Topic by Silentman

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Topic: Yamaha P125 and Pianoteq USB Audio/Midi Question

My question is simple,

Can the Yamaha P125 be used as a dedicated audio card, powerful enough to handle a live with pianoteq and ableton projects?

The point is to have only the yamaha p125 as a controller/audio interface and the laptop, with no separate interface.The scenes of Ableton for the live would all turn into wav so as no vst (except Pianoteq and maybe some return fx) should be used to operate smoothly on a 2020 i7 laptop with 16GB ram.

Will it handle Midi and Audio properly?

Thank you.

Merry Christmas

Last edited by Silentman (26-12-2020 18:50)

Reply by Beto-Music

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Re: Yamaha P125 and Pianoteq USB Audio/Midi Question

You can try, using a midi cable or the direct USB connection of P125, and check if your laptop's soundcard handle pianoteq well. But probably you will need ASIO4ALL: http://www.asio4all.org/

Silentman wrote:

My question is simple,

Can the Yamaha P125 be used as a dedicated audio card, powerful enough to handle a live with pianoteq and ableton projects?

The point is to have only the yamaha p125 as a controller/audio interface and the laptop, with no separate interface.The scenes of Ableton for the live would all turn into wav so as no vst (except Pianoteq and maybe some return fx) should be used to operate smoothly on a 2020 i7 laptop with 16GB ram.

Will it handle Midi and Audio properly?

Thank you.

Merry Christmas

Reply by Silentman

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Re: Yamaha P125 and Pianoteq USB Audio/Midi Question

Asio4All troubleshoot with Yamaha Steinberg Driver I think

Reply by Platypus

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Re: Yamaha P125 and Pianoteq USB Audio/Midi Question

I think Silentman's question might have been slightly misunderstood. It seems to me the intent is to use the P-125 as the DAC (sound card) rather than the laptop, which would require an audio cable connection to the P-125.

According to the documentation it should be possible to do so, but only by trying could it be discovered what the internal speakers in the P-125 sound like reproducing Pianoteq, and how well it functions handling both MIDI and Audio simultaneously. In theory it shouldn't be a problem, since that's what an external USB Audio Interface does when it incorporates MIDI.

I had trouble finding the "Computer-related Operations" Manual on Yamaha downloads, but it is archived here:

https://usermanual.wiki/Yamaha/computer...5/html#pf5

Reply by Silentman

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Re: Yamaha P125 and Pianoteq USB Audio/Midi Question

Platypus wrote:

I think Silentman's question might have been slightly misunderstood. It seems to me the intent is to use the P-125 as the DAC (sound card) rather than the laptop, which would require an audio cable connection to the P-125.

According to the documentation it should be possible to do so, but only by trying could it be discovered what the internal speakers in the P-125 sound like reproducing Pianoteq, and how well it functions handling both MIDI and Audio simultaneously. In theory it shouldn't be a problem, since that's what an external USB Audio Interface does when it incorporates MIDI.

I had trouble finding the "Computer-related Operations" Manual on Yamaha downloads, but it is archived here:

https://usermanual.wiki/Yamaha/computer...5/html#pf5

Yes I want to use P-125 as an audio interface, I would like to know if it can handle the processing power for a small music technology setup not something grand.

Last edited by Silentman (27-12-2020 16:19)

Reply by Platypus

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Re: Yamaha P125 and Pianoteq USB Audio/Midi Question

The processing power will be provided by the laptop, so its performance will determine whether Ableton and PianoteQ will perform adequately.

The potential limitations of the P-125 should be firstly the same as any other external USB interface, the only functions operating there are passing MIDI data and acting as a Digital to Analog Converter (DAC). This workload doesn't change depending on the scope of the software creating the sound, so in theory it should operate in a similar way to other USB interfaces, with latency being the main factor it would control.

Secondly, once the DAC has done the conversion, the role of the P-125 will be the same as it performs for its own internal sounds, and how it sounds with PianoteQ will be governed by how well the amplifier and speakers inside the keyboard suit PianoteQ.

I'd expect PianoteQ to show up any inadequacies in terms of output power (volume) and frequency response that the internal sounds are probably not as demanding of.

Reply by Silentman

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Re: Yamaha P125 and Pianoteq USB Audio/Midi Question

Platypus wrote:

The processing power will be provided by the laptop, so its performance will determine whether Ableton and PianoteQ will perform adequately.

The potential limitations of the P-125 should be firstly the same as any other external USB interface, the only functions operating there are passing MIDI data and acting as a Digital to Analog Converter (DAC). This workload doesn't change depending on the scope of the software creating the sound, so in theory it should operate in a similar way to other USB interfaces, with latency being the main factor it would control.

Secondly, once the DAC has done the conversion, the role of the P-125 will be the same as it performs for its own internal sounds, and how it sounds with PianoteQ will be governed by how well the amplifier and speakers inside the keyboard suit PianoteQ.

I'd expect PianoteQ to show up any inadequacies in terms of output power (volume) and frequency response that the internal sounds are probably not as demanding of.

Thank you for the answer, surely the laptop (i7 10th gen DELL, 16GB ram) will handle the main power matters of the project, I will not use Yamaha internal sounds, they will be there only for backup in case the software part fails and finish the show with a plan B scenario of piano only sounds.So I will need its midi capabilities with pianoteq and its audio performance to handle the rest of my audio stuff.Probably with only pianoteq and extra sounds from the ableton itself and not third party plugins, everything should be just fine. Are there any specification of the Yamaha audio interface somewhere to find out?

Reply by Platypus

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Re: Yamaha P125 and Pianoteq USB Audio/Midi Question

I don't find anything in specifications for the P-125, but it's Steinberg technology, so it's going to be the same internals as basic Steinberg USB interfaces. It's possible that its operation is limited to that required for the P-125, e.g maybe 16 bit 44.1 kHz, but even if it is that, it is adequate for operating PianoteQ. Installing the USB driver would reveal what options become available when the interface is chosen.

Reply by Silentman

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Re: Yamaha P125 and Pianoteq USB Audio/Midi Question

Platypus wrote:

I don't find anything in specifications for the P-125, but it's Steinberg technology, so it's going to be the same internals as basic Steinberg USB interfaces. It's possible that its operation is limited to that required for the P-125, e.g maybe 16 bit 44.1 kHz, but even if it is that, it is adequate for operating PianoteQ. Installing the USB driver would reveal what options become available when the interface is chosen.

Thank you for the answers my friend, I will check it asap and reply here for what are the options that I have.

Reply by William C

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Re: Yamaha P125 and Pianoteq USB Audio/Midi Question

I thought I’d just give my experience as I have the same set up.

Pianoteq and most other VSTs sound great through the internal speakers of the Yamaha P-125.  You would of course need to make sure the computer meets specifications for Pianoteq.

I have used Pianoteq both on PC and Mac.  I had a little trouble with glitchy usb audio on Mac due to a troublesome USB 3.0 controller but since realising this I have had no issue.

I am just looking to see at the moment whether I can get even better sounding audio by using external speakers.

Oh yeah just to add that using the Yamaha Asio driver is a must with windows. if I recall I had latency without using ASIO driver  If you’re on Mac then the core audio drivers are fine.

Last edited by William C (22-11-2022 01:57)