Just bought my R12, and learning the pathways ,so much thanks. Perhaps a better longer probe would be good to touch from the side, as your hand always in the way and need to see you pressing
Yeah, you're right, I have a hard time video taping with that tiny screen. I'm right handed so when I reach across to hit the track numbers on the left side or some of the other settings on the left side I block too much of the view. I do need to be more cognizant of that in future videos and try to reach around from the top. I haven't mastered it yet...working on it!
Also there is a pedal power block,that also powers 9v pedals. One USB output,chargers my Zoom, Phone or iPad. Artist guitars Australia.Artist PBB01 $79 AUD. That's what I use.
You are welcome! As far as I can tell on firmware v3.00, the R20 is not compatible with a USB hub. That's why I was a little surprised when I tried it with the R12 and it worked. But with the R20, you don't really need it because the R20 has a it's dedicated 12V power supply input that always leaves the USB-C port open. So you can always plug a flash drive or MIDI controller into the R20. Plus, the R12's USB port is a little more plug'n'play than the R20. On the R12, you just plug in a MIDI controller and it usually works right away. On the R20, you have to dive through the menus first and actually select the MIDI controller option in the software before the R20 will communicate with a keyboard.
Yes. You can use the R12 as an audio interface and take advantage of both combo jacks. It runs through the USB-C port. I've used with a windows computer, an iPhone and an iPad.
Hi Gaz. Thank you for your inspirational video. So pedagogic that even I could understand it and quickly purchased the equipment. A ZOOM and a MIDI. But no USB-C hub. So I packed the gear in my rucksack and head for the fancy musicstores downtown. I visited at least five or six and the responce was total confusion. ”Thats impossible, you need a computer.” Same answer everywhere. ”No, I don’t need a computer, I don’t want a computer, thats why I bought a ZOOM. I need a USB-C hub.” So I’m stranded. Would you give me the exact brand and articlenumber of the hub you use so I can order it online. Final question, is it necessary to use a USB batterybank or can it be connected to the normal outlet? Kindly Peter Ståhl
Sorry you've run into problems asking around for help. Unfortunately, the USB C hub that I used in that video (and that I continue to use all the time with my R12) is discontinued. It was by some chinese company called HooToo and it was probably $20 when I bought it several years ago. But most USB-C hubs should work. You don't need a fancy one, you can just get one on Amazon by searching "USB C hub." You don't need to spend more than $25 - don't buy the crazy fancy ones. Just get one that has a cord coming out of it that is USB type C and it needs to accept power delivery (65W is fine, but can also be 100W), and you want it to have one or two USB type A ports that are 5 Gbps. I think those are more likely to work with the R12 than the 10 or 40 Gbps ones. I think i had another USB C hub by some company called UGREEN that worked too. I bet you can get a sub-$25 one from Anker, stuff from that company is usually reliable. And no, you do not have to power it with a USB battery bank. I like the battery bank because it's convenient and I don't need to be near a wall outlet. You can simply power it with the wall adapter that came with the R12, but you will need to run some kind of power into the USB C hub to make it all work.
Hi again. Sorry to bother you, but I have a final request. At the Anker website, searching for a USB-C hub, as the novise I am, I have no idea what to choose. Please pick one that you can recommend (never mind the price) so I can order it. Thanks again. Kindly//Peter
I don't want to promise that any specific hub will work when I haven't personally tried it. Zoom did release this memo a year ago, though: zoomcorp.com/documents/2509/R12_compatibleUSBhubs_en.pdf
Yeah, you should be able to do that. However, that's pretty bulky and the R20 is notably larger than the R12. So while it's possible with a 12V DC power bank, I just don't really think it's all that practical, that's all...
I love this video, thank you. I just have one issue. I connected everything just the way hou have it in the code, have the track set to keyboard and tge track is armed, but my R12 doesnt recognize my Akai mpk mini. Any suggestions? It just says "No MIDI Keyboard!" When i hit record.
I have gotten the R12 to work with an AKAI mini play, so it should work...? Are you connecting it directly? Or through a USB hub? I've heard that some hubs don't work reliably. If you have used a hub, try to pop some batteries into the bottom of the R12 and then connect the AKAI mini directly, not through a hub, and see if that gets you a connection. Make sure you have a synth track selected and routed to so it's active for recording. If you have an AKAI mini play, make sure you switch it from "keyboard" to "USB" on the AKAI itself first.
It's definitely not magic. Just a super low tech stylus for like, $8 by some brand called "mixoo," although almost any disc based capacitive stylus should work. I made a video about it: ua-cam.com/video/lwf71awiqmg/v-deo.html
On the R12, no. Mostly because the R12 only has two inputs. So I have only used the R12 with drum machines, guitar, bass, synths, vocals. If I was recording acoustic drums I would rather use the R20, since that has 8 inputs for simultaneous recording. With that I can mic up the bass, snare, high hat, cymbals, and toms with separate mics....and once I get a recorded drum mix I like for a song, I can bounce all of that down into a single stereo drum track.
Thank you very much for your great informative videos! I have a question how can you connect usb midi to usb midi? (without using an intermediate 'to host' type usb device) Does this mean that I could connect the akai keyboard to other usb midi ports such as a roland sp404 mk2?
You can connect a standard MIDI controller, like an AKAI keyboard to the R20 through USB MIDI because the R20 acts as a MIDI host. It's a basic MIDI host, and you can't really configure the settings much (as opposed to tweaking all kinds of MIDI signal settings with a computer/DAW). But connecting an AKAI keyboard to a sp404 or something like a Roland S-1 through MIDI doesn't work because those synth/grooveboxes cannot act as a USB MIDI host. You can actually hook up a MIDI keyboard through USB through some devices, like a Synthrom Deluge, but those synths/grooveboxes are rare. Depending on your keyboard, like if you have an AKAI pro keyboard or the mid-high end Arturia keyboards, you could hook those up via USB MIDI to the R20 and simultaneous connect them via 5-pin MIDI to something like an sp404 or S-1. But things like sp404's or S-1s need 5-pin MIDI (sometimes with a 3.5mm TRS adapter) to work due to their lack of USB MIDI host.
A transpose feature for the AKAI MIni Play? I have the Mini Play mk2, and it does not have a sequencer. I don't think the Mini Play mk3 has a sequencer either. So you can't transpose any patterns on the Mini Play itself. It has an arpeggiator, and you can hold SHIFT and select different options that will change the order (in semitones) and octaves of notes that are played in your arp. But there are no settings for a sequencer, and so no settings where you can adjust the notes all up or down in a semi or full tone. I hope I understood the question correctly...
Hello! It would be nice to see a video how you mix your songs on the r12 or r20. Im thinking of buying either the r12 or r20 but it seems like there are no parametric equalizer? There are only 100 Hz, 2,5 kHz and 10 kHz. How do you come around this "problem"? Not be able to choose frequency when i mixdown is a big no for me. How are your thoughts about it? Thx for an interesting channel. Friendly regards /Peter
The one I use in the video is some generic knock-off brand called HooToo. I've used a couple other brands too...something by a brand called Lemonrele and another by UGgreen. They all work with Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices, and they seem fine for the R20. I think most hubs should work as long as they are USB-C and they have a port that supports power delivery. You can even use the included wall adapter that came with the R20 to power it through the hub and it will still allow you to power a flash drive or most small MIDI controllers.
hi, by any chance you've tried connecting the mouse? Little hope for it to work, but if it did, then it would change the whole "tiny tiny touchscreen" situation - the only sole reason I am not considering buying R12. So maybe just like most android phones it does allow mouse (and keyboard?) input?
I haven't tried to connect a mouse, but I'm 99.9% sure it won't work. I just don't think there is anything in the software to support a cursor arrow with mouse movements.
Thanks you for the video. But I tried to connect Roland A49 keyboard to Zoom R12 in the way you described, and I didn't succeed, unfortunately. I don't understand what to do next, buy a new midi keyboard?
Well, the first thing I would try to establish is the validity of all your connections before buying a new MIDI controller. 1) Are you using a USB-C hub? If yes, then I would put batteries into the R12, then try to connect the A49 directly to the R12 and see if it works with no USB hub. I've heard that some USB hubs are not compatible. 2) If you connect the A49 directly to the R12 and it still doesn't work, you might want to check the settings of the A49 keyboard. I've never used that keyboard before, but it's possible that it can transmit MIDI data on multiple channels. I believe the R12 needs to receive MIDI data on channel 1. 3) It's also possible that the A49 splits it's MIDI signals between it's buttons and the keys. You want to make sure it's sending the MIDI data of the keys, not the transport controls. Some controllers do that. 4) Finally, it's possible your A49 is sending more data than just note and velocity. The R12 can only pick up note and velocity data, so if the A49 is also sending modulation data (stuff like pitch bend), the R12 either doesn't pick that up, or it gets confused. Once you get past checking the connections of MIDI data and the USB hub, be sure you have the R12 set up for a Synth track and you armed that track for recording to be able to hear anything. I hope that at least gets you started on trying to troubleshoot....
@@GazRendar Thank you so much for such a detailed explanation! I appreciate your time spent! I did everything you described: I inserted batteries, connected the A49 directly to the R12, tried to change midi channels, but none of this helped. The Chinese "Doremidi USB to MIDI" device helped to solve the problem. And I also separately applied power to the A49 and everything worked! I want to thank you again and I will be happy to become a subscriber to your channel!
Hey, happy to hear that you were able to troubleshoot it and get it to work. You definitely want to be able to use that A49 and not have to buy another MIDI controller just for the R12. Thanks for the sub and happy recording!
I did have a latency issue one time where I was using a USB hub with a MIDI keyboard and I had 6 full tracks with a bunch of audio regions. I disconnected everything, reconnected, re-opened the project, and then I was ok. That was a rare occasion, though. All the other times everything seemed to be fine for me using both keys and pads on my AKAI mini.
Hi Gaz. I seem to get the message "No USB flash drive!", and even when I unplug it and plug it back in, it doesn't fix it. Have you got any suggestions? Thank you!
Yeah, there is no way I would give the R12 a universal recommend for all musicians. I only see it as a potential buy for a small subset of people who want the combination of computer-free, multitrack recording, with built-in effects, where they can do basic track editing right on the device AND they need the device to be fairly portable.
its for sketching a song idea, and fun to use as an audio interface. its not going to replace your daw unless you are from the 60s and use scissors to cut tape by hand.
Yeah, the R20 was built first, so I don't think they were considering using a USB hub when designing it. However, you cannot power the R20 through USB-C. The R20 needs to be powered through it's own 12V connection with unique power supply. Therefore, the USB-C port on the R20 is always available and you don't really need a hub for it. By contrast, if you do not use AA batteries, the R12 has to be powered through the USB-C port. I suspect that's why Zoom made the R12 to be compatible with power-delivery USB hubs. It allows you to simultaneously power the R12 while also allowing you to hook up a MIDI controller.
Appreciate your ongoing content for the R12 and R20
Thanks for watching. Hope it helps!
Excellent! 👍
Thanks!
Excellent, it's solve my problem, thanks for the content of the r12
Happy to help!
Just bought my R12, and learning the pathways ,so much thanks. Perhaps a better longer probe would be good to touch from the side, as your hand always in the way and need to see you pressing
Yeah, you're right, I have a hard time video taping with that tiny screen. I'm right handed so when I reach across to hit the track numbers on the left side or some of the other settings on the left side I block too much of the view. I do need to be more cognizant of that in future videos and try to reach around from the top. I haven't mastered it yet...working on it!
My second view of you video. Thank you for doing this. I have learned more in the last 30 minutes than I learned in years.
For power,use a power board with 2 USB slots. Then R12 and midi keyboard. Then Compatible USB hub.
have you tried this personally?
Had noise,so I got a battery power bank. Noise disapeared
Also there is a pedal power block,that also powers 9v pedals. One USB output,chargers my Zoom, Phone or iPad. Artist guitars Australia.Artist PBB01 $79 AUD. That's what I use.
Thanks a lot. It´s really helpful to make a decision
Always happy to help!
Thanks for sharing!
You're welcome!
Great idea!
Thanks!
🌍 Good review/tutorial oF the Zoom r12📟😉
Thanks!
Thanks for the video. Very clear and concise. Is any of this possible on the R20?
You are welcome!
As far as I can tell on firmware v3.00, the R20 is not compatible with a USB hub. That's why I was a little surprised when I tried it with the R12 and it worked. But with the R20, you don't really need it because the R20 has a it's dedicated 12V power supply input that always leaves the USB-C port open. So you can always plug a flash drive or MIDI controller into the R20. Plus, the R12's USB port is a little more plug'n'play than the R20. On the R12, you just plug in a MIDI controller and it usually works right away. On the R20, you have to dive through the menus first and actually select the MIDI controller option in the software before the R20 will communicate with a keyboard.
thinking can an audio interface works on the usb c?
Yes. You can use the R12 as an audio interface and take advantage of both combo jacks. It runs through the USB-C port. I've used with a windows computer, an iPhone and an iPad.
Hi Gaz. Thank you for your inspirational video. So pedagogic that even I could understand it and quickly purchased the equipment. A ZOOM and a MIDI. But no USB-C hub. So I packed the gear in my rucksack and head for the fancy musicstores downtown. I visited at least five or six and the responce was total confusion. ”Thats impossible, you need a computer.” Same answer everywhere. ”No, I don’t need a computer, I don’t want a computer, thats why I bought a ZOOM. I need a USB-C hub.” So I’m stranded. Would you give me the exact brand and articlenumber of the hub you use so I can order it online. Final question, is it necessary to use a USB batterybank or can it be connected to the normal outlet? Kindly Peter Ståhl
Sorry you've run into problems asking around for help. Unfortunately, the USB C hub that I used in that video (and that I continue to use all the time with my R12) is discontinued. It was by some chinese company called HooToo and it was probably $20 when I bought it several years ago.
But most USB-C hubs should work. You don't need a fancy one, you can just get one on Amazon by searching "USB C hub." You don't need to spend more than $25 - don't buy the crazy fancy ones. Just get one that has a cord coming out of it that is USB type C and it needs to accept power delivery (65W is fine, but can also be 100W), and you want it to have one or two USB type A ports that are 5 Gbps. I think those are more likely to work with the R12 than the 10 or 40 Gbps ones. I think i had another USB C hub by some company called UGREEN that worked too. I bet you can get a sub-$25 one from Anker, stuff from that company is usually reliable.
And no, you do not have to power it with a USB battery bank. I like the battery bank because it's convenient and I don't need to be near a wall outlet. You can simply power it with the wall adapter that came with the R12, but you will need to run some kind of power into the USB C hub to make it all work.
Hi again. Sorry to bother you, but I have a final request. At the Anker website, searching for a USB-C hub, as the novise I am, I have no idea what to choose. Please pick one that you can recommend (never mind the price) so I can order it. Thanks again. Kindly//Peter
I don't want to promise that any specific hub will work when I haven't personally tried it. Zoom did release this memo a year ago, though:
zoomcorp.com/documents/2509/R12_compatibleUSBhubs_en.pdf
It should be possible to be able to use a 12 volt DC power bank adapter to supply portable power for the zoom R20 as well.
Yeah, you should be able to do that. However, that's pretty bulky and the R20 is notably larger than the R12. So while it's possible with a 12V DC power bank, I just don't really think it's all that practical, that's all...
I love this video, thank you. I just have one issue. I connected everything just the way hou have it in the code, have the track set to keyboard and tge track is armed, but my R12 doesnt recognize my Akai mpk mini. Any suggestions? It just says "No MIDI Keyboard!" When i hit record.
I have gotten the R12 to work with an AKAI mini play, so it should work...? Are you connecting it directly? Or through a USB hub? I've heard that some hubs don't work reliably.
If you have used a hub, try to pop some batteries into the bottom of the R12 and then connect the AKAI mini directly, not through a hub, and see if that gets you a connection. Make sure you have a synth track selected and routed to so it's active for recording.
If you have an AKAI mini play, make sure you switch it from "keyboard" to "USB" on the AKAI itself first.
What’s that magical pen you’re using!?
It's definitely not magic. Just a super low tech stylus for like, $8 by some brand called "mixoo," although almost any disc based capacitive stylus should work. I made a video about it:
ua-cam.com/video/lwf71awiqmg/v-deo.html
Have you recorded acoustic drum set with this unit? Thanks for the videos!
On the R12, no. Mostly because the R12 only has two inputs. So I have only used the R12 with drum machines, guitar, bass, synths, vocals. If I was recording acoustic drums I would rather use the R20, since that has 8 inputs for simultaneous recording. With that I can mic up the bass, snare, high hat, cymbals, and toms with separate mics....and once I get a recorded drum mix I like for a song, I can bounce all of that down into a single stereo drum track.
Thank you very much for your great informative videos!
I have a question how can you connect usb midi to usb midi? (without using an intermediate 'to host' type usb device)
Does this mean that I could connect the akai keyboard to other usb midi ports such as a roland sp404 mk2?
You can connect a standard MIDI controller, like an AKAI keyboard to the R20 through USB MIDI because the R20 acts as a MIDI host. It's a basic MIDI host, and you can't really configure the settings much (as opposed to tweaking all kinds of MIDI signal settings with a computer/DAW). But connecting an AKAI keyboard to a sp404 or something like a Roland S-1 through MIDI doesn't work because those synth/grooveboxes cannot act as a USB MIDI host. You can actually hook up a MIDI keyboard through USB through some devices, like a Synthrom Deluge, but those synths/grooveboxes are rare.
Depending on your keyboard, like if you have an AKAI pro keyboard or the mid-high end Arturia keyboards, you could hook those up via USB MIDI to the R20 and simultaneous connect them via 5-pin MIDI to something like an sp404 or S-1. But things like sp404's or S-1s need 5-pin MIDI (sometimes with a 3.5mm TRS adapter) to work due to their lack of USB MIDI host.
Hi Gaz,
It will be a little un related about your video, please excuse me.
Do Akai Mini Play have transpose function in semi tones? Thnx
A transpose feature for the AKAI MIni Play? I have the Mini Play mk2, and it does not have a sequencer. I don't think the Mini Play mk3 has a sequencer either. So you can't transpose any patterns on the Mini Play itself. It has an arpeggiator, and you can hold SHIFT and select different options that will change the order (in semitones) and octaves of notes that are played in your arp. But there are no settings for a sequencer, and so no settings where you can adjust the notes all up or down in a semi or full tone.
I hope I understood the question correctly...
Thanx, I think it is a shame that a controller do not have transpose function :/@@GazRendar
Hello! It would be nice to see a video how you mix your songs on the r12 or r20. Im thinking of buying either the r12 or r20 but it seems like there are no parametric equalizer? There are only 100 Hz, 2,5 kHz and 10 kHz. How do you come around this "problem"? Not be able to choose frequency when i mixdown is a big no for me. How are your thoughts about it? Thx for an interesting channel. Friendly regards /Peter
Nice video
What is the name of your Hub?
The one I use in the video is some generic knock-off brand called HooToo. I've used a couple other brands too...something by a brand called Lemonrele and another by UGgreen. They all work with Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices, and they seem fine for the R20.
I think most hubs should work as long as they are USB-C and they have a port that supports power delivery. You can even use the included wall adapter that came with the R20 to power it through the hub and it will still allow you to power a flash drive or most small MIDI controllers.
hi, by any chance you've tried connecting the mouse? Little hope for it to work, but if it did, then it would change the whole "tiny tiny touchscreen" situation - the only sole reason I am not considering buying R12. So maybe just like most android phones it does allow mouse (and keyboard?) input?
I haven't tried to connect a mouse, but I'm 99.9% sure it won't work. I just don't think there is anything in the software to support a cursor arrow with mouse movements.
Thanks you for the video. But I tried to connect Roland A49 keyboard to Zoom R12 in the way you described, and I didn't succeed, unfortunately. I don't understand what to do next, buy a new midi keyboard?
Well, the first thing I would try to establish is the validity of all your connections before buying a new MIDI controller.
1) Are you using a USB-C hub? If yes, then I would put batteries into the R12, then try to connect the A49 directly to the R12 and see if it works with no USB hub. I've heard that some USB hubs are not compatible.
2) If you connect the A49 directly to the R12 and it still doesn't work, you might want to check the settings of the A49 keyboard. I've never used that keyboard before, but it's possible that it can transmit MIDI data on multiple channels. I believe the R12 needs to receive MIDI data on channel 1.
3) It's also possible that the A49 splits it's MIDI signals between it's buttons and the keys. You want to make sure it's sending the MIDI data of the keys, not the transport controls. Some controllers do that.
4) Finally, it's possible your A49 is sending more data than just note and velocity. The R12 can only pick up note and velocity data, so if the A49 is also sending modulation data (stuff like pitch bend), the R12 either doesn't pick that up, or it gets confused.
Once you get past checking the connections of MIDI data and the USB hub, be sure you have the R12 set up for a Synth track and you armed that track for recording to be able to hear anything.
I hope that at least gets you started on trying to troubleshoot....
@@GazRendar Thank you so much for such a detailed explanation! I appreciate your time spent! I did everything you described: I inserted batteries, connected the A49 directly to the R12, tried to change midi channels, but none of this helped. The Chinese "Doremidi USB to MIDI" device helped to solve the problem. And I also separately applied power to the A49 and everything worked! I want to thank you again and I will be happy to become a subscriber to your channel!
Hey, happy to hear that you were able to troubleshoot it and get it to work. You definitely want to be able to use that A49 and not have to buy another MIDI controller just for the R12. Thanks for the sub and happy recording!
Have you had any latency issues using midi keyboard while recording?
I did have a latency issue one time where I was using a USB hub with a MIDI keyboard and I had 6 full tracks with a bunch of audio regions. I disconnected everything, reconnected, re-opened the project, and then I was ok. That was a rare occasion, though. All the other times everything seemed to be fine for me using both keys and pads on my AKAI mini.
Hi Gaz. I seem to get the message "No USB flash drive!", and even when I unplug it and plug it back in, it doesn't fix it. Have you got any suggestions? Thank you!
Did you manage to solve this?
@@frankgrudge8823 I did thank you!!:)
I wouldn't mind having something like this but this just feels like it has too many compromises
Yeah, there is no way I would give the R12 a universal recommend for all musicians. I only see it as a potential buy for a small subset of people who want the combination of computer-free, multitrack recording, with built-in effects, where they can do basic track editing right on the device AND they need the device to be fairly portable.
its for sketching a song idea, and fun to use as an audio interface. its not going to replace your daw unless you are from the 60s and use scissors to cut tape by hand.
Hubs don't work on the R20. Very bad!
Yeah, the R20 was built first, so I don't think they were considering using a USB hub when designing it. However, you cannot power the R20 through USB-C. The R20 needs to be powered through it's own 12V connection with unique power supply. Therefore, the USB-C port on the R20 is always available and you don't really need a hub for it.
By contrast, if you do not use AA batteries, the R12 has to be powered through the USB-C port. I suspect that's why Zoom made the R12 to be compatible with power-delivery USB hubs. It allows you to simultaneously power the R12 while also allowing you to hook up a MIDI controller.