What is a midi controller vs a keyboard/synth?

[nononsensetype]

What is the difference between a midi controller and a keyboard? How do we make sounds if it does not come with sounds already installed?

[tdukex]

A MIDI controller is anything that can transmit MIDI data via MIDI commands. It might take the form of a keyboard, a wind controller, or a guitar controller like the Roland, etc.

Some controllers come with their own built-in sound modules (like all of the Casio keyboards you've seen). Other controllers do not have their own sounds, like my Evolution keyboard. Instead, I can route it through one or several sound modules (daisy chain) such as MU-5, Proteus, Roland, etc. The sound modules produce the tones; the controller only sends the MIDI message.

[tdukex]

I almost forgot, many soundcards (like the Soundblaster Live!) come with wavetable synthesizers and FM synths. You can can plug a controller into the card's game port (or on newer computers, the USB port) and access the sounds on your soundcard. The LIVE! actually has a built-in EMU sampler and soundfont capability so you can download or buy high quality samples like the big boys.

[nononsensetype]

So what you are saying is that by using the usb port I can access the thousands of wave files already on my computer and use them in midi form or would I have to save them in midi form first?

[tdukex]

Not exactly.

1. Most PCI soundcards have built-in synths you can use to play MIDI files. Usually the sounds on these synths are marginal at best.

2, If you have soundcard with soundfont capability (like the LIVE!), you can download, buy, or create your own wav "samples" to play back MIDI files instead of using your soundcard's onboard synth or some other outboard synth.

3. Samples are generally made by recording single notes of an instrument like a piano. Once each note of the instrument has been recorded (sampled), all of the notes (samples) are arranged into a file called a "sound font."

4. The LIVE! can load these soundfonts into memory (RAM) and use them to play back MIDI files. The higher quality the soundfont, the better the sound.

Read these articles about soundfonts:

http://prorec.com/prorec/articles.ns...2566B20024C532

http://prorec.com/prorec/articles.ns...2568D700634565

[nononsensetype]

Thanks dude!!! Knowledge is everything. That's the most informative answer that I have recieved out of all my posts!!! Thanks for taking the time!!! Help was much appreciated!!!: