Getting sound out of computer speakers with a synthesizer

Hi all I am new. Yay! Anyway I finally had my Yamaha MM6 delivered yesterday. Now today I have a bit of a problem. I hooked my synth to my laptop via USB and installed Cubase. Only thing is when I play I can't hear anything through the computer's speakers! I installed the drivers it said to in the book but I am very new to this whole thing so it is probably something simple. Any ideas?

Well the way you have it set up right now, your keyboard is just acting as a MIDI controller - it's not actually transferring any sound data to your computer. If you want sounds the way you've got it set up, you need to load some sound patch in Cubase for the keyboard to control. Then, when you play on the keyboard, it will send the MIDI signals through your USB cable to activate the appropriate sounds from Cubase's loaded patch.

If what you want to hear is the sound of your actual synthesizer's audio banks, then you need to connect it to your computer via an audio cable (into the Line-In port on your soundcard).

Good luck with your new toy

Thanks for the reply! How do you know when cubase is recording? As I said I have it hooked up via USB but they said that was all that was needed to use cubase. When I press a key the out indicator makes some motion but when I try to play it I couldn't hear anything on the computer. Do I need to download this patch to do it and where do I find it? I am such a noob. ^^

You shouldn't need any patch in that sense, no. When I say "patch" I'm referring to the technical term for a "sound". When you play your synth with headphones on, for example, and you can change what sound it makes, each one is called a "patch."

What you should be able to do is load a patch in Cubase. I'm assuming it came with some basic sound libraries? I would read the manual and see what it says on the subject of using your keyboard as a MIDI controller.

If it has none, and you don't have an audio cable to connect it to your computer with, then you're not going to be hearing any sounds, because again, MIDI signals carry no sound, and your cable is a MIDI cable connecting to the computer via USB.

Alright, thanks for the reply and your help! I am going to go and see if I can find a cable.

You're very welcome, good luck!