MIDI Keyboard
- Thread starter guitarpat
- Start date
My son is a far better guitarist than keyboard player but he did get to grade 8 joe.
He has used an Evolution EKeys49 for some years and it has served him well.
You only need a "controller" with full sized and reasonably good feeling keys, all the noises are generated in the PC.
The Evo' I think is no more but M-Audio do something that looks very much like it! M's drivers seem to work for our Evo anyway! Whatever you get MAKE SURE it has a MIDI out port (5 pin DIN) on it. I will tell you why if you want to know.
For a very nice piano sound, download the demo of Modartt's Pianoteq. it is also a MIDI recorder in its own right.
Dave.
guitarpat
New member
I found a used M-Audio Keystation 49 for 40 bucks. Is that a good unit?
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grimtraveller
If only for a moment.....
Get it ! Get it ! Get it !
Get it ?
Get it ?
dervish riff
New member
grimtraveller
If only for a moment.....
grimtraveller
If only for a moment.....
Because I'm such a clunk handed keyboardist that can't play keyboards, I couldn't even think of any keyboard with less than 49 keys. I've long wondered how players can get by with 25. They obviously know something my brain won't even consider !
grimtraveller
If only for a moment.....
I use the controller keyboard to play any VSTis that I might 'play' so I need the range of at least 49 keys. I can always increase the note range with pitch change in the software and varispeed on the DAW.
Ah! Should have asked perhaps what you are using as a sound card/Audio Interface! If you don't know WTF I am talking about you haven't got one and must be using the OnBoard Sound chip in the computer. If the latter is a desktop with a spare PCI slot one of these is the bizz....
M-Audio Audiophile 2496 PCI Audio Interface Very low "latency" (posh word for the delay) If you have a laptop you will need a USB interface. All more money to find I am afraid. You could try "ASIO4all" A small program that sometimes improves latency but I am not hopeful.
You might be able to set the buffers to a lower level for the OBS but I have had it turned off for so long in my computers I don't have a clue atmo' how to go about that.
Dave.
DM60
Well-known member
I will not say this with 100% certainty, but MIDI to USB I have not had a lot of luck with. If the keyboard comes with a USB and a driver, they seem to do better (Roland's USB port does well, but it has a driver). If you can get MIDI Din to MIDI Din you will have better luck. You still might here some delay, but it will be minimal.
Ho Kay!
Just rigged my Ek49 to this ancient 3G P4 running XP Home.
Plugged up the Scarlet 8i6 and ran Pianoteq* demo.
With 10mS set on the 8i6 USB control panel no delay that I could detect. Whacking the time down to 1mS produced either crackles or nowt. 5mS seemed ok.
So, make sure the AI is set with ASIO drivers and if there is still a delay you must have a big buffer setting lurking somewhere in the system.
There is no difference in my experience between a keyboard connected via USB and one connected via DINs to an AI (THEN connected via USB!!??) And I would not expect there to be since MIDI is Sooo slow compared to even USB 1.1.
*This is worth downloading even if just for test purposes. It makes setting a MIDI input and output device very simple and gives access to the AI's control panel without searching for it.
That said! Get a couple of MIDI cables anyway!
Dave.
Just rigged my Ek49 to this ancient 3G P4 running XP Home.
Plugged up the Scarlet 8i6 and ran Pianoteq* demo.
With 10mS set on the 8i6 USB control panel no delay that I could detect. Whacking the time down to 1mS produced either crackles or nowt. 5mS seemed ok.
So, make sure the AI is set with ASIO drivers and if there is still a delay you must have a big buffer setting lurking somewhere in the system.
There is no difference in my experience between a keyboard connected via USB and one connected via DINs to an AI (THEN connected via USB!!??) And I would not expect there to be since MIDI is Sooo slow compared to even USB 1.1.
*This is worth downloading even if just for test purposes. It makes setting a MIDI input and output device very simple and gives access to the AI's control panel without searching for it.
That said! Get a couple of MIDI cables anyway!
Dave.
DM60
Well-known member
Not sure if we are saying the same thing, if it is USB to USB, you're right, should not be an issue. What I have seen is MIDI DIN to USB, there is a translation that takes place. I guess depending on the cable manufacturer and how well they convert the data could be the major area that is the potential problem.
Sorry David.
I have not used a MIDI to USB converter cable but I have read of driver problems in the past. They would never be needed if every AI was MIDI equipped, at least anything at the £100 mark and purporting to be the central unit of a home recording system.
People often say "MIDI keyboards are all USB these days" Well so they are but there is still shedloads of old MIDI kit about that isn't, drum machines, sound modules. These crop up in junk shops and the like for a nifty or less!
So, sozz again Dave and forgive the canter on the Hobby Horse!
Dave.