Keyboard recommendation, $200-400?

[mbouteneff]

Hey all,

I'm a newbie recorder, and am already addicted. I'm looking for a good, but low priced keyboard -- I'm not really a piano player, but will be using to control/compose Midi, Reason, Acid stuff. (I'll be recording vocals, acoustic/electric/bass guitar, but will be generating drums and sound textures through Reason mostly).

Any recommendations on a keyboard in the range of $200-400? Any system features I should look for when shopping?

Funds are hard to find as a student..!

Thanks for your help,

Mike

 

[subtractor]

That's not much money...
But if I were to spend $400 on a keyboard, unless it was used it would be the microkrog.

 

[Leeking]

sounds to me like you are looking for a midi controller...

check out for kaysound in ebay (<$100)

 

[69ShadesofRed]

Yep, if you're looking for something to trigger the synths and samplers in Reason and other softsynths you want to get a midi controller. There are several offerings on the market that connect to the computer through the USB port and also act as a MIDI interface. For reasonably priced controllers take a look at the stuff made by M-Audio (Oxygen8, Radium, Ozone) and Edirol (PCR-30 and PCR-50). A bit further up the scale there is the Novation ReMote, which has semi-weighted keys (which being a heavy-handed pianist I actually prefer than purely synth action keyboards, but YMMV), a boat load of controllers, comes with templates for Reason (among other apps), etc... There is also an "Audio" version of it that pretty much adds a soundcard, two mic pres, FX such as reverbs, chorus, distortion, etc... I think it's around $500, but if you're going to use external sources as well (you mention vocals and guitars/bass) and if you haven't already invested in a soundcard, might be a really good value.

Basically look for something that has a lot of knobs/assignable controllers, sends aftertouch and is velocity sensitive. You also want something that's sturdy enough so you don't end up with broken keys, knobs and such...

Finally, go to the local music store, and check out all of the above items mentioned for yourself, and pay close attention to the keyboard feel as that's the part you'll be interacting with the most.

Good luck!

 

[mbouteneff]

another question

Guys, Thanks for all this advice.

69shadesofred,

The keyboard you mention sounds great, especially because I DO need mic pres and I think I do need a better sound card (right now I have the turtle beach santa cruz card).

Are the card and the mic pres in the keyboard you mention good? I.e. are they solid, like the M-Audio units I hear about?

Thanks!

-Mike

 

[69ShadesofRed]

Honestly I don't have experience with the audio features of it. I have banged around on the audio-less version, and I liked the feel. I haven't seen the audio version in showrooms yet. Keep in mind that it still uses USB for all the connections, and I myself shy away from running audio through USB. Eventually you'll probably want to upgrade to something like a Delta or Aardvark or RME.

Having said that, knowing Novation and the overall quality of their products (I love the K-Station!) I wouldn't be surprised that it beats the Turtle Beach card that you currently have. It has just come out so there isn't much info on it yet.