Connecting Roland KR107 to mac

[Miket123]

Hi All

Newbie here - my friend has a Roland KR107 and we would like to be able to record directly into GarageBand. I guess we need to download the latest Roland drivers for Mac first and then connect via USB B cable to the iMac. I think the iMac is fairly recent, probably 2015 or so - will have to check if this is relevant to the issue.

Is it as simple as this, or are there likely to be further things required before the connection is made.
Please excuse the simplicity of this question for some of you, but I am very new to midi and GarageBand

Many thanks for any help you can give

Cheers
Mike

[User Name USA]

A quick lookup of the Roland piano tells you this info:

Three USB ports are built into the KR-107. One port is dedicated as USB-MIDI interface, providing convenient communication between the KR-107 and computers.

Another port is provided for storing and loading songs, Standard MIDI Files, audio (.WAV files), notation, and more via optional USB Flash Memory.

The third port is for use with Roland’s optional USB-equipped FD-01A floppy disk drive.

So yes, a suitable USB cable plugged into the piano and the other into your iMac should then provide the KR-107 as an input instrument within GarageBand.

[Miket123]

Thanks for that reply - so I previously connected using the USB B cable to my macbook air before installing the driver didn't seem to change anything in GarageBand.

So next question - if I install the driver, and connect up my macbook air, where will the KR107 appear in GB so I know it's connected?

Is it as simple as making a new track as a Midi one and then looking in the list of instruments and will it appear as a Roland piano in the piano section?

Sorry if I'm not asking the right questions, but it's a bit of a mystery to me atm

Many thanks
Mike

[Miket123]

The only driver on the Roland site is for use with Mac OS 10.8
Will this still work with Mac OS 10.14.6 ie Mojave?

Thanks for any help with this
Cheers
Mike

[Miket123]

Just tried to install the driver and it's not compatible with my Mac OS version.
Does anyone know of any generic drivers or other workarounds out there, please

Cheers
Mike

[Hugh Robjohns]

my friend has a Roland KR107 and we would like to be able to record directly into GarageBand.

You can't record audio from the Roland piano over USB, only MIDI control data. So you could use the Roland piano to control virtual instrument plugins within Garbagebland. It appears to need to install a dedicated USB-MIDI driver in your Mac to access this functionality.... but as the last downloadable version is 10.8 you will need to contact Roland directly to see if there's a workaround for a more modern OS.

The alternative would be to use the MIDI DIN output socket and connect that to a generic MIDI-USB converter which are widely available.

But if you want to record the actual audio from the piano itself you'll need to connect an audio interface to the macbook and plug the line outputs at the back of the piano into the line inputs of the interface.

[Miket123]

That's really helpful information, thanks.

So if I connect using a couple of 6.35mm jack leads from the Roland line out sockets into an audio interface and then connect via USB from the audio interface to the Macbook Air, I should be able to record directly into GarageBand?

Please let me know if this might work, as that would be amazing
Cheers
Mike

[Hugh Robjohns]

Yep. If its the audio you want to record.

If you get an interface that also has midi sockets you can record and playback midi control data too, and use it to control any virtual instruments.

[Miket123]

Thanks for that, Hugh.
I will get a couple of leads. and see how it goes. I do like the idea of using the keyboard to control the instruments in GB, but I guess the Roland has way more scope than GB, so perhaps just recording instruments straight through to GB would be easiest route atm.
If I am missing something, could you recommend a audio interface with midi sockets and my quick search didn't turn up anything.
Cheers
Mike

[Hugh Robjohns]

There are lots... but the Focusrite 4i4 would be one option at around £200.

[Miket123]

Thanks again, Hugh - really helpful.

I did have a look at my friend's piano today and found her connections match this pic in the manual of the connections block and the only 6.35mm jack sockets are the headphone ones.



Could I connect to an audio interface using these outputs, or are there others somewhere else? I did have a look but found nothing and would be surprised if there were any at the back as this unit is very heavy to move.
The user guide suggests using I/O sockets, but whether this is a generic pic, I'm not sure - they don't seem to relate to the unit itself.



Many thanks for any advice you can give
Mike

[Guest]

Looking at the manual there are 3 panels, I would have a look all round it and find the rear panel, unfortunately probably at the back.

Page 16 https://static.roland.com/assets/media/ ... pdf#page16

[Miket123]

Thanks for that info
I did scroll down a bit further on the manual and found another panel listed, so I will have to have another look tomorrow when I visit. Hopefully, it's at the front, but I must have missed it.



Cheers
Mike

[Miket123]

I did finally find this panel at the back of the unit.



and I managed to connect up my Alesis Multimix 4 with a mono guitar jack lead and voilà - it recorded straight into GarageBand as you suggested, so that's a great result

Now I presume the lead I need to recommend has two jack leads one end and need to be TS ie mono ones and the single jack at the other end needs to be a TRS ie stereo one.
I have a similar cable but with a 3mm stereo end, so the jacks need to look the same ends as this?



I also wanted to find out if the two mono jacks are available in 90° ones as there is limited space behind the piano.
If you have any recommendations, please let me know, thanks.

I am going to recommend a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Gen 3 or 2 audio interface (which one is best for this job?) and I assume the stereo end will fit ok into this unit as it seems to be a universal socket for XLR as well.

Is there a better alternative for a beginner unit which is BUS driven like the 2i2?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm trying to help someone sort this tech issue and all your help has been great so far.

Many thanks again
Cheers
Mike

[Drew Stephenson]

The Scarlett 2i2 is fine but those sockets on the front are mono, balanced inputs. Plugging a stereo unbalanced source in there will not work properly. You'd need to use both sockets and match the levels.
Hence Hugh's suggestion of the 4i4 as that has a proper pair of line inputs.

[Miket123]

Ok, thanks for that info.

Would you happen to know if there would be any limitation to using a mono to mono lead and the 2i2 instead of stereo to twin monos and 4i4 as I wouldn't want to limit what the Roland piano could do?

Cheers
Mike

[Miket123]

Thanks - I will pass on that info

Cheers
Mike