Getting Yamaha P80 to work

[Jego]

I have my P80 connected to my iMac g5 through the U2MIDI USB Cable-Like Interface however my mac wont recognize they keyboard. It does accept the U2MIDI Interface in the Audio Midi set up but it wont play any sounds.

I read a some stuff online and it seams like many people have problems connecting the P80 to a mac. Does anyone know any trick to get it working.

Would be great, thanks in advance.

 

[nocturne153]

same problem

So far, my attempts to connect my Yamaha P80 to my MacBook have not worked. It can tell there is a MIDI device connected, but can't "hear" any notes. I've downloaded the most current drivers from the Yamaha site, etc. This is making me a little bit crazed with frustration... I'd probably have thrown some machine through a window, but can't decide whether to throw the piano or the Mac. Decisions, decisions....

 

[nocturne153]

What finally worked:

Take the Midi plug with "Out" embossed in the plastic. Plug it into the Midi socket labeled "In" on your digital instrument. The "In" plug goes into the "Out" socket. Don't ask me why: just do it.

I did this, then messed around a bit in
Applications/ Utilities/ Audio and Midi Setup.app.
There is a tantalizing "Test" icon here. I tried it. I was disturbed to hear only a fast "bip-bip-bip" repeating endlessly as though my keyboard was on a timer and about to explode in my techno-dolt face.

It did not explode. I pressed notes on the keyboard - nothing. Frustrating!

But... I went back to GarageBand and for the first time, I could hear a faint keyboard sound when I played my digital piano. It was very faint, so I cranked every one of the thousand or so various volume controls and now have a functioning set up I can hear properly.

I sincerely hope this saves someone else some of the frustration I experienced. I'm going to post this answer in some of the other places I looked, too.

(Another tip: when you're testing this, don't bother playing back a track you've saved inside the digital piano - the Mac still doesn't "hear" those for some reason (don't know why yet), but it will hear fresh notes you press on the keyboard.)

 

[ciraklizer]

It works!!!

Mapping the Midi Out plug with the In socket and In plug with the Out socket did the trick!
Thank you soo much!
Also, make sure you have the "Host select" switch on the left of the P-80 set to "Midi".

Hope this helps someone dedicated to their P-80 (I bought it in 1999, glad to hear it's still being talked about in 2009).

Powerbook G4
OS X 10.4.11
Logic Pro
Yamaha P-80
Yamaha UX16 USB-Midi Interface

 

[ajraccounts]

HI friends, reviving this ancient thread because i have a yamaha p80 (20+ years old! !!!) that i am FINALLY getting around to attempting to connect up to my macbook pro (17-in, early 2011, running OS X 10.11.6).

based on the comments in this thread, i tried buying a "Yamaha UX16 USB-Midi Interface" since "ciraklizer" confirmed they were able to get this sort of a setup running with it, and i figured maybe it's more likely to work especially given all the time that's passed, since it's yamaha.

BUT while a lot of places still have it in their inventory listings, it's not actually in stock anywhere, and the one place that i was able to place an order with, cancelled the order bc it's "backordered indefinitely" (aside, if this just means "not in production anymore", why couldn't they just say???)

SO, i'm wondering: Jego, were you able to get this setup to work with your "U2MIDI USB Cable-Like Interface"?

and nocturne, you were the one who finally figured out how to make this kind of a set up work:

Take the Midi plug with "Out" embossed in the plastic. Plug it into the Midi socket labeled "In" on your digital instrument. The "In" plug goes into the "Out" socket. Don't ask me why: just do it.

what MIDI interface did you use? there seem to be a lot of options out there and i don't want to waste my time / money buying something that doesn't work with the somewhat ancient equipment i have (and none of the music stores are open for me to call and get buying advice! )

 

[chscag]

Welcome to our forums.

Nothing like reviving a "Zombie" thread. You'll be lucky to get a reply from member Jego as it has been 12 years since he posted.

I remember seeing a more recent model Yamaha Keyboard in our local "Guitar Center" store here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area but that has been years ago, probably around 2008-2009. It was hooked up to a Windows machine at the time. Don't know where you're from but you might try the "Guitar Center" chain on line to see if they have what you're looking for.

Guitar Center: Music Instruments, Accessories and Equipment

 

[ajraccounts]

thank you for the welcome! apparently i registered almost a decade ago (for what? maybe for this same issue? i wonder!) but never posted. LOL.

i am very aware that i very well might not get a reply from either jego or nocturne

i've tried calling local music stores (including guitar centers) but they're all completely shut down in my area / not returning calls! <sob>

BUT: i ended up finding the yamaha UX16 USB-midi interface in new condition on ebay (not my pref, but it appeared to be from an actual music shop) so went ahead and purchased it there. <fingers crossed> it works out. if it does i'll be sure to report back

Welcome to our forums.

Nothing like reviving a "Zombie" thread. You'll be lucky to get a reply from member Jego as it has been 12 years since he posted.

I remember seeing a more recent model Yamaha Keyboard in our local "Guitar Center" store here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area but that has been years ago, probably around 2008-2009. It was hooked up to a Windows machine at the time. Don't know where you're from but you might try the "Guitar Center" chain on line to see if they have what you're looking for.

Guitar Center: Music Instruments, Accessories and Equipment