Advice of buying midi keyboard

M

Mikethebook

New member
Hi. I'm completely new to recording and am wanting to buy a midi keyboard (probably only 25 or 32 key) for under £100. I can't see me using patches much but I would like decent full-sized keys. I would appreciate thoughts and advice on buying. The other thing is that I don't really understand "aftertouch" but can you tell me whether keys will play indefinitely while your fingers are on them? I like the idea of creating an ethereal wall of sound as backing for my main instrument. Thanks.

P.S. I will be using Grarageband and perhaps later, Logic Pro X.
 
Hi.

I use the Alesis q49, a very basic 49 key keyboard with 1 fader and pitch and mod wheels. Great for the price, really sturdy and a simple usb connection which means you dont need a midi interface.

Now, aftertouch.
Aftertouch is a secondry control for each note, but not all controllers have it.
When you press a key on a midi keyboard it will send a note on signal for that note, then when you release it it will send a note off signal telling your vst to stop playing the note. Aftertouch is a signal that comes between the note on and note off signals and can be mapped to something or your soft synth. so you are holding down the note, and you apply extra pressure to the note, as if you are 'squeezing the note'. this will be sent to the computer as an aftertouch signal of a value between 0 and 127. so the more pressure you apply the higher the value and the less pressure the lower the value and so on, so if you push up and down on the note without fully releasing it you can use aftertouch to controller a parameter like a filter or volume or something. all of these things could be done with a fader, knob or mod wheel, but aftertouch is just a good wayof intergrating it into the note so you dont have to fiddle with multiple controls.

hope this helps!
 
Hi Tom,

Thanks for the reply and for your suggestion about the Alesis Q49. After posting my query on another forum I've been coming around to that choice myself. Very helpful.
Thanks
Mike
 
Back again. So much to learn. Looking at some of the reviews, people have experienced problems of latency when hooking up their keyboard to their DAW. The keyboards on my list are USB and I'm using a Mac with Garageband. Am I going to have this problem and, if so, what else to I need to do or buy to resolve it.
Thanks Mike
 
Keep in mind that a keyboard with USB only, but no MIDI connector, is a computer-peripheral (like a mouse or a printer) and isn't as useful as a MIDI keyboard if you have other MIDI hardware you would like connect together. If every sound you want to ever play originates from with the computer, then you will be OK with a USB-only keyboard. The latency you need to be concerned about is related to the DAW's audio output buffer length.
 
Type the word "buffer" into Spotlight, or whatever help-finding facilities Garageband and your softsynths have, then read the part that looks most related to audio output to find out how to alter its length.

The trade-off is:
* short buffers (0 to 128 samples) will feel better to play due to less latency, but may cause trouble with audio glitching;
* long buffers (256 or more samples) will be safer from glitching, but will feel sluggish to play.
 
Thanks for that information. I wonder what an optimum length might be. Unfortunately the buffer length in Garageband can no longer be altered. It can in Logic Pro and I might in time upgrade to that but for now, I'm only just beginning to find my way around Garageband.
 
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