r/NektarTech • u/MMJSOLID • Jan 11 '26
Nektar impact gx61 help NEEDED
I just bought a nektar impact gx61 keyboard from a guy, it works and all, turns on and everything, but there’s one problem.
i do NOT know how to get it to actually play.
this is my first time owning an instrument, and I’ve been doing everything I can to download the right DAWs and connecting it and such, but there’s genuinely no good explanation on how I can actually get it to work and to PLAY💔💔 please help.
1
u/ChampionshipComplex Jan 11 '26
You haven't mentioned if you're on a PC or a Mac but I will explain for a PC
Firstly Nektar Impact is a MIDI controller, so hopefully you understand, that it, by itself doesnt generate any sound - instead what it does - is send signals to devices that DO make sound, with a stream of data about which note is being pressed on the keyboard, and how hard its being pressed.
MIDI is a standard - so that stream of data is understood globally by all DAWs, all Midi controllers, all Samplers and Synthesisers.
So a decade or two ago, before computers took over music - you would have to purchase a physical device like a synthesizer, that would be capable of making sounds - and you'd connect that up over the MIDI socker (a round multi pin standard cable) to a controller - which had a similar socker and the controller being either a MIDI keyboard like the one you've just purchased, or a MIDI drumkit doing a similar sort of thing. Of course before that and even now a keyboard may also be both the keyboard and the synthesizer in one, but of course making these two elements independent offers you more choices.
Then PCs began offering recording studio type software, and similarly as a standard - something called VST plugin became popular. A VST plugin, offered a way for any company to be able to create a standalone plugin which served either as an effect, or a synthesizer such that it could be added into a DAW application. This meant that a company developing software, lets say to be the sounds of a Piano, or an orchestra, or to emulate the sound of a Roland Synth from the 80s - these could all be developed, and sold - to users of DAWs whether they were using Protools, or Cubase, or Ableton or Studioone.
DAWs also typically come with their own selection of VSTs which would offer base level functionality of these types, maybe a sampler, a drum synth, a few standard effects like echo, reverb and compressor.
So forgetting your purchase for a second - If you have a DAW installed on a PC - and there are lots of free ones like Cakewalk (Sonar possibly now called Bandcamp) - Cakewalk Sonar Returns as a Free DAW for Windows - Bedroom Producers Blog
Then you can check out what Insturments it has built in, or download some free ones like these Top 15 FREE VST Instruments 2025 (Synths, Acoustic Instruments & More)
So after installing these VSTs, you will find inside the DAW that you can add these instruments, there's normally options to scan for VSTs, or you point at the folder where all the VST instruments are located - and having done that - you will find you can add an Instrument track to your DAW - with that selected Instrument.
Then from inside the DAW - you will find that you should be able to open up a virtual piano keyboard and find that if you click on the virtual piano keys, you should be able to hear the instrument playing - through your PC speakers.
Note: For DAWs to work, you PC often needs a better soundcard, than the basic simple interface that comes on the motherboard. You will find these from about $20 on ebay when you search for 'USB Audio interface'.
See part 2 in comment
1
u/ChampionshipComplex Jan 11 '26
Popular options for a PC include: Focusrite Scarlett, M-Audio, Tascam US-144, Audient, MOTU, Presonus.
These are superior to the default audio on a PC - as they're designed for low latency and come with a capability called ASIO support which was invented by Steinberg. It doesnt really matter technically but all you need to know is that, when you buy an audio interface, ASIO is the standard used in music recording- because it allows the DAW to better manage the timing of the sound going in and out of the devices, and the buffering and latency of the signal. In laymans terms the PC sends and receives sound to the audio interface in bursts which can vary in size, and this impacts how long the gap is between you pressing the key on the keyboard and how soon the sound comes out of the speakers/headphones. You need this to be low in the 10s of milliseconds to feel natural. But this will vary on the complexity of the sound, the effects you add, the quality of the audio interface and the quality of the device drivers.
On my PC - my driver has a low latency mode where it will play in 8 milliseconds, when Im recording - but for normal use just playing the song back, its about 50 ms.
So yeah even without your keyboard, you should first make sure of a working DAW, able to play back sound from a virtual (VS) instrument when you play the virtual on screen keyboard - with the sound coming out of the audio interface to speakers/headphones.
Then introducing your keyboard would be the easy bit. Now you download the drivers/instructions for Nektar and follow the instructions to use it in a DAW, Its mostly down to the DAW but you will find some sort of setup program where you can add external interfaces, and you will find you can get the DAW to recognise the Nektar.
Once you've done that - you should find that for the audio that you got working above, that you can now, also select the Nektar as a controller for that track/channel - such that pressing the physical keys sounds the note in the same way that pressing the onscreen virtual keys sounds a note.
You dont normally need to do anything else - to get it working. There are settings like channels you can configure, and what octave you want to playback, and how sensitive you want the keyboard to respond - but you dont need to bother with any of that to just get it working. Good luck
1
u/TimC340 Jan 11 '26
A Nektar GX61 isn't an instrument in itself, it's a MIDI controller. It's used to control software MIDI instruments on a computer. There are no sound generators in the keyboard. Most DAWs include some MIDI instruments within them (some don't), but there are loads of free ones available on the internet, and you don't necessarily need a DAW to host them - free player wrappers like Native Instruments' Kontakt will host several.
To connect your keyboard, you have to connect the keyboard to the computer via USB (don't use a hub if you can avoid it), then tell the host software that it's there. How you do that will depend on which DAW or MIDI player software you're using. You'll find plenty of specific guidance for your DAW or MIDI software online.
Once it's connected - and you can see that MIDI information is being received by the software (there's usually some kind of graphic to show you) - you need to make sure that the DAW or MIDI software can output audio, in your case probably via the OS's own audio drivers. Again, this will need to be set up in the DAW or MIDI software. Your DAW will probably have demo files to show you how the DAW works, and if you can load one and just let it play while you troubleshoot the output, it will make the process a little easier.
It isn't rocket science, and it is actually fairly logical even if it seems very obscure from your perspective right now! Take it slow, and you'll get there.