Roland keyboard

[SharonRolandA80]

Hi this is my first post and I need help . I am a piano player and have been given some old gear , a Roland A80 Midi Controller and Yamaha MU90R synthesiser and I havent got a clue how to make it work but have been told its a good piano keyboard . So far have got power to the keyboard and it all lights up , also the synth module which also lights up , connected a midi lead from output 1 on the Roland to the Midi input A on the Yamaha , then connected a single jack into output (L/Mono) lead through a phono plug into a 50W amplifier and speaker . The amp and speaker works fine , the jack lead was checked by someone who said they knew about electricity and said it was OK but I cant get any sounds out , sorry if this is a bit basic , I was just hoping it would make a sound like a piano , obviously a lot more to all this stuff than I realised, will the boxes I have all really work together ? Sharon

[Synthaholic]

1. Make sure the MIDI OUT on the keyboard is connected to the MIDI IN on the synth.
2. Make sure both units are set to the same MIDI channel. You may have to poke around in the menus to check/set this.
3. Does the MU90R have a volume control? Turn it up.
4. Both Yamaha and Roland have owner's manuals available on the web, download them and give them a look through.

Do you have any other MIDI gear you can test with these pieces? e.g. another keyboard/another synth?

[Yoozer]

will the boxes I have all really work together ? Sharon

Yes, and from what you've said you've connected everything correctly, so it should be in the settings. If you were given old gear, it means that someone else might've changed (as mentioned already) the settings. See if you can do a factory reset.

The manuals can be found here:

Roland: http://backstage.rolandus.com/login.php
Yamaha: http://www.yamaha.co.jp/manual/english/index.php

[Z]

The A-80 (and A-50) has 4 MIDI outs making it a powerful controller keyboard. Both Synthaholic & Yoozer gave great advice. Download the manual and make sure the Roland is configured to transmit note information for all 88 keys on the correct MIDI channel and MIDI port (whichever MIDI out you're using on the A-80).

The A-80 will be a bit overwhelming to use at first because of all its capabilities.

Congratulations on a great master controller - they don't make them like that anymore. You may also find the LCD backlight may be dim or burned out. A member here (HideawayStudios) posted a thread about replacing backlights that you might want to check out.

Best of luck!

[SharonRolandA80]

Thanks everyone for the replies and as a result have got some sounds , not great sounds but at least its something to work on so I am happy . I made the mistake of thinking this gear was intuitive in operation but its not , you really cant just guess how to make it work so the manuals are a great help . The piano sound from the Yamaha isnt great but thats probably my fault not getting the right settings yet and I really need to get better speakers as the set up I have cant handle the low end , the manual says that the MU90R is 1997 ' vintage' and I have been looking at Roland 1080 and 2080 synths which I think are a few years older than the Yamaha and are still rack mounting but twice the height , do you think the older Roland synths would make better sounds ? thanks Sharon

[Z]

I'm a big fan of Roland's products. Their JV series is decent, the XV & Fantom series are great. What kind of sounds are you looking for?

[SharonRolandA80]

Hi Z , I am looking for a really strong deep grand piano sound to start with , that would keep me occupied for a good length of time then would want to explore some of the other stuff . I had considered just going for a decent spec electric piano but then the A80 and Yamaha synth came along and I had imagined that this had to be capable of making the sound I want but now I am not sure if it can do it but for sure I have not got past the basic settings yet . At least as you say I can see that the A80 is a very comprehensive controller and its got the piano weighted key feel that I can play so maybe I should look at a better synth .