Casio CTK-900 MIDI software

[beresford]

Is there anyone out there who can throw any light on this long outstanding operational problem?

Software from Casio downloaded & installed. It starts up. No MIDI contact IN or OUT
Response is always "MIDI TIME-OUT"

Keyboard operates when MIDI connected back to back with a Yamaha keyboard suggesting hardware is OK. This is so in both directions. Each will play the other.

I am running a Pentium 4 PC with 3.5GB of RAM and 150GB of free hard drive.

Installed USB hardware and drivers. Two types actually. The first, the one that seems to work, has a USB plug and two MIDI (DIN) plugs marked IN & OUT.
Downloaded & installed Casio driver, though unable to see it in the DEVICE MANAGER.
Appears as MIDI device OUT 1 & 2 but just IN 1. Tried all possible selections.

Downloaded & installed drivers for USB M-Audio Audiosport Quattro as well. No confirmed USB operation but appears in list of MIDI IN/OUT devices to choose from.

Now after a long struggle I have downloaded MIDI-OX which does give some hope! I can see outputs from the keyboard if I press keys (notes) "Not on" & "Note off"messages
I can transmit a MIDI file with the player and the Casio will play it albeit a bit slow & weird but very recognizably. To do this I must reverse the IN-OUT MIDI leads so that they match! This flies in the face of all perceived wisdom that I have read which says they should cross-over. When I do this there is flickering of both Green & Yellow tell-tale LEDs on the device during the data exchanges.

But what can't I get is the Casio software to communicate with the keyboard at all. If I could do that I would be able to up-load (to PC) its memory as a back-up for all the various custom settings that I have made AND also download (from PC) new additional Tones & Rhythms.

I have tried to contact Casio but they merely recommend their forums. There is nothing useful there that I can find.

Does anyone have experience of this or ideas that would help me please?

In anticipation

Beresford

[allegro]

Hi there Beresford, am a korg user so dont know anything about casio, but midi is midi so should all work the same. First of all, all your keyboards should have midi map facilities which allows you to set which channels transmit and which receive and should be connected, midi in to midi out on both keyboards "ie handshake",so for example keyboard A midi out to keyboard B midi in, and keyboard B midi out to keyboard A midi in then you set which of the 16 channels you want to transmit and receive to,and all internal clocks set to internal ON. Now not knowing your set up if you are only running two midi devices then you should have no problem, but if any of your other equipment is a midi device then you will need a midi merge unit as midi can only handle two midi signals at once. Hope this is of help but without seeing your set up its difficult to say what the problem is. If i can be of any futher help then let me know
cheers allegro

[beresford]

Very kind of you to take an interest. I wonder if it is the channel allocation/selection that you mention which causes the problem. I will look into that next. Thanks.

[freeway]

Hi Beresford .....sounds like a driver issue have you got the latest drivers installed XP/Vista/Win 7 etc.......Im surprised Casio don't sort this out for you but if all else fails you could try the Yamaha Forum I know yours is Casio but theyre a brilliant group of guys over there and ever so helpful Im sure they'd help you out you might even find a solution by just searching through the posts .......anything you need to know about keyboards they got all the answers ... don't think it really matters what make of kb you got as allegro rightly says midi is midi....anyway here's the link best of luck...........regards

Barry

www.psrtutorial.com/forum/

[beresford]

Good idea that. Thanks Freeway

[allegro]

Beresford, I assumed that you had checked the basics before you posted.

regards Allegro