electric keyboard ideas?

[IanR]

Can anyone recommend a reasonable keyboard?

I want to upgrade form my crappy Casio keyboard to something a little better.   I've been using the Casio more lately but the sounds are a little distorted and often don't sound very authentic. It has about 100 different tones/sounds and I've used about 10-15 of them on recordings so far. 

I'd be happy to spend around $500.

I may even take some lessons and find out how to use the thing properly.

cheers,

Ian

[Oldrottenhead]

i had a similar experience with a cheap and crappy casio  and upgraded to the juno di. may be a bit more expensive than what you want to spend. coming in at about 729 australian dollars? but if you can stretch your budget i would say go for it. i have had mine a few years now and am still discovering new sounds and effects that i haven't used yet.

http://www.ghmusic.com.au/index.php/keyboards-22/synths/roland-juno-di-mobile-synthesizer-with-song-player.html

[thetworegs]

I have an M-audio 88 pro keys and have always been impressed with it, so I think it's worth a look I got mine secondhand for £180 on eBay so not so sure about Australia but found one new on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-ProKeys-Premium-Stage-Piano/dp/B0009X6QN8

[Geir]

I have two old crappy keyboards. Both I have used the way they are, but now after getting an iPad, I've bought a couple of apps and have the most amazing sounds I could never dream of getting before!

I can't remember if you've got an iPad, but if you do, that can prolong the life of your synth!

[64Guitars]

Does your Casio keyboard have MIDI? If it does, then you might want to experiment with soft synths, using your Casio as the MIDI controller to trigger them. The copy of SONAR LE that came with your BR-800 should support most soft synths. It might even come with a few. Many good soft synths are available for free. And, of course, there are many that you can buy as well.

If your Casio does not have MIDI, then you could buy an inexpensive MIDI keyboard controller to do the same thing.

For example: http://www.megamusiconline.com.au/roland-a500s-midi-keyboard-controller-p-5706.html?cPath=3_115

If you're not interested in soft synths and you just want a standalone keyboard, then you need to think about how you expect to use it. I bought a Yamaha PSR-2100 several years ago. I mainly wanted it to add various sampled instruments to my recordings, such as piano, organ, strings, woodwinds, horns, percussion, etc. For that purpose, I've found it to be adequate. However, it's several years old and I'm sure there are better ones available now for less money. But one thing the Yamaha and other keyboards of that type are not very good at is building sounds from scratch or modifying sounds to create new sounds. If that's what you're interested in, then you should look at analog-style synths like the Moogs, or the KORG MS-20 mini. However, I think that most of these will be out of your price range.

One great thing about soft synths is that they can give you the best of both worlds. There are plenty of analog-style soft synths that will let you create an unlimited variety of sounds. There are also soft synths that emulate traditional instruments (piano, organ, strings, woodwinds, horns, percussion, etc.), often using SoundFont technology. You can get SoundFonts that emulate just about any instrument. And they often sound great.

With standalone keyboards, you have to decide whether you want to create your own sounds or emulate traditional instruments. Most of the less expensive keyboards emulate traditional instruments. Some include synth patches as well, but they don't usually give you much control over those patches, at least not in the way that an analog-style synth would.

Ideally, it would be nice to have two keyboards - one that's good at emulating traditional instruments, and an analog-style synth for creating your own electronic sounds. Of course, that's probably way beyond your budget. But you might want to consider it in your long-term plans. For example, if you think you might want to buy an analog-style synth in a few years, then you can buy a cheaper keyboard now that's good at emulating traditional instruments, and not worry too much about its synth-like features, if any. On the other hand, if you don't think there's much chance that you'll ever buy a second keyboard, then you might want to look for one that includes some good synth sounds and is reasonably controllable so that you can make your own sounds. There aren't any that will give you the kind of control you'd get with an analog-style synth, but if you're only going to have one keyboard, you'll have to compromise. A bit of control over the synth patches is better than none.

[64Guitars]

Here's an example of a free analog-style soft synth which you can download for SONAR LE.

http://www.cakewalk.com/products/triangle/

Download it here: http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/kb/reader.aspx/20090918



And there's a free SoundFonf (SFZ) player available here:

http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/kb/reader.aspx/20090612

There are many SoundFont players available. Here's another:

http://www.plogue.com/products/sforzando/

And here's a site where you can get some free SoundFonts:

http://soundfonts.homemusician.net/

[IanR]

Thanks for the advice.

My current crappy Casio only has a line out, so nothing esoteric will be possible with just that.

I had not thought about using software synths.  I know virtually nothing about them, so that is something to ponder.

I have seen a Casio WK7600 in the shops for about $675, so I'm thinking that keyboard will probably do everything that I need and will allow me to connect to software as well - if I ever choose to explore that domain.  I'd have to invest the time and I'm not sure that I want to do that at present.

I'll let you know how I go. I'll have to ask the missus for permission.  Its Fathers day in AUS in early September, so I may be able to wrangle something out of that 

cheers,

Ian

[IanR]

Here's an example of a free analog-style soft synth which you can download for SONAR LE.

Download it here: http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/kb/reader.aspx/20090918



And there's a free SoundFonf (SFZ) player available here:

http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/kb/reader.aspx/20090612

There are many SoundFont players available. Here's another:

http://www.plogue.com/products/sforzando/

And here's a site where you can get some free SoundFonts:

http://soundfonts.homemusician.net/

64 Guitars,

I just checked out all these links. Thanks for the advice.  Man, there are a huge amount of resources available to us on the web.  I am amazed. 

I'm also waiting to get a lap top computer for the man cave.  We have one but it is mostly my wife's, so I cannot leave it set up ready for use and I would not be allowed to have it for the considerable amount of time required to learn how DAWs and synthesisers work. 

Cheers,

Ian

[DannyB_KY]

A Roland Juno Di or Gi may still require your consideration. They will do all the midi stuff 64G mentioned, and still have a ka-zillion built in sounds as well.

[Hook]

All Roland synths I've heard amaze me, even the small ones but I have very little experience with them, i also have a crappy casio I never use. Like Geir said, an Ipad might be the ticket...I've heard some of the GeoSynth app and it's pretty cool. If you have an iphone thumbjam has some swirls and sounds & you can get most of the synth apps but they would be definately easier on a pad...I really want a pad!
Good luck!