Digital pianos and mobile devices – a combination that has become increasingly important in recent years. Whether iPad & Co. or music computer – the USB MIDI/Audio function is the simplest and most reliable connection between electric pianos and external devices.
Digital transmission of audio and MIDI data over USB is familiar from the audio interfaces you connect to your computer via USB. These provide a connection to the outside world and allow you to connect microphones, electric guitars, or MIDI instruments. In principle, USB MIDI/Audio on electric pianos works the same way, however, the purpose here is different.
The USB MIDI/Audio function on a digital piano allows full integration of music computers or mobile devices via a single USB cable. That means: USB MIDI lets you use the piano to control an application on a mobile device (e.g. Korg Module Pro), which in turn sends its sound back to the electric piano via USB Audio.
An electric piano with USB MIDI/Audio does not require additional accessories such as audio cables or mixing consoles (as required for electric pianos with only USB MIDI), but it does require an OTG adapter! This is important for the USB connection between the mobile device and the piano.
As this is a relatively new trend, manufacturers release new models featuring USB MIDI/Audio all the time. Yamaha digital pianos have offered this convenient feature for a while now. Examples include the current Clavinova and Arius models, the Yamaha P-515, the new P-145 and P-225 portable pianos, and even the smallest NP-35 Piaggero keyboard. Other USB MIDI/Audio-capable models would be portable pianos from Korg (Liano, B2), the Thomann SP-120, and stage pianos from Studiologic and Viscount.
→ You can find an overview of the current models on our landing page at Thomann.*
Digital pianos with USB MIDI/Audio make it easy to use an iPad as a sound source for live performances. If you want to use piano apps like Korg Module Pro, Modartt Pianoteq 8, or e-Instruments Pure Piano for gigs, you can choose from a variety of designs and price points.
Here are five examples of digital pianos that we find particularly interesting in the context of USB MIDI/Audio.
The compact body and the (easy-to-play) semi-weighted keyboard make the Korg Liano a particularly lightweight stage piano (approx. 6 kg). If mobility is a priority, this is the 88-key stage piano for you.
Pros and Cons
...a tip for anyone who wants to practice the piano or take online lessons while on the go, or needs an extremely compact and lightweight electric piano for rehearsal, small gigs and live jams.
Liano : 310,00 €
TO THE OFFERIf you prefer a weighted hammer-action keyboard, look no further than this portable piano from Korg. The minimalist sound equipment even suggests adding sounds from a piano app.
The USB audio/MIDI functionality makes the Korg B2 a flexible digital piano for beginners and entry-level players who also want to learn and play the piano in connection with a smartphone or tablet.
Do you want a slightly smaller keyboard and a more compact case? The Thomann SP-120 is very comfortable to play despite its semi-weighted keys and has a powerful sound system. Recommended for anyone looking for a lightweight and compact portable piano.
Pros and Cons
The only compromise made with the Thomann SP-120 concerns the playing feel of the semi-weighted keyboard. The resulting low weight, however, makes the SP-120 the ideal mini piano for traveling.
SP-120 : 169,00 €
TO THE OFFERThis portable piano offers the most comprehensive features of this selection and generally features one of the best keyboards in its price range.
Pros and Cons
Great features at an attractive price make the smaller model of the new FP-"X" Series a powerful stage piano both for home and mobile use. The FP-30X's modern features include MIDI and Audio Bluetooth and USB connections, a greatly expanded sound generation, new speaker settings, and app connectivity for iOS and Android devices. The keyboard and piano sounds are impressive, as is the sound selection.
A professional stage piano with MIDI keyboard features, the Studiologic Numa X comes with many great sounds and effects. USB MIDI/Audio allows connections to mobile devices. The Studiologic Numa X is available in several different keyboard versions.
The range of functions is just as impressive as the consistently lively and powerful 200 internal sounds.
Numa X Piano 88 : 1.219,00 €
TO THE OFFERNuma X Piano GT : 1.619,00 €
TO THE OFFERNuma X Piano 73 : 1.019,00 €
TO THE OFFERLearning the piano with a piano app, playing along to audio songs, taking online piano lessons, making music with a DAW app, or using your iPad as a piano module – all of these things are possible with USB MIDI alone. By now almost all digital pianos have this feature – so what’s the problem?
Problem #1
When you connect an electric piano to mobile devices via USB MIDI, you are working with two separate audio systems: While you hear the electric piano through its built-in speakers or headphones, the piano app plays through the speakers or headphones connected to the iPad.
As you can see, this calls for mixing two separate audio signals. You can connect the iPad and the digital piano to a mixer, or you can connect the audio output of the iPad to the audio input of the digital piano. With these connection options come the next problems…
If you have a digital piano with USB MIDI/Audio capability, you can save yourself all that cable clutter and money on accessories. If your piano only has USB MIDI as well as an audio input, the “dimode” stereo DI unit by Millenium is a good choice.
Connecting an electric piano to an iPad is very easy using the USB MIDI/Audio function. Here are a few technical details that may be helpful depending on your equipment.
The USB cable connection is in contrast to the wireless Bluetooth connection – the easiest option if you just want to use a remote piano app or play along to a song. Here, either MIDI or audio data is used – Bluetooth is great in that case.
However, if you want to use audio and MIDI simultaneously, a USB connection is required. The reason behind this is that the Bluetooth audio stream is always slightly delayed. This latency is too great to harmonize MIDI and audio.
MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. It is a standardized interface that was agreed upon by a committee of musical instrument manufacturers in the 1980s. The purpose of MIDI is to connect musical instruments within a network. This makes it possible to trigger the sequencer of a DAW program or, for example, a music notation program via a synthesizer or electric piano – and vice versa.
MIDI only carries control information – which keys are being played, for how long, and at what velocity. However, control panel information such as sound selection and other functions such as pedals, etc. are also transmitted via the MIDI protocol. These functions are listed as standardized information and are called Program Change, Pitch Bend, or Continuous Controller (Volume, Expression, Timbre, Sustain, etc.).
Originally, a MIDI connection was established via a MIDI cable, recognizable by the round five-pin DIN connectors. However, these MIDI connections have been almost completely replaced by USB connections. USB can technically do even more, but almost all electric pianos use the USB port for the USB-MIDI connection.
Piano remote apps use the MIDI protocol to remotely control the piano and its functions via a touch screen. MIDI data is not very data-intensive and is transmitted very quickly over USB-MIDI – virtually latency-free.
The transfer of digital audio information is well-known from USB audio interfaces. In principle, this requires a driver architecture, but this is not necessary for electric pianos with USB MIDI/Audio functionality. It is the same as with audio interfaces that meet the “class-compliant” standard and are immediately supported by the operating system via Plug&Play.
USB can be found on every electric piano today. Some models even come with two USB ports:
The acronym stands for Direct Injection. A DI unit is a small accessory used in recording studios to convert unbalanced signals into balanced signals. The signal is converted through a transformer that galvanically isolates the circuits. This eliminates ground-loop hums, such as those caused by interconnected devices with separate power supplies.
When you use mobile devices or computers in conjunction with electric pianos or mixing consoles, noise can occur as there may be multiple power adaptors. There are active and passive DI boxes. Passive DI boxes do not need a power source of their own and usually result in a lowered output level (which the mixing console compensates for with the head amplifier). Active DI boxes have an internal amplifier circuit and deliver a better output level. A 2-channel DI box is required to transmit the stereophonic audio signal from mobile devices.
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