I need so much help!!

[Two Fisted Law]

Okay, everyone bare with me. I'm a total greenhorn in this realm. I'm looking to buy a keyboard/synth/whatever. However, I don't know what I'm really looking for.
I would like something with at least 61 keys. I want to be able to compose piano, drum, possibly bass, and orchestrial parts with the keyboard. Piano and drums being the most important. I'm currently running Sonar 2.2XL on my PC and hardware specs are not an issue.
I only have experience in playing in a live band and I know nothing about synths or keyboards or anything of the sort. I really don't even know about MIDI. After looking through catalogues, ads, reviews and such, I have found a couple of instruments which might fit my direction and budget. These are:

->Alesis QS 6.2
->Yamaha S 03

Please, any comments, information, suggestions you could share would be unbelievably appreciated.

 

[brzilian]

What is your budget?

Alesis has a reputation for very "blah" sounds. The Yamaha S03 is an OK board, but the keyboard feel is absolutely terrible.

I would suggest looking at a Roland RS-5 and E-mu PK-6 as well.

You really need to sit down and play these boards at a local store to make some kind of informed decision. Looking through catalogs and asking other people what they think is not the best way to do it.

 

[Two Fisted Law]

Well, my budget, I would say, is under $700. Tone generation is my primary concern. I want great drum and piano sounds. After posting the original thread, I heard some of the Alesis sounds. Very unimpressive. Too stale. What can be done with my computer and what must I need to get the best sounds from the synth. I guess that's more of a concern.

I don't really need the synth to be a sequencer since my computer can handle that. Right? I just want the best sounds possible and decent playability. I've never had a keyboard. Grew up playing piano, guitar, drums.

Unfortunately, the music stores in my area aren't great. I would like to be armed with some knowledge before going in there. They really frown on newbies.

 

[mikeh]

You are correct that your software will act as a sequencer - so you don't need that option on the keyboard.

There are so many decent keyboards - you really have to trust you ears (I agree the Alesis sounds don't really do it for me).

I have long been a fan of the Roland XP30. It has over 1,000 sounds - with fair piano and decent drums & bass. It has some very good orchestra sounds (Roland has always had good string sounds). It has relative good feel (for an unweighted board). It also has room for expansion slots - with sound cards to add better piano, etc. They are fairly user friendlly and have some fair on board effects

I don't think they are still in production - but they are only about 2 years old, so you should be able to find one (even a use one in good shape) within your budget.

 

[Two Fisted Law]

Thanks for the input!!

I have also been informed of another way to go. One person suggested Hypersonic for Cubase VST. Then I would need a midi controller (some kind of keyboard looking thing). I could plug the thing into my M-Audio Firewire 410.

Now this guy told me it's about $299 for Hypersonic, plus at least another $199 for the controller if I wanted at least 61 keys. That's only $500 and the sounds he showed me were unbelievable. Are there any dangers? I don't have too much of a problem letting my computer be the workhorse. Any controller suggestions??

I have Cubase but have never used it because our bands studio has always used Sonar. It seems too good of a deal to be true.

 

[brzilian]

Thanks for the input!!

I have also been informed of another way to go. One person suggested Hypersonic for Cubase VST. Then I would need a midi controller (some kind of keyboard looking thing). I could plug the thing into my M-Audio Firewire 410.

Now this guy told me it's about $299 for Hypersonic, plus at least another $199 for the controller if I wanted at least 61 keys. That's only $500 and the sounds he showed me were unbelievable. Are there any dangers? I don't have too much of a problem letting my computer be the workhorse. Any controller suggestions??

I have Cubase but have never used it because our bands studio has always used Sonar. It seems too good of a deal to be true.

Do some research on latency - its a quick way to turn anyone off to softsynths. I personally prefer to have a physical synth sitting in front of me with dedicated hardware inside that doesn't also check my email, browse the web, etc...

 

[mikeh]

I agree with brzilion, the more you expect the computer to do (sequence, synth, effects, etc.) the more potential for delays, cross platform problems, etc.

In particular, when you want the computer to process large amount of audio, the processing speed becomes key - and next thing you know, you need a bigger, faster computer.

Some people love softsynths - I prefer hard synth. In particular a hardware device can be carried to a gig/jam, etc - this is not so easy with computers. If the computer crashes, you can't even practise.

But - if you like the sounds - it may work for you. Do more research, and decide what you think is best for you.

Good luck.

 

[69ShadesofRed]

I use both hard- and soft-synths, so don't have a particular preference for either. I use them for their sounds and capabilities. Of course they both have their own practical issues and whatnot and there are some questions you need to ask before deciding which one is for you.

Gigging is certainly easier and more secure with hardware. With software you have to drag your computer with you and deal with potential crashes. So, if you're going to gig, you might want to skip on software. However, if this is going to be used mostly in a studio environment, there is no reason why you should shy away from software, especially since there are some great instruments at very reasonable prices. And I have never had latency issues with Cubase and ASIO drivers.

One other thing to consider is the sounds that you're looking for. Since you're especially looking for piano and drum sounds, you might also look into samplers (software or hardware), that way you can load a killer piano library or a killer drumset and not be limited by whatever is in the ROM of a synth.

Now for hardware, I really like the Kurzweil pianos and you can get a used K2000 for around $500 or less nowdays. Take a look at this! It's one of the most flexible synths out there, has sampling option and 2 expansion slots, one of which you can populate with the Orchestral ROM if you want orchestral sounds.

As for software, there is a vast array to choose from. I'd recommend getting one of the full featured samplers like Kontakt or Halion and purchasing sample libraries for pianos, drums and whatnot.

brazilian:
The Yamaha S03 is an OK board, but the keyboard feel is absolutely terrible.

I would suggest looking at a Roland RS-5 and E-mu PK-6 as well.

You can't stand the feel of the S03 yet you recommend the PK-6? The PK-6 probably has one of the worst keyboards I have ever come in contact with!

 

[Two Fisted Law]

I was leaning toward the soft-synth since I really won't be gigging with this rig. I've been looking to put together my own collection of tracks outside of the band I'm already in. They play mostly punk and rock. Not that I'm tired of it, I just want to express a little differently on my own. I do so much gigging with them, that I want to just record and be alone, away from the stress.

As far as computing power goes, I'm a computer geek, more or less. I have two systems, one running my basic computer functions.....email, web, coding, graphics, video, etc. That's a AMD 1400XP. I also have a P4 2.4 800 FSB with 2 gigs of RAM for gaming and audio production. That's a stripped down computer with just graphics and audio processing power. I was told that would be sufficient to run soft-synth.

Could I get something like the Kurzweil and not use the sequencer?? Just use that as a MIDI controller, and for generating sounds when I don't feel like booting up? Then I can also run the soft-synth if I wanted to.

Thanks again.

 

[Two Fisted Law]

Also, I think Hypersonic is the newest VSTi from Steinberg. I think that's why it was recommended to me. Does Halion contain more than Hypersonic? I think they're the same price. I did like it's sounds very much though.

 

[69ShadesofRed]

The P4 is definitely sufficient to run softsynths and more. You can definitely use the Kurzweil as a MIDI controller for softsynths, as well as for it's own sounds. That's how I use mine and use the built in sequencer for gigging. The only issue with the K2000 is that it doesn't have as many sliders as the later models do (the K2500 and K2600) so it's OK for playing notes but if you want to control other parameters (like filter cutoff and such for example) it's kind of limited. In that regard the K2500 or K2600 would be a better choice, but I doubt you can find one in the price range you're looking at.

Not familiar with Hypersonic, but if you like the sounds, in the end that's what counts right? Just checked the info on it... holy crap that thing looks impressive! Don't confuse it with Halion though. Halion is a full featured sampler while from the looks of it Hypersonic kind of imitates a hardware workstation in the same vain as Triton, Motif or K2x00 w/o sampling.

Good luck! If you get Hypersonic, let us know what you think of it.

 

[brzilian]

I was leaning toward the soft-synth since I really won't be gigging with this rig. I've been looking to put together my own collection of tracks outside of the band I'm already in. They play mostly punk and rock. Not that I'm tired of it, I just want to express a little differently on my own. I do so much gigging with them, that I want to just record and be alone, away from the stress.

As far as computing power goes, I'm a computer geek, more or less. I have two systems, one running my basic computer functions.....email, web, coding, graphics, video, etc. That's a AMD 1400XP. I also have a P4 2.4 800 FSB with 2 gigs of RAM for gaming and audio production. That's a stripped down computer with just graphics and audio processing power. I was told that would be sufficient to run soft-synth.

Could I get something like the Kurzweil and not use the sequencer?? Just use that as a MIDI controller, and for generating sounds when I don't feel like booting up? Then I can also run the soft-synth if I wanted to.

Thanks again.

A powerfull P4 with tons of RAM, 800Mhz FSB won't mean squat if you're not using a audio card designed for DAW work over gaming, especially when it comes to latency with either ASIO or WDM drivers.

 

[Two Fisted Law]

Well, I know. I use my Audigy for gaming. But I do have an M-Audio Firewire 410 for sound production and sometimes, if I have multiple tracks to record, I use the Aardvark Q10 in our bands studio. Those cards have awesome latency. I know I can't hook instruments up to just any sound blaster.