audio interface connection to usb keyboard

Hi Waynebrain!

Ok, this is how you would do it:

First, get a USB audio interface. There are some very good ones to choose from in our Best Audio Interface guide.

To use your Yamaha PSR 295 keyboard as a MIDI controller keyboard, you just hook up the USB on it straight to your laptop USB port. You don't really need to go through the interface for that. Same thing with a Launchpad, connect it via USB straight to your laptop.

When you want to plug in a mic, you would plug it into your audio interface via XLR connection. If you want to use studio monitors, you would also plug those into the interface (the interface will have L&R monitor outs, preferably balanced 1/4" connection or XLR). Same thing with headphones, plug those into your interface.

And to be clear, you interface plugs into your laptop via USB. If you're running out of USB ports, you might want a USB hub to expand the number of ports you have available.

I hope this helps but if you have more questions just ask!

Akai Professional LPD8 - that is a fun and functional little controller, and you get drum/sample pads and some knobs. This will allow to tweak knobs and control parameters in a software synth, like Sylenth1 or Serum for example. Mixing and mastering... I'm not so sure that it will benefit you for that at all. Remember, it's JUST a controller - it's made to control other things. By itself, it doesn't make any sound, or have any effects or anything.

I can't help you with the many Launchpad models as it has been a while since I've gone through all their features. Again, that's a MIDI controller and you use all those knobs and buttons to control stuff in software. You can perform with it too, like Madeon does.

Focusrite makes some great interfaces that are both quality and budget-friendly. The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (2nd gen) is great.

For sampling real life sounds, yeah a phone recorder is good to get you started.

If your laptop specs are decent I don't think you'll have too much of a problem with latency but I guess you never know, depends on a lot of things.

Tell me this - what's your goal? Producing electronic music? Making hip hop? Performing live? Who are some of the artists you want to be like, that you look up to for inspiration? Maybe knowing some of that stuff would help people be able to steer you in the right direction :)

yes he's sure, USB has been slowly replacing the old multi-pin (9, right?) MIDI connection I grew up with, at least for computer use... hell, even my current production Moog analog monosynth has a multi-purpose USB port. Most modern instruments give you the option of sending at least MIDI data and maybe digital audio (assuming its not just a controller and has a sound engine) via USB.

if you want some good all around studio monitors that also make fun hifi speakers for listening LOUD I would try ebay and see if I could get a set of used 3-way Yamahas from the 80s/90s NS range. They will have a model prefix of NS or ANS... you will see a lot of NS-10s used but these are not a good all arounder and in 2 way passive monitors I prefer Tannoys (I own both and while the NS-10 is for some reason the studio standard the Tannoys are really a better NS-10 in so many ways)... in Yamahas you want a passive speaker with dedicted bass and midrange drivers for it to do double duty as a monitor and hifi speaker and for flatter response I would recommend non-ported varieties as the ported ones have really hyped bass... these can be had cheaply and are great but you will need an amp to power them so don't bother unless you have a good source of stereo amplification.

In powered monitors Yamaha owns the budget nearfield market too, though this wasn't always the case. If you are buying new just go Yami. If you wanna buy used I recommend some of the discontinued Event monitors. They are affordable and fly WAY under the radar though they were extremely popular when they came out a decade ago. They weren't cheap at the time but can be very affordable secondhand. The Tuned Reference series sound the best and are also pretty accurate (the bigger the better, of course), however the earlier models are pretty darned good too. KRKs are popular and affordable powered speakers too, but I have never been impressed by them. You tend to get what you pay for, especially in brand new speakers.