How do I use my keyboard's instruments

I’ve had a Kurzweil PCE LE8 for years—it’s a great machine. Now that I’m using GP and Native Instruments in Kontrol, I’m at a loss how I’d play some of the great instruments that already exist right in the Kurzweil. I hope I’m not forced to use it strictly as a keyboard controller. Is it just wishful thinking, or is there actually a way to bring those built-in instruments into GP rackspaces?

Can you set local off on your Kurzweil?

I recall that there is lots of talk about “local” in the manual. It’s likely. Did you mean “shut” it off?

No, with local off the Kurzweil does not react playing the keyboard but reacts on incoming midi notes,
This way you use the keyboard as a controller which sends midi notes to gig performer and from gig performer you send midi out to the kurzweil.
This way you can create keyboard splits in gig performer and mix sounds with plugins and the kurzweil

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Sure - if your audio interface has inputs, just plug your Kurzweil audio outputs into your audio interface and the sounds will appear in the Audio In block in Gig Performer after which you can then route your audio through effects if you want or just send them right out again

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This is sounding really good. So I’ve plugged my Kurzweil’s two phonojack outputs into the low impedance jacks of the interface (the only other inputs there are), but not sure where I’d go from here. I don’t recognize anything in GP’s plugin list. Maybe a reboot?

I forgot to mention that everything is checked in GP’s Audio setup.

Your Kurzweil is not a plugin — it’s just producing audio. That audio will show up in your Audio In block as mentioned earlier.

screenshot_6824

I’m pretty sure that is exactly what I’ve had all along. I play the Kurz strictly as a keyboard controller, feeding GP the information from elsewhere. So the Kurz must already have the local set to OFF, but I will check it nonetheless. In the end, this doesn’t help me to hear the programs in the Kurzweil, which is what I’m looking for.

I just showed you how to bring audio from your Kurzweil into GP!

That said, as far as Local on/off is concerned, you have two choices….

  1. Turn Local to On
  2. Leave it off and route incoming MIDI the Kurzweil back to it via a MIDI Out block
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Thanks, dhj. My last comment was in response to pianopaul. I completely understand that the Kurzweil is not a plugin. I spent time in the Kurzweil’s inner settings, which can definitely be used to turn Local on or off. Now I’m trying to familiarize myself with GP, still trying to find why the keyboard does not appear in the Audio Block. It states “Audio In (Studio USB ASIO Driver)” as it always has, and I can find no way to change it.

Why do you want to change it? What do you mean when you say “the keyboard does not appear in the audio block”?

Well, I’m just trying to make sense of this.

And we’re trying to help but some of your comments are hard to understand – please explain what you meant by the keyboard does not appear in the audio block”

Are you expecting to see something in the audio block?

Or do you just mean that there is no audio coming from the Audio Block?

Perhaps post a screen shot of your wiring view

Yes, I thought you were saying that the keyboard will appear in the Audio Block. Okay, so now I know that it will not.

I’m playing with the Kurzweil’s settings. The transmit is currently set to USBMIDI+MIDI+LOCAL. All the combinations are in there, for example USB+MIDI, LOCAL (only), MIDI (only), and so forth. I’m definitely getting the Kurz programs in GP, but with the caveat that they play alongside of every other rackspace instrument whenever local is included in the transmit settings.

I’ll try to make a GP wiring screenshot, but screenshots are not readily available on this computer. I could snap a phone photo.

To overcome the problem with the selected Kurz instrument playing all the time, I’ve shut off Local transmissions. I guess I’ll pursue the other method which is to route incoming MIDI the Kurzweil back to it via a MIDI Out block.

This is really where I could use some help. I’ll send you a pic of the current wiring.

Assuming the Kurzweil is sending it audio, that audio will appear at the output ports of your Audio In block. You can then wire it to effects plugins or just directly to your audio output block.

The little mixer LEDS at the left of the bottom of the GP window will flash if audio input is detected.

You don’t have to do that … you can simply use a gain/balance control inside the rackspace to mute the Kurzweil when you don’t need it