlexASIO, I get "Error when trying to open audio device! Unable to find a PortAudio device named 'Speakers (Realtek high Definition Audio (SST) (Loopback) within specified backend."
I have NO idea what any of that means. But I didn't run into this before and I don't get why I'm getting it now. Any thoughts?

Also, FWIW, below is the set of steps I wrote down to know how to connect the Casio to the studio computer. I never understood why so many steps in such a particular order (MIDIot) but it worked. As with the gig packing list, there is no mention of the Motu, which was always connected to the studio computer via USB:

HOW TO PLAY VSTS ON MY KEYBOARD.
1.    Turn off keyboard
2.    Start computer
3.    Connect Keyboard to computer using USB B jack
4.    Turn on Keyboard
5.    Open piano program on computer
6.    Configure music software settings to select “CASIO USB-MIDI” as the MIDI device
7.    Press Function Button
8.    Turn dial till it shows “MIDI”
9.    Press Function Button again.
10.    Turn dial till it shows “Local Control.”
11.    Turn off “Local Control.”

It is very curious to me that neither set of instructions I made references the interface and I know I was able to use both setups before we moved. I'm probably more bewildered about MIDI than I was before!

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

jocar37 wrote:

Yes, that's the cable I used before.
It's what I understand to be a TRS with a larger (1/4"?) that goes into the Henriksen input jack end and a smaller (1/8"?) on the other end the goes into the Casio.

OK, just try this. No promises, but let’s see where it gets us.

First, turn down the volume controls on your Henriksen and the headphone volume on your MOTU. All the way down... we’ll bring them up later. Leave the main volume on the MOTU somewhere in the middle of its range.

Now, put the large end of the TRS cable into the headphone jack on your MOTU and the small end into the AUX IN jack on your Henriksen.

Open Pianoteq. Make sure it’s set to output to the MOTU. Now, using the mouse, tap a key on the Pianoteq interface. You should see the output lights on the MOTU move as you play. (If they’re going all the way to the top, turn the main volume on the MOTU down a bit.)

Now bring the CH. 1 volume up a bit on the Henriksen. Not all the way, but maybe a quarter of the way.

Now, slowly bring up the headphone volume on the MOTU while tapping on a Pianoteq key with the mouse. You should begin to hear something.

If you do, adjust both the MOTU volume and the Henriksen volume so they’re not to extremes, but you can hear clearly.

Finally, if that worked, try playing on the keyboard and see if you hear that.

I doubt that this is the best way to make the connections, and I’m not at all convinced you had it this way before, but if we can get some sound to come out, we’ll at least know we’re on the right track, and that all the equipment works.

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

I plugged the large end in to the MOTU headphone jack. But I don't see an AUX IN jack labeled as such on the Henriksen, and the ports I do see aren't the right size. So I don't know what I should do instead, if anything

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

jocar37 wrote:

I plugged the large end in to the MOTU headphone jack. But I don't see an AUX IN jack labeled as such on the Henriksen, and the ports I do see aren't the right size. So I don't know what I should do instead, if anything

I wonder if I found the wrong manual. Look at the picture on the second page here:

https://www.henriksenamplifiers.com/wp-...l-2025.pdf

Does yours look like that? If not, then I must have gone wrong somewhere. If it does look like that, I’m talking about the one between the two volume controls.

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

Wow mine looks nothing like that. I took a photo of mine, but can't see how to upload it to show you.I called Henriksen and left a VM to see why mine looks so different from what you found online.

Coises wrote:
jocar37 wrote:

I plugged the large end in to the MOTU headphone jack. But I don't see an AUX IN jack labeled as such on the Henriksen, and the ports I do see aren't the right size. So I don't know what I should do instead, if anything

I wonder if I found the wrong manual. Look at the picture on the second page here:

https://www.henriksenamplifiers.com/wp-...l-2025.pdf

Does yours look like that? If not, then I must have gone wrong somewhere. If it does look like that, I’m talking about the one between the two volume controls.

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

jocar37 wrote:

Wow mine looks nothing like that.

Earlier:

jocar37 wrote:

The Henriksen is the Bud 6.

Are you sure it’s a Bud SIX and not a Blu SIX?

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

jocar37 wrote:

Wow mine looks nothing like that.

In any case, since the cable you have at hand can’t make the connection I wanted to try, I have to fall back to the very reasonable suggestion Ferdi made earlier in this thread:

Can you find your headphones?

When you find them: do they fit the headphone jack on your MOTU?

If/when you can answer yes to both of those questions, we can get started from there. We’ll leave out the Henriksen entirely until we get things working through the headphones.

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

oh jeez, I knew it was a Six and when I opened the website on my PHONE I only saw the Bud Six, the Bud 10 and the Bud Head. Didn't recall any other models, so I didn't think to scroll down. My bad. I just opened the Henriksen on my computer and saw the rest. it's the Blu. You are trying so hard to help and I'm not making it easy. My apologies. I wouldn't blame you if you gave up on me.


Coises wrote:
jocar37 wrote:

Wow mine looks nothing like that.

Earlier:

jocar37 wrote:

The Henriksen is the Bud 6.

Are you sure it’s a Bud SIX and not a Blu SIX?

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

jocar37 wrote:

oh jeez, I knew it was a Six and when I opened the website on my PHONE I only saw the Bud Six, the Bud 10 and the Bud Head. Didn't recall any other models, so I didn't think to scroll down. My bad. I just opened the Henriksen on my computer and saw the rest. it's the Blu. You are trying so hard to help and I'm not making it easy. My apologies. I wouldn't blame you if you gave up on me.

No problem. I’m quite stubborn.  ;-)

Try to find those headphones.

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

Do you remember, in your previous setup, did you ever use your studio computer to play any sound other than your live keyboard? Like a YouTube video? Or recorded music? Or a recording you made of your playing? Did you do any “production” (recording, mixing, using audio software and effects on music you recorded first)?

If so: where did the sound come out?

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

Coises wrote:

Do you remember, in your previous setup, did you ever use your studio computer to play any sound other than your live keyboard? Like a YouTube video? Or recorded music? Or a recording you made of your playing? Did you do any “production” (recording, mixing, using audio software and effects on music you recorded first)?

If so: where did the sound come out?

Yes, I would play other sounds - youtube, backing tracks, music files on the computer. No I didn't do any production. I'm a MIDIot. I have enough difficulty just learning how my various VSTs work. :-)

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

jocar37 wrote:
Coises wrote:

Do you remember, in your previous setup, did you ever use your studio computer to play any sound other than your live keyboard? Like a YouTube video? Or recorded music? Or a recording you made of your playing? Did you do any “production” (recording, mixing, using audio software and effects on music you recorded first)?

If so: where did the sound come out?

Yes, I would play other sounds - youtube, backing tracks, music files on the computer. No I didn't do any production. I'm a MIDIot. I have enough difficulty just learning how my various VSTs work. :-)

I apologize if this seems like a dumb question, but I’m trying to get a clear picture and not make false assumptions. When you played other sounds, where did the sound come out?

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

No apologies necessary. Sound came out of studio monitors that I sold before moving.

Coises wrote:
jocar37 wrote:
Coises wrote:

Do you remember, in your previous setup, did you ever use your studio computer to play any sound other than your live keyboard? Like a YouTube video? Or recorded music? Or a recording you made of your playing? Did you do any “production” (recording, mixing, using audio software and effects on music you recorded first)?

If so: where did the sound come out?

Yes, I would play other sounds - youtube, backing tracks, music files on the computer. No I didn't do any production. I'm a MIDIot. I have enough difficulty just learning how my various VSTs work. :-)

I apologize if this seems like a dumb question, but I’m trying to get a clear picture and not make false assumptions. When you played other sounds, where did the sound come out?

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

jocar37 wrote:

No apologies necessary. Sound came out of studio monitors that I sold before moving.

So those were connected to the MOTU, I assume?

Are you sure that when you played Pianoteq using your keyboard in your old studio setup, you were hearing the sound from the Henriksen amp? Or was it from those same studio monitors that you no longer have?

You mentioned before:

Here's something I just remembered. I installed Pianoteq on a Surface tablet and because I don't trust my memory, I put a packing list on my phone so when I went to a jam, I would be sure to have everything I need. Everything, down to my stool, is on the list. It has the powercord for the Casio, the powercord and USB cable for the tablet, the powercable and 1/4 inch cable for the Henriksen. No other cord is listed.  The interface isn't listed.

so I’m thinking that maybe you never used the Henriksen with your studio computer (because you had studio monitors, which would have been better quality). Does that sound right?

If so, that would explain why you don’t have the right cords to make the connections. We might need some new ones.

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

If the virtual keys are moving on screen, the good news is your MIDI connection is working perfectly. You can ignore the "All Controllers Off" list, that's a red herring.

The issue is just your audio routing. Your MOTU interface should be the selected device in the Audio settings (not the Casio), so that part is actually correct.

Go into Pianoteq's Options > Audio. Make sure the "Audio Device Type" is set to ASIO (assuming you're on Windows) and that the Output channels are actually routed to your speakers/headphones. Since you just moved, the settings likely just reset to default.

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

I didn't use the Henriksen with the studio computer, but I did use it with a Surface laptop that I set up to take to jams and gigs that has Pianoteq, and it worked. It's not working with the Surface now. The Surface only has Pianoteq loaded on it, but the studio machine has a LOT of expensive VSTs I want to get back to. I don't recall the interface being part of the gig/jam setup. And it wasn't on the packing list, so I can't figure out what's wrong.

Coises wrote:
jocar37 wrote:

No apologies necessary. Sound came out of studio monitors that I sold before moving.

So those were connected to the MOTU, I assume?

Are you sure that when you played Pianoteq using your keyboard in your old studio setup, you were hearing the sound from the Henriksen amp? Or was it from those same studio monitors that you no longer have?

You mentioned before:

Here's something I just remembered. I installed Pianoteq on a Surface tablet and because I don't trust my memory, I put a packing list on my phone so when I went to a jam, I would be sure to have everything I need. Everything, down to my stool, is on the list. It has the powercord for the Casio, the powercord and USB cable for the tablet, the powercable and 1/4 inch cable for the Henriksen. No other cord is listed.  The interface isn't listed.

so I’m thinking that maybe you never used the Henriksen with your studio computer (because you had studio monitors, which would have been better quality). Does that sound right?

If so, that would explain why you don’t have the right cords to make the connections. We might need some new ones.

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

aileen566 wrote:

If the virtual keys are moving on screen, the good news is your MIDI connection is working perfectly. You can ignore the "All Controllers Off" list, that's a red herring.

Please explain why, if Controllers Off is a red herring, it didn't work until I was instructed to do that? When the Controllers On, no Pianoteq.

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

jocar37 wrote:

I didn't use the Henriksen with the studio computer, but I did use it with a Surface laptop that I set up to take to jams and gigs that has Pianoteq, and it worked. It's not working with the Surface now. The Surface only has Pianoteq loaded on it, but the studio machine has a LOT of expensive VSTs I want to get back to. I don't recall the interface being part of the gig/jam setup. And it wasn't on the packing list, so I can't figure out what's wrong.

Let’s work on one thing at a time. You choose: studio computer set up, or Surface set up? We’ll get one figured out first, then (if you want) we can try to figure out the other one.

Since you no longer have your speakers, you cannot expect the studio setup to work exactly the same way it did before. I don’t see any reason it can’t use the Henriksen amp, but it won’t sound as good as it did with the monitor speakers, and you will probably need a cable you don’t already have. (We’ll figure out what you need.) I’d still like you to try to find a pair of headphones that fit the headphone jack on your MOTU, if you can. Even if you don’t like playing through headphones, it will help us test that everything up to that point is working.

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

Hi jocar37,

did you find a solution to the problem or do you have any follow up questions?

One additional thing you could quick-check is:
if the MOTU has any kind of level meter or indicator for input or output audio, does that show anything when you press the keys on the Casio or the virtual keys in Pianoteq?

EDIT: my browser page was not up-to-date so I missed some of the discussion above, before having posted this.

Last edited by Ferdi (06-12-2025 16:46)

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

Thanks for pitching in. Yes,the Motu meter does move with either the Casio keyboard or the mouse. All indications are that the PC and the Casio are hearing each other. I'm the one not hearing anything!

Ferdi wrote:

Hi jocar37,

did you find a solution to the problem or do you have any follow up questions?

One additional thing you could quick-check is:
if the MOTU has any kind of level meter or indicator for input or output audio, does that show anything when you press the keys on the Casio or the virtual keys in Pianoteq?

EDIT: my browser page was not up-to-date so I missed some of the discussion above, before having posted this.

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

Hey Coises -

While I'm sure you weren't sitting by your computer waiting for my next reply, I'm sorry it took a while to find the headphones. But now that I have them I'm not clear on how that will help you figure this out. That said, when I plugged the headphnes into the MOTU jack, I got sound! So I figure,"wow, it's working." So I unplugged the headphones and turned up the main volume control. I got a buzz, but not piano. I don't understand why I hear piano through the headphones, but noise through the main input. This just makes no sense to me.

Coises wrote:
jocar37 wrote:

I didn't use the Henriksen with the studio computer, but I did use it with a Surface laptop that I set up to take to jams and gigs that has Pianoteq, and it worked. It's not working with the Surface now. The Surface only has Pianoteq loaded on it, but the studio machine has a LOT of expensive VSTs I want to get back to. I don't recall the interface being part of the gig/jam setup. And it wasn't on the packing list, so I can't figure out what's wrong.

Let’s work on one thing at a time. You choose: studio computer set up, or Surface set up? We’ll get one figured out first, then (if you want) we can try to figure out the other one.

Since you no longer have your speakers, you cannot expect the studio setup to work exactly the same way it did before. I don’t see any reason it can’t use the Henriksen amp, but it won’t sound as good as it did with the monitor speakers, and you will probably need a cable you don’t already have. (We’ll figure out what you need.) I’d still like you to try to find a pair of headphones that fit the headphone jack on your MOTU, if you can. Even if you don’t like playing through headphones, it will help us test that everything up to that point is working.

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

jocar37 wrote:

when I plugged the headphnes into the MOTU jack, I got sound! So I figure,"wow, it's working." So I unplugged the headphones and turned up the main volume control. I got a buzz, but not piano. I don't understand why I hear piano through the headphones, but noise through the main input. This just makes no sense to me.

If I’ve followed this correctly, it does make sense. You used to hear Pianoteq through your monitor speakers, which were connected to your MOTU outputs. You don’t have those speakers any more. You have nothing connected to your MOTU outputs (except the headphones, when you plug them in).

From what you described, you have your amplifier connected to your keyboard. That won’t work for Pianoteq. (It would work if you had your keyboard playing internal sounds, but you have those turned off so that you can play Pianoteq instead.)

Based on what you’ve told me, you never previously had your amplifier connected to the MOTU, and so you might not have the correct cable to make that connection. And there is another problem: your amplifier is mono, but the output of the MOTU is stereo. You can’t just connect two outputs to one input — they don’t add, they fight with each other. (Trying to do this might damage your MOTU!) But if you only connect one channel and leave the other unused, the sound will be missing the parts that were supposed to go to the other speaker.

If you are still using Pianoteq 8 or older, you can select Monophonic output. Then the two channels will be the same and you can connect one and leave the other disconnected. This option was removed in Pianoteq 9, though, so a different approach will be required with that.

You mentioned having other VSTs on your studio computer. Do they all work standalone, or do you have a host program that you use to load them? If you use a host program, what is it? It may be able to do the mix-down to mono.

The Henriksen Blu Six you have has a single combination XLR and 1/4" input jack. It is not clear to me from the documentation I can find whether the 1/4" is balanced or unbalanced. Since the MOTU manual makes it clear that the 1/4" outputs are balanced and cannot be connected to an unbalanced input without an unusual cable modification, I recommend connecting one of the RCA outputs on the MOTU to the amplifier input using a cable that looks like this. Turn the volume controls way down, because the normal output of the MOTU is going to be much more than what the Henriksen is expecting.

Unfortunately, no matter how you do this, it’s not going to sound as good as when you had monitor speakers. :-(

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

Thanks, as always Coises.  The Motu is connected to my studio computer via USB. It worked this way when I had my monitors. But I didn't need the Motu when I connected my Casio to my Surface and it worked with Pianoteq. I didn't have the Motu connected to either the Casio or the Surface. Yet it played. I know my memory is impaired, but I don't think I've misremembering. And that checklist for gig setup I told would seem to confirm my memory. Can you think of any way the laptop would work without the Motu?

The studio computer is a full tower,and is very heavy. Not usable for gigs/jams. My plan was to load more VSTs on my laptop. I use Cantabile as the host for the other VSTs. (Are you familiar with it?) But I would be happy at this point just to get Pianoteq working through my gig setup with the Henriksen and the Surface, but without the Motu interface, like I had it working before. I understand you don't think that should work, but I am as sure as I can be that I didn't use the Motu with the Casio. So I don't understand what is wrong. I didn't have another cable in my checklist.

I have TSR cables, and TSR 1/4 to 1/8 and 1/8 to 1//4 adapters. But they're all stereo, and it looks like the one you recommend is mono at both ends. I have Pianoteq 8, but idon't know how to swich to mono and couldn't locate anything in the app or in a google search.

I'm also confused about what, if anything, I can do with the headphones. Do I need them or shyould I just get a mono to mono cable?

I don't care if the Pianoteq doesn't sound as good throught the Henriksen. It still sounds a lot better than the onboard sounds.

Coises wrote:
jocar37 wrote:

when I plugged the headphnes into the MOTU jack, I got sound! So I figure,"wow, it's working." So I unplugged the headphones and turned up the main volume control. I got a buzz, but not piano. I don't understand why I hear piano through the headphones, but noise through the main input. This just makes no sense to me.

If I’ve followed this correctly, it does make sense. You used to hear Pianoteq through your monitor speakers, which were connected to your MOTU outputs. You don’t have those speakers any more. You have nothing connected to your MOTU outputs (except the headphones, when you plug them in).

From what you described, you have your amplifier connected to your keyboard. That won’t work for Pianoteq. (It would work if you had your keyboard playing internal sounds, but you have those turned off so that you can play Pianoteq instead.)

Based on what you’ve told me, you never previously had your amplifier connected to the MOTU, and so you might not have the correct cable to make that connection. And there is another problem: your amplifier is mono, but the output of the MOTU is stereo. You can’t just connect two outputs to one input — they don’t add, they fight with each other. (Trying to do this might damage your MOTU!) But if you only connect one channel and leave the other unused, the sound will be missing the parts that were supposed to go to the other speaker.

If you are still using Pianoteq 8 or older, you can select Monophonic output. Then the two channels will be the same and you can connect one and leave the other disconnected. This option was removed in Pianoteq 9, though, so a different approach will be required with that.

You mentioned having other VSTs on your studio computer. Do they all work standalone, or do you have a host program that you use to load them? If you use a host program, what is it? It may be able to do the mix-down to mono.

The Henriksen Blu Six you have has a single combination XLR and 1/4" input jack. It is not clear to me from the documentation I can find whether the 1/4" is balanced or unbalanced. Since the MOTU manual makes it clear that the 1/4" outputs are balanced and cannot be connected to an unbalanced input without an unusual cable modification, I recommend connecting one of the RCA outputs on the MOTU to the amplifier input using a cable that looks like this. Turn the volume controls way down, because the normal output of the MOTU is going to be much more than what the Henriksen is expecting.

Unfortunately, no matter how you do this, it’s not going to sound as good as when you had monitor speakers. :-(

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

jocar37 wrote:

But I would be happy at this point just to get Pianoteq working through my gig setup with the Henriksen and the Surface, but without the Motu interface, like I had it working before. I understand you don't think that should work, but I am as sure as I can be that I didn't use the Motu with the Casio. So I don't understand what is wrong. I didn't have another cable in my checklist.

I’ll get back to this a little later with some more thoughts, but one quick question: Do you have one of the older Surface tablets that has a headphone jack? If so, I think you connected the Henriksen to the headphone jack on your Surface, not to the Casio.

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

I don't  know about an older Surface but mine is a Surface Pro 7÷ purchased Dec 2023. But if I had connected it like you're thinking, what kind of cable would I have had to use? I don't have one like the one you showed me earlier.

Coises wrote:
jocar37 wrote:

But I would be happy at this point just to get Pianoteq working through my gig setup with the Henriksen and the Surface, but without the Motu interface, like I had it working before. I understand you don't think that should work, but I am as sure as I can be that I didn't use the Motu with the Casio. So I don't understand what is wrong. I didn't have another cable in my checklist.

I’ll get back to this a little later with some more thoughts, but one quick question: Do you have one of the older Surface tablets that has a headphone jack? If so, I think you connected the Henriksen to the headphone jack on your Surface, not to the Casio.

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

jocar37 wrote:

I don't  know about an older Surface but mine is a Surface Pro 7÷ purchased Dec 2023. But if I had connected it like you're thinking, what kind of cable would I have had to use? I don't have one like the one you showed me earlier.

The Surface Pro 7 has a headphone jack. (They removed it in the Surface Pro 9 — that’s why I asked.)

I think you would have used the cable you described that has an 1/8" phone plug on one end and a 1/4" phone plug on the other. Instead of plugging the smaller end into the Casio, you would have plugged it into the headphone jack on the Surface Pro. The larger plug would go into the Henriksen amplifier.

I wouldn’t expect that to work very well, but since you know that something did work, and you know what devices and cables you had, that’s how you would have had to connect them. Not the Casio to the amplifier, the Surface to the amplifier.

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

jocar37 wrote:

I use Cantabile as the host for the other VSTs. (Are you familiar with it?)

I have heard of it, but I have no experience with it. It looks quite powerful. I’m sure someone who does use it will be able to tell you how to merge left and right outputs so you can feed a single output to your amplifier; unfortunately, that someone isn’t me.

But I would be happy at this point just to get Pianoteq working through my gig setup with the Henriksen and the Surface, but without the Motu interface, like I had it working before. I understand you don't think that should work, but I am as sure as I can be that I didn't use the Motu with the Casio.

I don’t doubt you that Pianoteq worked on your Surface and you got sound out of the Henricksen without using the MOTU. What I believe is not possible is that you got Pianoteq sound out of something plugged into the Casio. The USB cable from the Casio to your computer (whether it’s the studio or the Surface) carries MIDI from the Casio to the computer, but it cannot carry sound from the computer back to the Casio. Pianoteq runs on the computer, and to get sound out of the computer, whatever will make sound — speakers, amplifier or headphones — must be connected to the computer. That can be a direct connection or it can go through the MOTU; but it can’t go backwards through the Casio.

I'm also confused about what, if anything, I can do with the headphones. Do I need them or shyould I just get a mono to mono cable?

The main reason I wanted you to find the headphones was to verify that you can play piano and get the Pianoteq sound to go through the MOTU. Now we know everything up to that point works. Of course, if you’re just practicing or playing for yourself, you can listen through the headphones. (Depending on how good they are, the headphones might sound better than the Henriksen will.)

Since you don’t have your monitor speakers anymore, if you want to play “out loud” using your studio computer, you’ll need to connect the amplifier to the MOTU. I think that will require a cable you probably don’t already have. There’s more than one way to do it; the type of cable shown in the link I gave earlier is one way.¹

To play using your Surface Pro, obviously you have to connect the USB from the Casio to the Surface Pro instead of the studio computer. Since we already know you didn’t use the MOTU with your Surface Pro, you would need to connect the Surface Pro directly to the amplifier. The cable you’ve described that you brought along with the keyboard, the Surface Pro and the Henriksen amplifier must be what you used to connect them. But (as I said in my other, shorter message), it must have gone between the amplifier and the Surface Pro, not between the amplifier and the Casio.

---

¹ Another way would be to use an “insert” cable, if you have one of those. An insert cable has a 1/4" TRS plug on one end and two mono 1/4“ plugs on the other. You would plug the TRS end into one of the MOTU outputs, plug one of the mono plugs into the Henriksen and leave the other not connected to anything... maybe wrap a little tape or plastic around it just to be sure it doesn’t touch anything conductive. Sounds goofy, I know, but it’s a roundabout way of dealing with the unforgiving balanced 1/4" output on the MOTU and the (probably) unbalanced 1/4" input on the Henriksen.

Reply by jocar37

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

FWIW I've tried but I don't understand how to separate my quotes of your messages to intersperse comments or questions like you do. so let me just ask some questions.

You say "To play using your Surface Pro, obviously you have to connect the USB rom the Casio to the Surface Pro instead of the studio computer." I have that. It's a USB B jack on the Casio. How do I employ the headphone jack? if I could get sound by plugging a cable into the headphone jack of the Surface, would I plug the other end into the Casio or the Henriksen?  Which one? Which port on whatever the correct device is? What kind of cable would I need?

Would this still require some stereo to mono modifications? I know I didn't mess with that before. So if the Surface hearphone jack is the way to access Pianoteq sounds, this might be what i was doing. I'm thinking I plug the 1/8" into the headphone jack. 

But I don't recall plugging two cables into the Surface. And the USB jack and the headphone jack are on opposite sides of the width of the Surface. This means I would have had to have the Surface laying on its long edge, ie, landscape. The problem:
1. I don't recall the Surface being used in landscape position.
2. I don't recall two cables being connected to the Surface. But I seem to recall plugging a cable into the headphone jack. Does that suggest anything to you?
3. Nothing in my notes or check list indicates it was a two cable setup.

none of this makes any sense.


Coises wrote:
jocar37 wrote:

I use Cantabile as the host for the other VSTs. (Are you familiar with it?)

I have heard of it, but I have no experience with it. It looks quite powerful. I’m sure someone who does use it will be able to tell you how to merge left and right outputs so you can feed a single output to your amplifier; unfortunately, that someone isn’t me.

But I would be happy at this point just to get Pianoteq working through my gig setup with the Henriksen and the Surface, but without the Motu interface, like I had it working before. I understand you don't think that should work, but I am as sure as I can be that I didn't use the Motu with the Casio.

I don’t doubt you that Pianoteq worked on your Surface and you got sound out of the Henricksen without using the MOTU. What I believe is not possible is that you got Pianoteq sound out of something plugged into the Casio. The USB cable from the Casio to your computer (whether it’s the studio or the Surface) carries MIDI from the Casio to the computer, but it cannot carry sound from the computer back to the Casio. Pianoteq runs on the computer, and to get sound out of the computer, whatever will make sound — speakers, amplifier or headphones — must be connected to the computer. That can be a direct connection or it can go through the MOTU; but it can’t go backwards through the Casio.

I'm also confused about what, if anything, I can do with the headphones. Do I need them or shyould I just get a mono to mono cable?

The main reason I wanted you to find the headphones was to verify that you can play piano and get the Pianoteq sound to go through the MOTU. Now we know everything up to that point works. Of course, if you’re just practicing or playing for yourself, you can listen through the headphones. (Depending on how good they are, the headphones might sound better than the Henriksen will.)

Since you don’t have your monitor speakers anymore, if you want to play “out loud” using your studio computer, you’ll need to connect the amplifier to the MOTU. I think that will require a cable you probably don’t already have. There’s more than one way to do it; the type of cable shown in the link I gave earlier is one way.¹

To play using your Surface Pro, obviously you have to connect the USB from the Casio to the Surface Pro instead of the studio computer. Since we already know you didn’t use the MOTU with your Surface Pro, you would need to connect the Surface Pro directly to the amplifier. The cable you’ve described that you brought along with the keyboard, the Surface Pro and the Henriksen amplifier must be what you used to connect them. But (as I said in my other, shorter message), it must have gone between the amplifier and the Surface Pro, not between the amplifier and the Casio.

---

¹ Another way would be to use an “insert” cable, if you have one of those. An insert cable has a 1/4" TRS plug on one end and two mono 1/4“ plugs on the other. You would plug the TRS end into one of the MOTU outputs, plug one of the mono plugs into the Henriksen and leave the other not connected to anything... maybe wrap a little tape or plastic around it just to be sure it doesn’t touch anything conductive. Sounds goofy, I know, but it’s a roundabout way of dealing with the unforgiving balanced 1/4" output on the MOTU and the (probably) unbalanced 1/4" input on the Henriksen.

Reply by jocar37

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

FWIW I've tried but I don't understand how to separate my quotes of your messages to intersperse comments or questions like you do. so let me just ask some questions.

You say "To play using your Surface Pro, obviously you have to connect the USB rom the Casio to the Surface Pro instead of the studio computer." I have that. It's a USB B jack on the Casio. How do I employ the headphone jack? if I could get sound by plugging a cable into the headphone jack of the Surface, would I plug the other end into the Casio or the Henriksen?  Which one? Which port on whatever the correct device is? What kind of cable would I need?

Would this still require some stereo to mono modifications? I know I didn't mess with that before. So if the Surface hearphone jack is the way to access Pianoteq sounds, this might be what i was doing. I'm thinking I plug the 1/8" into the headphone jack. 

But I don't recall plugging two cables into the Surface. And the USB jack and the headphone jack are on opposite sides of the width of the Surface. This means I would have had to have the Surface laying on its long edge, ie, landscape. The problem:
1. I don't recall the Surface being used in landscape position.
2. I don't recall two cables being connected to the Surface. But I seem to recall plugging a cable into the headphone jack. Does that suggest anything to you?
3. Nothing in my notes or check list indicates it was a two cable setup.

none of this makes any sense.


Coises wrote:
jocar37 wrote:

I use Cantabile as the host for the other VSTs. (Are you familiar with it?)

I have heard of it, but I have no experience with it. It looks quite powerful. I’m sure someone who does use it will be able to tell you how to merge left and right outputs so you can feed a single output to your amplifier; unfortunately, that someone isn’t me.

But I would be happy at this point just to get Pianoteq working through my gig setup with the Henriksen and the Surface, but without the Motu interface, like I had it working before. I understand you don't think that should work, but I am as sure as I can be that I didn't use the Motu with the Casio.

I don’t doubt you that Pianoteq worked on your Surface and you got sound out of the Henricksen without using the MOTU. What I believe is not possible is that you got Pianoteq sound out of something plugged into the Casio. The USB cable from the Casio to your computer (whether it’s the studio or the Surface) carries MIDI from the Casio to the computer, but it cannot carry sound from the computer back to the Casio. Pianoteq runs on the computer, and to get sound out of the computer, whatever will make sound — speakers, amplifier or headphones — must be connected to the computer. That can be a direct connection or it can go through the MOTU; but it can’t go backwards through the Casio.

I'm also confused about what, if anything, I can do with the headphones. Do I need them or shyould I just get a mono to mono cable?

The main reason I wanted you to find the headphones was to verify that you can play piano and get the Pianoteq sound to go through the MOTU. Now we know everything up to that point works. Of course, if you’re just practicing or playing for yourself, you can listen through the headphones. (Depending on how good they are, the headphones might sound better than the Henriksen will.)

Since you don’t have your monitor speakers anymore, if you want to play “out loud” using your studio computer, you’ll need to connect the amplifier to the MOTU. I think that will require a cable you probably don’t already have. There’s more than one way to do it; the type of cable shown in the link I gave earlier is one way.¹

To play using your Surface Pro, obviously you have to connect the USB from the Casio to the Surface Pro instead of the studio computer. Since we already know you didn’t use the MOTU with your Surface Pro, you would need to connect the Surface Pro directly to the amplifier. The cable you’ve described that you brought along with the keyboard, the Surface Pro and the Henriksen amplifier must be what you used to connect them. But (as I said in my other, shorter message), it must have gone between the amplifier and the Surface Pro, not between the amplifier and the Casio.

---

¹ Another way would be to use an “insert” cable, if you have one of those. An insert cable has a 1/4" TRS plug on one end and two mono 1/4“ plugs on the other. You would plug the TRS end into one of the MOTU outputs, plug one of the mono plugs into the Henriksen and leave the other not connected to anything... maybe wrap a little tape or plastic around it just to be sure it doesn’t touch anything conductive. Sounds goofy, I know, but it’s a roundabout way of dealing with the unforgiving balanced 1/4" output on the MOTU and the (probably) unbalanced 1/4" input on the Henriksen.

jocar37 wrote:

FWIW I've tried but I don't understand how to separate my quotes of your messages to intersperse comments or questions like you do. so let me just ask some questions.

You say "To play using your Surface Pro, obviously you have to connect the USB rom the Casio to the Surface Pro instead of the studio computer." I have that. It's a USB B jack on the Casio. How do I employ the headphone jack? if I could get sound by plugging a cable into the headphone jack of the Surface, would I plug the other end into the Casio or the Henriksen?  Which one? Which port on whatever the correct device is? What kind of cable would I need?

Would this still require some stereo to mono modifications? I know I didn't mess with that before. So if the Surface hearphone jack is the way to access Pianoteq sounds, this might be what i was doing. I'm thinking I plug the 1/8" into the headphone jack. 

But I don't recall plugging two cables into the Surface. And the USB jack and the headphone jack are on opposite sides of the width of the Surface. This means I would have had to have the Surface laying on its long edge, ie, landscape. The problem:
1. I don't recall the Surface being used in landscape position.
2. I don't recall two cables being connected to the Surface. But I seem to recall plugging a cable into the headphone jack. Does that suggest anything to you?
3. Nothing in my notes or check list indicates it was a two cable setup.

none of this makes any sense.


Coises wrote:
jocar37 wrote:

I use Cantabile as the host for the other VSTs. (Are you familiar with it?)

I have heard of it, but I have no experience with it. It looks quite powerful. I’m sure someone who does use it will be able to tell you how to merge left and right outputs so you can feed a single output to your amplifier; unfortunately, that someone isn’t me.

But I would be happy at this point just to get Pianoteq working through my gig setup with the Henriksen and the Surface, but without the Motu interface, like I had it working before. I understand you don't think that should work, but I am as sure as I can be that I didn't use the Motu with the Casio.

I don’t doubt you that Pianoteq worked on your Surface and you got sound out of the Henricksen without using the MOTU. What I believe is not possible is that you got Pianoteq sound out of something plugged into the Casio. The USB cable from the Casio to your computer (whether it’s the studio or the Surface) carries MIDI from the Casio to the computer, but it cannot carry sound from the computer back to the Casio. Pianoteq runs on the computer, and to get sound out of the computer, whatever will make sound — speakers, amplifier or headphones — must be connected to the computer. That can be a direct connection or it can go through the MOTU; but it can’t go backwards through the Casio.

I'm also confused about what, if anything, I can do with the headphones. Do I need them or shyould I just get a mono to mono cable?

The main reason I wanted you to find the headphones was to verify that you can play piano and get the Pianoteq sound to go through the MOTU. Now we know everything up to that point works. Of course, if you’re just practicing or playing for yourself, you can listen through the headphones. (Depending on how good they are, the headphones might sound better than the Henriksen will.)

Since you don’t have your monitor speakers anymore, if you want to play “out loud” using your studio computer, you’ll need to connect the amplifier to the MOTU. I think that will require a cable you probably don’t already have. There’s more than one way to do it; the type of cable shown in the link I gave earlier is one way.¹

To play using your Surface Pro, obviously you have to connect the USB from the Casio to the Surface Pro instead of the studio computer. Since we already know you didn’t use the MOTU with your Surface Pro, you would need to connect the Surface Pro directly to the amplifier. The cable you’ve described that you brought along with the keyboard, the Surface Pro and the Henriksen amplifier must be what you used to connect them. But (as I said in my other, shorter message), it must have gone between the amplifier and the Surface Pro, not between the amplifier and the Casio.

---

¹ Another way would be to use an “insert” cable, if you have one of those. An insert cable has a 1/4" TRS plug on one end and two mono 1/4“ plugs on the other. You would plug the TRS end into one of the MOTU outputs, plug one of the mono plugs into the Henriksen and leave the other not connected to anything... maybe wrap a little tape or plastic around it just to be sure it doesn’t touch anything conductive. Sounds goofy, I know, but it’s a roundabout way of dealing with the unforgiving balanced 1/4" output on the MOTU and the (probably) unbalanced 1/4" input on the Henriksen.

Reply by Coises

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

jocar37 wrote:

How do I employ the headphone jack? if I could get sound by plugging a cable into the headphone jack of the Surface, would I plug the other end into the Casio or the Henriksen?  Which one? Which port on whatever the correct device is? What kind of cable would I need?

Would this still require some stereo to mono modifications? I know I didn't mess with that before. So if the Surface hearphone jack is the way to access Pianoteq sounds, this might be what i was doing. I'm thinking I plug the 1/8" into the headphone jack.

Using the cable you have, plug the 1/8" into the headphone jack on the Surface and the 1/4" into the Henriksen (the large black combination XLR/phone jack at the top left labeled “INPUT”). Since that’s the cable you already have and know you used, I think that must be what you did.

Start with the volume way down on both the Surface and the Henriksen! The Surface output is much higher than what the Henriksen expects, so try turning up the Surface volume just a tiny bit, then raise the Henriksen volume somewhere around the middle of the range, then carefully raise the Surface volume a bit more if necessary. Once you get a reasonable level of sound, leave the Surface volume alone and adjust with the Henriksen volume.

I haven’t found a reliable reference for this, but according to the AI results when I did a Google search, the Surface 7 will automatically adapt to mono when a mono headphone is plugged in. If (as I suspect but can’t verify) the Henriksen 1/4" input is unbalanced, that would trigger the mono compatible mode. So it is plausible that it “just worked” without you doing anything special.

But I don't recall plugging two cables into the Surface. And the USB jack and the headphone jack are on opposite sides of the width of the Surface. This means I would have had to have the Surface laying on its long edge, ie, landscape. The problem:
1. I don't recall the Surface being used in landscape position.
2. I don't recall two cables being connected to the Surface. But I seem to recall plugging a cable into the headphone jack. Does that suggest anything to you?
3. Nothing in my notes or check list indicates it was a two cable setup.

The Casio CDP-S360 is capable of using a wireless MIDI & audio adaptor. Is it possible that you used that instead of the USB cable?

Reply by Coises

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

jocar37 wrote:

FWIW I've tried but I don't understand how to separate my quotes of your messages to intersperse comments or questions like you do.

No worries. It’s a bit of a pain in the butt. A lot of users don’t bother trying to control formatting in this forum at all. I’m just a stubborn old cuss.

When you go to write a message or a reply, above the entry area at the right side you’ll see where it says “You may use:” and the first link after that says BBCode. The page at that link describes how formatting works in this forum. If you scroll down a bit, you’ll see an explanation of how the quote tag works.

When you start a reply, it has quote tags around the quoted part. What I do is delete the parts I don’t want to quote, then where I want to separate I insert a few blank lines, put a closing quote tag on the first blank line and an opening quote tag on the last one, then type my comments in the space in between:

[quote=...username...]  <== this tag was already there
...quoted text...
[/quote]  <== this I add
...my reply...
[quote]  <== this I add
...more quoted text...
[/quote]  <== this tag was already there
...last reply text...

Then I always check with the Preview reply button. At least half the time I’ve made some mistake.

Reply by jocar37

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Re: Virtual keys play, but no sound

But I don't recall plugging two cables into the Surface. And the USB jack and the headphone jack are on opposite sides of the width of the Surface. This means I would have had to have the Surface laying on its long edge, ie, landscape. The problem:
1. I don't recall the Surface being used in landscape position.
2. I don't recall two cables being connected to the Surface. But I seem to recall plugging a cable into the headphone jack. Does that suggest anything to you?
3. Nothing in my notes or check list indicates it was a two cable setup.

=Coises wrote:

The Casio CDP-S360 is capable of using a wireless MIDI & audio adaptor. Is it possible that you used that instead of the USB cable?

If I understand what you've been trying so hard to explain, it seems I would have needed one cable to send MIDI signals from the Casio to the Surface and another cable to send sound from Pianoteq on the Surface to the Henriksen.
I don't recall having any such device, nor is it referenced in any of my notes or emails. and again, I do think I plugged ONE cable into the headphone jack of the Surface. My gig packing list does reference a 1/4" cable. Perhaps I had a 1/8 adapter on the Surface end. But that still wouldn't make sense - one cable when two are needed?