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Topic: Suggesting a midi keyboard... (Read 3182 times) previous topic - next topic

Suggesting a midi keyboard...

And now for the big one. I think it is high time that I bought a keyboard for myself. Don't need no fancy 10 million sample Doulby hyper duplex quasi-surround para-15 wall-mounting speaker keyboard, just a large fretboard, with a pitch bend, modulation bend, volume bend, multi-purpose bend (if they pack them all together on one machine) that I can jack into my PC to play via my soundcard (SBLive!, you now know why I do not need a proper keyboard).

Any suggestions please???

StV

PS: I think something around the $150 scale would be ok.

Re: Suggesting a midi keyboard...

Reply #1 –
I use an EVOLUTION MK-7 for note entry and find it very good. I have not experimented with anything else it can do as I only require it for entering music in a much easier way than via the computer keyboard. I do not do it in real time, but enter everything as a long line of crotchet notes and chords, and sort out rests, bars, different types of notes etc afterwards.
It cost me £39 (around $50 I would imagine)and had 37 'small' keys (not really suitable for "playing" music.

Re: Suggesting a midi keyboard...

Reply #2 –
I got a Yamaha PSR-530 xg and its the best thing i ever bought.. even tho it was a little pricey (probably around $500 us) but when you're getting a keyboard.. remember that you WILL be using it practically every day.. make sure its something that you're happy with.
My keyboard has touch and release sensitivity and xg capability which makes it very versatile. I'd suggest you test the keyboards out in the store.. see if you enjoy playing them. Buying a keyboard.. as a musician I would recommend it is a decision you do NOT rush.. be sure you're satisfied with it.

Re: Suggesting a midi keyboard...

Reply #3 –
For reply 2:

I read your reply (PSR530) with interest. I am currently using a borrowed PSR510 and find it very helpful but unimpressed with the sample quality of GM 128 voices. I am considering PSR540 and was unsure if NWC supported the 480 XG voices; any problems using them? How do they compare to GM voices? Thanks

Re: Suggesting a midi keyboard...

Reply #4 –
Ya, sorry for taking so long to get back to ya.. heheh.

First, ya Noteworthy DOES support all the XG voices.. you have to enter the values in the MSB and LSB boxes on the "instrument" menu... and the XG values are recorded in a table that comes in a book with your keyboard.

XG has its strong points and weak points. As far as I know (since I've never used a PSR-510) it does have better sample quality. There's also a nice "acoustic setting" which you can turn on that gives the instruments a GREAT rich sound. It has fairly decent string samples (not nearly as good as my SB live samples i bought on CD) but still awesome for use as backup strings. Also touch (& release) sensitivity.

Not all the samples are great of course.. you kinda have to scan thru them.. but that's the same with any synth.. you're just not gonna find perfection on ONE synth/keyboard.

Of course.. its not the samples that matter so much as it is the way you make use of them... cool thing about XG is the range of effects available to the composer... its practically as versatile as an "analog synth", except with samples. That's a bit down the line for noteworthy of course.. but if you're like me you'll be using the keyboard for a variety of stuff, not just noteworthy.. and there's plenty of XG midis out there.

Check out the demos on the keyboard too.. there should be like 10 songs.. composed by independent people and put on the keyboard.. not all of them are "great" but they really show off some of the nice features of the keyboard. If u get the chance.. play around with it a bit before making the purchase.

Its really a toss up.. features/quality vs. $$ For me.. it worked out just right.. I use it along with my SB live constantly.. its great.

Re: Suggesting a midi keyboard...

Reply #5 –
All this stuff about Yamaha XG aside, what you need is a controller keyboard. If it has decent voices, that's icing on the cake, but you don't NEED anything more.

I bought this one from someone on the internet many years ago, long before the advent of the world-wide web, and it has served me well.

It's a Fatar 72-key controller keyboard with pitch and modulation wheels. Velocity sensitive keys, but they're not weighted, and there's no aftertouch. It's made predominantly of steel, and is obviously designed to take a beating on a regular basis.

They're called controller keyboards, and all they do is transmit MIDI data to external synths, such as your SBlive. You ought to be able to pick one up pretty cheap, in any number of different configurations.

I think I paid somewhere around $100 for this one in like-new condition. Maybe check Ebay.

Re: Suggesting a midi keyboard...

Reply #6 –
Thanx mike, that was really what I was looking for. In any case my SBLive provides all the effects and the sample capacity I need to play. And my main "sound source" if I may call it as such, is my sound card and NWC.

Thx mate