Midi keyboards, how many keys...

BarryCreed

on the look out for a new one, how many keys would you usually use, 49 keys or bigger, or smaller...??
i currently use a cheap casio but its nearly crocked....

white_falcon

BarryCreed wrote: »

on the look out for a new one, how many keys would you usually use, 49 keys or bigger, or smaller...??
i currently use a cheap casio but its nearly crocked....

49 is the usual size, but i find id use the 61 keys. depends what ur playing i suppose and what ur using it for...

cornbb

25 keys for portability but only good for simple one-handed melodies.
88 keys if you have the cash and space and want to play piano pieces.
49/61 keys is a good comprimise, reasonably compact and gives you 4/5 octaves. Won't be much good if you want to play a lot of piano stuff though.

mike65

Get a 61 keyer or you'll spend too much time hitting the octave up/down button.

Mike.

jimi_t

88 key for 'playing', 25 key for touching up MIDI stuff in ableton. I really wouldn't bother my arse with anything else. (Also, either hammer action or waterfall action. None of this unresponsive "semi-weighted" malarkey)

mike65

I imagine money and space might be issues.

Mike.

crosstownk

If you want to play then get a 61 key. Anything else is a luxury. 48 or 25 is too small for playing with both hands simultaneously - you'll just run out of octaves. Remember that most decent keyboards allow you to split the keyboard into two separate patches or MIDI channels - if you want to split you'll need at least 61 keys to have a decent octave range in both 'splits'.

I've a 61 key Roland which is quite portable, but I've also got an 88 key which is a ba$tard to haul around - but I love it.

jimi_t

BarryCreed wrote: »

on the look out for a new one, how many keys would you usually use, 49 keys or bigger, or smaller...??
i currently use a cheap casio but its nearly crocked....

The more pertinent question is probably what are you using it for - gigging or recording/laptop based stuff. I know you say MIDI keyboards but just to clarify.

Giblet

I have a 49 key, it's slightly tight for more expressive stuff, but grand for getting an idea down.

Of course you could cheat and use the octave button. http://www.it-netsoc.ie/~pconnolly/B.mp3

BarryCreed

jimi_t wrote: »

The more pertinent question is probably what are you using it for - gigging or recording/laptop based stuff. I know you say MIDI keyboards but just to clarify.

id use it for laptop recording and maybe some live use..

jimi_t

BarryCreed wrote: »

id use it for laptop recording and maybe some live use..

Well given that your first focus will be on laptop stuff - and that as you're predominantely a guitar player your keyboard stuff will probably be relegated to simple leads/basslines - I'd advise a 25 key knobby. If you give me a rough price range I'll be able to give you a recommendation.

Passenger

49 is plenty for a home studio though if you're a piano player then maybe more keys are necessary.

BarryCreed

jimi_t wrote: »

Well given that your first focus will be on laptop stuff - and that as you're predominantely a guitar player your keyboard stuff will probably be relegated to simple leads/basslines - I'd advise a 25 key knobby. If you give me a rough price range I'll be able to give you a recommendation.

i can play the piano (a bit) . id be more of a "strumming chords" piano player, if that makes sense.
I can play the likes of "everything in its right place" by radiohead, but i had to sit and learn it by ear for a while. i wouldnt be much more technical than that...

jimi_t

BarryCreed wrote: »

i can play the piano (a bit) . id be more of a "strumming chords" piano player, if that makes sense.
I can play the likes of "everything in its right place" by radiohead, but i had to sit and learn it by ear for a while. i wouldnt be much more technical than that...

Well then a 49 key - 25 key is a bit tight.

http://www.thomann.de/ie/cat.html?gf=master_keyboards_up_to_49_keys&oa=pra

There's not as much of a differentiation in the 49 key segment of the market - that said I'd stay away from the M-Audio and Behringer offerings on both my own experience and anecdotal evidence. Most important variable is the key action, and thats purely a matter of personal taste - the most expensive option is not necessarily the best.

BarryCreed

jimi_t wrote: »

Well then a 49 key - 25 key is a bit tight.

http://www.thomann.de/ie/cat.html?gf=master_keyboards_up_to_49_keys&oa=pra

There's not as much of a differentiation in the 49 key segment of the market - that said I'd stay away from the M-Audio and Behringer offerings on both my own experience and anecdotal evidence. Most important variable is the key action, and thats purely a matter of personal taste - the most expensive option is not necessarily the best.

thanks for the link!! why would you go against the m-audio and behringer, out of iinterest?

jimi_t

BarryCreed wrote: »

thanks for the link!! why would you go against the m-audio and behringer, out of iinterest?

M-Audio have piss poor driver support for the ****** range, and even with the standard offering you'll have problems with the computer identifying the keyboard; the fulcrum of this being that you'll find that you are reinstalling the driver an awful lot. Asides from that I really didn't like the feel of their keyboards - I had an M-Audio Keystation 88es and it was horribly stiff coming from a piano playing background.

Behringer keyboards are basically a bad quality photocopy of the above and not renowned for their build quality.

That said, asides from purely technical specifications and build quality you should disregard any recommendations on keyboards - the action one person might hate might be perfect for you.

BarryCreed

cheers for the info. i must state for now, im using a generic laptop with windows vista in order to record...
ill go for the mac in a year or so, when im an "expert"!!!

crosstownk

BarryCreed wrote: »

i can play the piano (a bit) . id be more of a "strumming chords" piano player, if that makes sense.

It's just my opinion, but I think you should opt for a 61 key as a bare minimum. I think you'll run out of keys with anything less - especially when playing tunes with octaved bass lines.