best midi keyboards for under $100
- Thread starter rxQueen
- Start date
LfO
New member
That's one hell of a place to live 
For $100, you're not going to get a good all-in-one synth. You're best bet is to spend the cash on the best controller you can get, and use it to play softsynths (hopefully you're recording on a computer-based rig). Plenty of softsynhts are available for free - check out kvraudio.com
Here are a couple of ideas in your price range:
http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--MDOKEYSTAT49
http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--ALEPHOTON25
One's short (few keys), one doesn't have many controls (just pitch bend and mod wheel). You'd be far better off if you could afford and extra $50 to get something like this:
http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--MDORADIUM49
There are really no keyboards with internal sounds for that price - if you find one, it'll sound unusably bad, probably won't have MIDI, and won't be very programmable.
For $100, you're not going to get a good all-in-one synth. You're best bet is to spend the cash on the best controller you can get, and use it to play softsynths (hopefully you're recording on a computer-based rig). Plenty of softsynhts are available for free - check out kvraudio.com
Here are a couple of ideas in your price range:
http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--MDOKEYSTAT49
http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--ALEPHOTON25
One's short (few keys), one doesn't have many controls (just pitch bend and mod wheel). You'd be far better off if you could afford and extra $50 to get something like this:
http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--MDORADIUM49
There are really no keyboards with internal sounds for that price - if you find one, it'll sound unusably bad, probably won't have MIDI, and won't be very programmable.
pdadda
Captain Sea Boots
That Radium is currently going for $120 at musiciansfriend:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/701367/
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/701367/
For less than $100, I don't think you're going to find much short of a yard sale score. I've been looking for a cheap piano-based midi controller/machine and haven't found much. You might try looking on Ebay or you local used instrument stores for a Yamaha DJX Keyboard. I had one quite a few years ago and it was okay... If you record the notes you're playing to a MIDI program you may be albe to achieve the sound you're looking for wiht plugins... That's basically how I did Jazz with the DJX I got for Xmas years ago.
YMMV, but I hope this helps,
Jason
YMMV, but I hope this helps,
Jason
LfO
New member
frankieballsss said:
And? If its got MIDI, its a MIDI keyboard - whether it has sound generation or not.
I'd rather give a thourough answer that covers all bases than assume I know exactly what someone means by a vague terma and tell them to buy something that won't do what they need.
Everywhere I looked (zzounds, sweetwater, music123, americanmusical), I saw a $150 tag on the radium - that's not under $100. AND I mentioned it anyway.
DavidK
New member
rxQueen said:
Here's the confusion:
Does the keyboard itself have to make sounds?
`Some keyboards are merely keyboard controllers, they play softsynths, modules, etc. Those are in your price range.
If you NEED a synth, you could get an Alesis Nanosynth for probably 100 ( a module, no keys) and pick up a casio midi keyboard for 40 bucks that has midi.
cephus
Slow Children Playing
I haven't played keyboards in years and I have some vintage keyboard stuff that gets zero use nowdays. Get ready to giggle. Akai S-612 sampler. Yamaha DX9. CZ-101. I think there's a poly 800 somewhere in the crawlspace.
Anyway, a few friends of mine, sometimes non-musicians, have these yamaha or casio keyboards with speakers in the tops of them and I fool around with them. They seem far superior to what was available when I was buying my crap. Are they all junk? Most of them are sub$100 and they almost all have midi outs.
If one were considering getting one of those maybe just to use as a controller for the S-612 (which I used to have loads of fun with while polluted with attention-span enhancing substances), what sort of flaws would one wish to avoid? I was thinking that the 61-key, velocity sensitive ones with midi out would be OK just to have around. What kinds of "features" make them a waste of money?
Anyway, a few friends of mine, sometimes non-musicians, have these yamaha or casio keyboards with speakers in the tops of them and I fool around with them. They seem far superior to what was available when I was buying my crap. Are they all junk? Most of them are sub$100 and they almost all have midi outs.
If one were considering getting one of those maybe just to use as a controller for the S-612 (which I used to have loads of fun with while polluted with attention-span enhancing substances), what sort of flaws would one wish to avoid? I was thinking that the 61-key, velocity sensitive ones with midi out would be OK just to have around. What kinds of "features" make them a waste of money?
rxQueen
New member
DavidK said:Here's the confusion:
Does the keyboard itself have to make sounds?
Some keyboards are merely keyboard controllers, they play softsynths, modules, etc. Those are in your price range.
If you NEED a synth, you could get an Alesis Nanosynth for probably 100 ( a module, no keys) and pick up a casio midi keyboard for 40 bucks that has midi.
no, the keyboard itself doesn't have to generate sound (like those casio or yamaha ones from costco and radioshack)...