I'm looking for a keyboard to keep in my dorm room. I don't ask for much, but I can't seem to find anything that meets all three of my demands, which are:
>Compact, prefer roughly 50 keys.
>Built in speakers.
>Easily compatible with most DAW software.
If you have anything to recommend, please do. Pic related is my current best bet, but doesn't have speakers, so it has to run entirely through a computer.
Also, general keyboard thread. Why not.
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My Roland Juni Di is a wonderful little thing. Doesn't have speakers (why should it?), but it has a headphone slot. Sidenote: I just got a Moog Sub Phatty and an in love, currently using the Roland as a controller since it has 5 octaves
Why do you want speakers anyway? They'll inevitably sound like shit.
To clarify, that means a jam could sound good on the speakers but not sound good on proper monitors or headphones. It'll probably be missing a lot of the low end.
I guess I should clarify. The main problem I find with some of the keyboards I want to buy are that they have to be run through a computer to work. I want a device that can be a stand alone musical instrument, so a headphone jack would work just as well.
Just buy a synth. Microbrute's a good one. You can plug a headphone in.
Then keep your current MIDI keyboard for serious producing.
Just checked out the Juno-Di, and I have to say, it's probably my number one choice now. I've ditched the speaker requirement, and I'm now just looking for something that can be played by its self/with headphones.
first off, If you want built in speakers than you need more than just a midi controller, like the one you pictured
I'm a keyboard player and I've always believed that the best speakers to monitor with are the ones built into the boards. shitty boards are gonna have shitty speakers, but decent boards will sound excellent, theres something about having speakers located right in the board that is really satisfying, i agree. on all my boards with on board speakers, i think the built in speakers sound better than any other reference monitors I use.
I dont have any recommendations except i've always loved Korg, most bang for buck imho.
very few high end boards have built in speakers. and if they do they're almost never adequate for playing with groups. just solo monitoring.
sorry man i posted without even reading the whole thread.
There are lots of different kinds of hardware keyboards, very few do everything well.
romplers are great for playing diverse and recognizable sounds, filled with different pre programmed sound patches
arrangers are great for generating virtual accompaniment, one man band kind of thing
synths are great for satisfying manual sound synthesis
stage pianos are great for mimicking the sound and feel of acoustic pianos, and are otherwise romplers
dude lot of options, gotta know what you want.
most keyboards work fine with DAWs, if they have a usb port for midi you dont even need an audio interface
I've played guitar for around seven years now (not OP), and I've seriously been considering buying a keyboard for primarily just piano. But I don't know anything at all about it, all I know is someone I know told me to get one that has 88 keys and is sensitive to pressure. Which brand is the best that's not a professional $1000 keyboard?
Also, I really really love synth music and have always thought it'd be awesome to get a synth. Can I just use a normal keyboard for that? And if I do buy a synth, do I /need/ a computer along with it?
If anyone responds, thanks a lot guys. I've searched around online for this information but it always comes in incomprehensible blocks.
properly mimicking a piano action is a tricky thing to do. If you aren't already a discerning pianist I wouldn't bother too much with getting the perfect piano keybed.
That being said, if you're still sold on playing mostly piano sounds, Casio has really turned their brand around with their Privia line of pianos. They really are outstanding for their prices, a few different options there but all the models of Casio Privia keyboards I've played would all make excellent piano feeling keyboards. I know several pros who tour with them as midi controllers due to their low cost and great actions. like I said lots of diff models but new in box retail $400-$1000 USD
hardware synths are usually expensive for what you get, and really software synths blow them out of the water. in every way really. I would only bother with hardware synths if you really just really need to fiddle with knobs.
I personally play a Korg sp250 that has been an excellent workhorse piano. they can be picked up used on ebay for about 300-400 bucks. comes with a very solid stand and pretty good on-board speakers
acoustic pianos have 88 keys, i personally think its more than necessary for a portable instrument. It makes sense on an acoustic, the thing really doesn't move around ever, whats an extra 10" width. also it maxes out the range of steel strings, which is sort of the point of the piano harp to begin with. But on a digital keyboard it makes the thing fucking way long, shorter keyboards almost always have an octave up/down system and can usually milk it to get an even larger usable range than 88 keys. I've been playing classical piano for 20 years and i prefer a 76 key keyboard. any piece can be reworked to avoid the extended range. its still down to personal opinion but really the top octave gets so little use it probably shouldn't even be there. (im a piano tuner as a side job and I very often see heavily worn pianos that are barely worn at all in the topmost octave and a half)
sensitive to pressure is a bit wrong. The keys are sensitive to velocity, which determines volume on a piano. Many keyboards are designed to have higher resistance keys (heavy actions) which require more pressure, which in turns makes it easier to negotiate the velocity control (more weight to throw around makes it easier to control velocity)
hammer action, graded hammer action, and weighted-keys, are all buzzwords for piano like key resistance
hope that helps
sorry for posting so many times
Thanks a ton, anons. This helps a lot, and I'll certainly be getting something in the near future!
any cheap keyboard with a midi out.
oh you should also be aware of pitch bend and mod wheels.
synths use em'. lots of patches use em'. pianos don't use em' at all, keyboards intended to replace acoustic pianos usually dont have them at all, and often won't even transmit the signals across midi thru connections, which is fucked up if you ask me.
So if you intend to plug your digital piano into a computer to make sweet sweet synth love, you might want to get one with wheels.
OP here. Based on the descriptions you gave and a bit of personal research, I've decided that a portable synthesizer would work best. It looks like most synths come with some level of pre-programmed sound settings, so they can be used as stand-alone instruments. I find playing the piano to be very relaxing, so not having to mess around with a computer all the time to use the instrument is a big selling point for me. At the same time, I also enjoy MIDI composition as a separate hobby, so a synth's natural affinity for digital recording fits the bill. It seems like anything that the hardware lacks can be made up for with software when it comes to digital recording and composing, so I'm not too worried on that front.
Also, I just wanted to thank all the anons here that were so much more helpful than that punk sales desk girl I tried talking to. Keep giving me models and recommendations to check out if you feel like it.
>speakers
fuck off
>50 keys
fuck off again
>daw friendly
literally any midi controller, new synth, or digital piano will work with any DAW
sounds like you just fuck around and don't know much about keyboards, so fuck off and wait for the /keyboardgeneral/
Korg Minilogue made big waves recently, about $500 new. has usb midi which is a plus. very cool design, somewhat new on the market
wow what a dick
built in speakers can sound surprisingly good, many players think so. its not unreasonable to want a keyboard with monitors built in
49 key midi controllers are like the most popular size on the market, why should he fuck off at 50?
just because it has midi outs doesn't mean its DAW friendly. some boards can't change what midi channel they send on, i would consider that to be less DAW friendly. Lots of boards have pads for percussion samples or midi assignable faders, i would consider that to be extremely daw friendly. I personally own a board that will not transmit pitch bend and mod wheel midi signals, even from another board using the midi thru jack. thats pretty daw unfriendly and its still a keyboard
/kbg/ happens like what, twice a month?
fuck that we're having a nice keyboard thread here
>built in speakers can sound surprisingly good, many players think so
keep telling yourself that, all that matters is if you believe it yourself.
Haven't played everything listed here, but I second the user recommending a Juno-Di if you're looking for something cost efficient and with big variety of piano, e. piano, strings, synth leads, etc. The only thing I'm not a fan of are the synth pad presets, in which case a Roland Gaia has a much better selection, but none of the other acoustic instrument sounds. The Gaia does have a better layout where you're not scrolling through sub-menus. I was never a fan of the Roland's joystick pitch bend/mod wheel, either, but it's not a big deal.
Ya know, I did switch it up and say a headphone jack would be fine too. The important thing is that it can be played as an instrument, and not be exclusively a recording device as some workstations turn out to be.
thats exactly the point
as long as the person playing thinks it sounds good, then they make good personal monitors.
They're not top quality speakers, its the fact that they're built into the board that makes them good. the sound is coming from all the right spots. they tweak the stereo balance so more bass comes out the left, the speakers are right above your hands pointing at your head.
Its a fucking mess if you want to get the same speaker placement using bookshelf speakers or whatever you think would be better.