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With RMS Keyboards, chances are very good that you or someone you know already has most of the equipment you need. For a comprehensive list, please read the following article:
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RMS Keyboards allows you to connect several MIDI keyboards to a single computer. However, your ability to do this effectively depends on the computer you are using.
The program can be implemented in a wide variety of ways using a wide variety of equipment. Your particular configuration may impact your use. For example, a slower computer with less memory may only be able to handle a single keyboard part, while a more powerful computer may be able to run three keyboards with room to spare. Before purchasing a license, please use the free trial version to test your particular implementation. This way you'll know ahead of time how your existing gear can work or whether you'll need something more.
The answer to this question is very specific to the type of audio interface you have, and where you want the sound to go. The best person to ask for assistance on this is your theater technician, or a pro-audio savvy musician.
The following article will help you make the most of your RMS Keyboards experience:
What You Need To Run RMS Keyboards.
Yes, absolutely.
It is possible to run the audio out of the headphone jack on your computer into a mixer. For that, you might need something like this:
Hosa Stereo Mini (3.5mm) Male to Mono ¼” Male cable
The cable plugs into the headphone jack on your computer on one end, and into the front of the DI box on the other end. You can then use an XLR cable from the other side of the DI box to plug into your sound system. The attenuation knob on the DI box gives you some control over the level coming out of the computer. Your theater sound technician should be able to help with this setup.
If you are only running into an amp sitting next to your Keyboards setup, you can use the single 3.5mm stereo to ¼” stereo cable to plug straight from the computer into an amp. This is the most inexpensive setup for RMS Keyboards, assuming you have the MIDI keyboard and a keyboard amp.
In addition, if you are on a Windows PC, we highly recommend using a free ASIO audio driver such as ASIO4ALL. This driver will allow the computer to process the sounds coming out of RMS Keyboards in a more efficient manner. ASIO4ALL can be downloaded at http://www.asio4all.com/. Be sure to select “ASIO4ALL” when running the RMS Keyboards setup wizard.
To free up the computer CPU and RAM, and to insure that ASIO4ALL gets a “lock” on the audio driver, close all other running programs before using RMS Keyboards in a performance setting! This includes any program running “minimized” or in the taskbar. It is also a good idea to turn off any wireless or Bluetooth adapters.
Higher quality of audio
For a truly professional level of sound quality from RMS Keyboards, using an audio interface is a great idea.
The interface may also allow you more control over your mix, with the ability to separate out keyboard 1 from keyboard 2 and so forth. With a headphone mix, all the instruments being played through RMS Keyboards come out in a single stereo mix.
More sophisticated mix
Many RMS Keyboard patches are comprised of several layers. With a computer by itself, you usually get the layers together as a singel stereo signal. But since most audio interfaces have multiple outputs, you can route sounds separately, where they can be mixed and/or processed individually.
Lower CPU load
Without an audio interface, all of the processing power for rendering the audio comes from the computer’s CPU and will be fighting against all the other programs and processes running on the computer.
Stability
Tied in with the point above, putting less demands on your computer CPU results in higher computer stability when running RMS Keyboards. It’s a very straightforward trade-off.
Lower latency
For RMS Keyboards, latency can be defined as the amount of time that passes between pushing a key on the MIDI controller, and hearing the note out of your sound system. Low latencies (under 30 ms or so) will produce sounds quickly enough to be transparent to the keyboard player. Higher latencies will start to feel sluggish to the keyboard player, and the music will drag.
Using an interface guarantees latency to be in the “transparent” range.
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If you need any assistance whatsoever, don’t hesitate to call Realtime Music Solutions at 212-620-0774 and we can help you with your specific setup.
Yes, patch and/or song changes can be assigned to a programmable footswitch pedal. The trick of it is to program the footswitch to send a MIDI note-on message and then assign that same message to the given control. For example, you would probably want to choose a note that is outside of your keyboard's range:
- MIDI notes 0-20 are below the lowest A of a full-size keyboard.
- MIDI notes 109-127 are above the highest C of a full-size keyboard.
If you program your footswitch to send MIDI note 0 and likewise set Next Setup to respond to MIDI note 0, you will then be able to advance set-ups from the footswitch.
Call us for further details or setup instructions.
The audio or MIDI equipment that you are using must be installed and connected before launching RMS Keyboards.
Make sure you are double-clicking on the RMS Keyboards program icon, and not running the installer again. If you are asked to go through multiple steps to access the program, you are running the installer - and this would continually overwrite your licensing information. The program icon is a pictured below.
RMS Keyboards will only work from the account you install it on. To use it on a different account, you'll need to log into that account and reinstall the program.
RMS Keyboards unlock codes are specific to each computer. You need to request a separate unlock code (at no additional charge) for each computer you wish to use. Your licemse allows you to install the program on as many computers as there are keyboard parts in the show, plus one more for back up.
If you leave the RMS Keyboards program running a very long time (like leaving it on overnight), the samples can become corrupted in the memory. This will cause them to play back incorrectly and sound wrong.
The easy solution for this is to quit out of the RMS Keyboards program when you are not using it- for example, quit out of the program after you have finished the show, and relaunch it when you're ready to start the sound check for your next performance. This will ensure that the samples in memory are fresh and not corrupted.
WINDOWS SYSTEMS: Some sound cards come with drivers which do not support the full capabilities of RMS Keyboards. If you launch RMS Keyboards, and you find the sound is especially distorted or echo-y, you may need to install a (free) audio driver which will ensure better communication with RMS Keyboards:
Be sure to select "ASIO4ALL" when running the RMS Keyboards setup wizard, or by choosing it in the Audio section of the Preferences window.
There is a setting within RMS Keyboards that can be changed which may help you with this. Go to the Preferences window (under the RMS Keyboards menu on a Mac, or under the Tools menu on Windows) and click on the preference for Audio.
There is a setting called Buffer Size, set to 512 by default. The lower this buffer size is, the less delay (called latency) there will be between playing a note on your MIDi keyboard and hearing the sound from your computer. Try lowering this setting and seeing if it helps. Note, however, that the lower this setting is, the faster your computer will need to be in order to process this information properly.
WINDOWS SYSTEMS: If you cannot change the buffer size, or if changing the buffer size doesn't help much, then you may need to download an additional driver for processing audio. This (free) driver can be found here:
Be sure to select "ASIO4ALL" when running the RMS Keyboards setup wizard, or by choosing it in the Audio section of the Preferences window.
Most likely, the reason for this is that the sound samples did not load completely. Be sure to allow the RMS SampleSync utility to run after your initial installation. If you stopped RMS SampleSync before it finished, you can restart it by selecting "Run SampleSync" from the Tools menu. Note: The sample library is large and can take a long time to download. Feel free to contact us to request a free DVD installation. Depending on your Internet service and/or tolerance for lengthy downloads, this may be a better way to install everything.
Some of the less expensive Windows computers come with sound cards which may not provide sufficient drivers for RMS Keyboards to work with them. If the only sound card you have is the default sound card that came with your computer, you may need to download this free ASIO driver to make the sound card work with RMS Keyboards:
ASIO4ALL
Be sure to select “ASIO4ALL” when running the RMS Keyboards setup wizard.
The most common reason for this scenario is compromised power. Here are some rules to follow for setting up a computer in a theater:
- Computers should always be on dedicated power. This means that the RMS Keyboards computers should not be on the same circuit as any other pit or theater devices, including stand lights.
- If your computer is plugged into a power strip, do not have any other devices plugged into the same power strip.
- NEVER plug your computer into the same circuit as any lighting or other devices controlled by a dimmer. If you do, you can destroy your computer equipment.
- Dedicated power means more than just an outlet in the wall with nothing else plugged into it. That wall outlet may be part of the same circuit as your lighting (or other) devices, in which case you will not have remedied the above problem.
- When in doubt, speak to your theater's electricians before plugging things in.
In addition to these power tips, here are some more things you can do to prevent crashes:
- Turn off any anti-virus similar programs before launching RMS Keyboards. We have found that some anti-virus programs can interfere with how RMS Keyboards works.
- Turn off any wireless internet or other wireless devices with your computer. You do not need an active internet connection to run RMS Keyboards.
- Quit out of all other programs before starting RMS Keyboards, and do not connect anything to your computer that you do not need for your performances.
Some Windows machines are missing a certain file called "vcredist_x86". This file must then be installed manually by locating, and then double clicking it.
- On Windows XP machines, this file is located at C:/Program Files/RMS Keyboards/vcreditst_x86.exe.
- On Windows 7 machines, the file is located at C:/Program Files (x86)/RMS Keyboards/vcredist_x86.
- Or you can download it directly from Microsoft.
To install this file, double click it, follow through any necessary steps, and then reinstall RMS Keyboards.
Your authentication request logs your MAC address as a way of identifying your computer. If you submitted your authentication request over an Ethernet connection, and then switched to Wifi or another connection, the MAC address your computer is using will change and invalidate your unlock code.
To remedy this situation, disable your Internet connection (usually by turning off your WiFi card) before launching RMS Keyboards. For further assistance call us at 212-620-0774.
We have seen this bug in certain rare cases and are actively working on a fix. In the meantime, if you are experiencing a crash, here are some workarounds to the Setup Wizard:
- If you are trying to change MIDI inputs:
In the Keyboard window, find the dropdown MIDI input list (below the Exit and Global Edit buttons) and choose your MIDI input. - If you are trying to toggle hotkeys:
In the Keyboard window, open the Edit Drawer (outward facing arrows on the top right hand corner of the window) to see your hotkey assigments. - If you are trying to change audio output settings: Select Preferences (located in the Tools Menu on Windows, or the RMS Keyboards menu on Mac) and under the Audio tab, choose your selected audio output device.
