My First Post: Can't Hear My Oxygen 8 Options

[kidliquid]

Thanks for all the input.
FYI I'm on a beige 266 G3 running 9.2.2
I installed OMS according to the manual that came with the unit. Then I installed KeyStation which supposedly (according to the manual) put two keystation extensions in my extensions folder (which it didn't). Then I ran OMS, it searched for the keyboard and found a keystation connection, but according to the manual it should have found oxygen 8, but what I got was an icon with a keyboard that had a question mark over it. Test midi, however, gave me "midi recieved" in a pleasant female voice, so I figured I was in business.
Then I ran protools free, inserted a midi track, and when I played on the keyboard I could see the green sound bar jumping up and down, but no sound was coming out of the speakers. I'm getting a clearer idea from all your help as to why this was happening.
Last night I ran Reason again and got some feedback, but I think it's going to take a ton of fiddling around before I'm really comfortable with it.

[Synthetic]

you will never hear anything in PT Free unless you connect a sound module via midi to your computer or run a soft synth or sampler that will work with PT Free. ProTools doesn't produce sound... it justs records it and midi data and allows you to edit the midi data or audio waveforms. You could create tracks in Reason and then save them as .aiff files to be pulled into ProTools for further editing and such but I wouldn't bother with PT Free and your Oxy8.

In OMS... keystation is the name of the driver your Oxy8 uses and you never see Oxygen 8 per say. The keyboard icon with question mark is just a generic icon and you can actually manually change it and the name if you wanted but its not really needed. As long as you get the female voice saying midi received then you are in business. Now it seems you need to look into purchasing a soft synth such as the Reason app or another to really get the most of the Oxy8.

[Bonitap]

If I were you, I would return the Oxygen and go to another store to buy a MIDI keyboard with sounds and amplifers on board. My first keyboards were Casio and Yamaha -- the Yamaha PSR series is pretty good for the price. There are 5 or 6 available, each a bit more involved as the series' number increases. And it's possible to find some at non-music stores. (But a trusted music shop with knowledgable, honest people is the best way to go.) Having amps already in a keyboard can make life easier so you don't need to have or haul amps with you.

Be sure to read the manuals for software. And then read them again as you sit atg the 'board to work through the instructions. Most of the time they are helpful. If you are a MIDI novice, go to the library for books or search online for MIDI tutorials.

Some keyboards come with software -- full versions of sequencing programs. It's already 12 years ago that I bought an entry-level, inexpensive but just fine sequencer app called MusicShop. When I moved up to a Yamaha PSR 510, it included FreeStyle by Mark of the Unicorn (MOTU) which is a step-up from MusicShop in its capabilities. I like FreeStyle though I've just moved up to eMagic Logic which is more professional with many more features. But FreeStyle has been good to me.

Keep in mind that you have a Mac with USB. If the keyboard you get is USB, you'd get away without needing a MIDI interface to connect it to the Mac. Not all keyboards have been made for USB but still are serial. So you'd need a serial MIDI interface for the keyboard to communicate with the Mac. And if your Mac has no serial ports anymore, there are serial adapters for USB Macs.

Be sure to take your time getting into MIDI. It takes commitment to begin to understand the INs and OUTs, so to speak. There won't be online tutors who can spend the energy and time with you that you need to dedicate to the learning process yourself.

But it all surely can be worth the investment of time and a couple of hundred dollars (and up!) to be able to express yourself musically and to be able to share it through recordings.

Bonnie