Any suggestions for Keyboard?

[SE]

Hi everybody I was thinking of buying  a cheap keyboard to add some snyth or string sounds to my songs, by the way I,m no keyboard player so simple would be best. any suggestions would be gratfully received.

[Blooby]

Hi everybody I was thinking of buying.  Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

How much are you willing to spend?

I got a MicroKorg synthesizer (https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=4134.0) a few years back for about $400, and every Dr. Who/Pink Floyd sound stems to be in there somewhere.  I think it only has 4 voice polyphony, but as a tone-shaping tool, that didn't matter much to me.  It has an arpeggiator on it, and you can adjust the beats per minute manually.

If you want to spend less, I would let your local paper of Craigslist dictate the purchase.  You'll save a bundle.

'Two cents.

Blooby

[SE]

Thanks Blooby for your help your track sounds really amazing love the vox as for the synth it sounds really good would be somthing I would look at thanks for you help.

[Blooby]

Thanks Blooby for your help your track sounds really amazing love the vox as for the synth it sounds really good would be something I would look at thanks for you help.

Just for clarification, the last tracks I have posted have all been live tracks, using the keyboardist's gear.  Here's a post that uses the MicroKorg: (https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=3946.msg44624#msg44624).

Peace.

Blooby

[tony]

If you have any sort of program on your computer that has synth sounds in it then you might just look at a midi controller to run that sound bank.  I'll say this to save going backwards and forwards with questions but if you already know it then I apologise in advance for wasting your time.  But there are two ways to go.  A keyboard has a whole lot of instrument sounds in it and so does a computer very often.  I use Mac so I have Garageband built in.  The sounds on my Casio CTK601 keyboard are not that different from the sounds in my music program.  If you are buying a keyboard and you already have something like a music recording program in your computer, you might be buying the same instruments twice.  A midi controller can be a lot cheaper than a keyboard because it doesn't have to have all the stuff built in.  It just controls the sounds in an external soundbank which (as I keep saying) might already be in your computer.

That's enough for now, I'm even boring myself.  The point is that you have options and the nice people in the shops are not going to explain them clearly.  When I went into a music shop to clarify some of this, I explained everything that I had at home by way of keyboards and computers.  The guy wanted to sell me a package in excess of $1000.  I said sure, walked away and bought a midi-usb cable for under $50 and it did the same thing.  A midi controller and the right audio recording program might be a cheaper option than a keyboard.  I have to end now because I've just sent myself to sleep.

[BossMicroBRew]

If you're looking to spend as little as possible, you might check out the Korg nanoKEY. I have posted a couple snippets below, but you can dig further if you like. The device may provide you with some synth sounds you like at a good price. I will tell you that I have never used one of these, so I cannot really give it any review other than it looks like a cool little toy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xXwrzjxLCc

http://keyboards-midi.musiciansfriend.com/product/Korg-Nano-KEY?sku=703388

BossMicroBRew

[OsCKilO]

Why not buy a Kassolator........

Just a thought.....


Cheap keyboards have a habit of sounding like cheap keyboards..........

[tony]

I think that the Nanokey is just a controller and has no sounds with it.  You might want to look at something like the Behringer UMX25 that comes with Ableton Live (I think) and that would give you the keyboard and the sounds to control.  And if you do have something in your computer it will probably control that too.

[BossMicroBRew]

I think that the Nanokey is just a controller and has no sounds with it.

Yes, nothing is actually built into the unit I don't htink. It's all Korg software-based, controlled through USB, if I am not mistaken.


BMB

[SE]

Hey thanks for all the advice it is really a great help, had a look at the Behringer keyboards and they look really good the UXM 49 looked good, going to show my complete lack of knowledge could this go straight into the MBR or via computer first.