If you're thinking of becoming a desktop musician or thinking about making music using your computer then having a MIDI keyboard is highly recommended. You've probably seen them around in music shops, in advertising, or being played by fellow musicians or musician-wanna-be's in live performances. But what exactly are they?
Simply put, it's a piano-style keyboard device that is used for sending (MIDI) signals over a USB or MIDI cable to other devices operating on the same MIDI protocol interface - like your desktop computer for example that runs a digital audio workstation (DAW) software. That being said, not all the MIDI keyboard that you can get out there is actually the piano-style user interfaces. Many alternative designs have pads or buttons that sense the velocity of your fingers to lower or increase play volume such as the Continuum Fingerboard, a fretless design.
Let's focus on the piano style keyboards. When buying yourself one you typically factor in budget and comfort. Of course if you have the budget then you can buy the best one that is comfortable for you to use. However, not everyone has unlimited budget, especially not the new musician in the making.
For the rest of us selecting one means selecting the size which typically means the number of keys available. There are a number to choose from ranging - 88, 76, 61, 49, 37 or 25. The purist will want you to get the 88 or at least the 76. The one you get will depend on another factor - space. An 88 may be good but if you can't fit it in your studio (i.e. in front of your computer) then there's no need for something that big.
Once you've selected the number of keys think about the key action - that is to say the manner the keys respond to your playing. There are typically 3 types - synth action, semi-weighted action and full weighted action.
1) Synth action have light spring loaded keys that take little pressure to activate and tend to return to their positions very quickly. This is good for those who play a lot of fast pieces and those who aren't really pianists by nature.
2) Semi-weighted action MIDI keyboard has keys that offer some resistance and springs back slower than the synth action ones.
3) Finally there's the full weighted action keys which mimics the mechanical action of conventional pianos. It requires more pressure to play and are typically used by people who play the piano and like the feel of "real" piano keys.
Of course you can forget the knobs, buttons and sliders that help transmit MIDI information and give the user more hands-on control over everything connected to your controller including the DAW software. This way you get real-time control in the sound making process unlike using your computer's mouse control.
The number of knobs and buttons will depend on usage but the bare necessities should have the pitch and mod wheels and you can make do with a small number of sliders. As long as you are able to effectively assign synth programming you can easily maximize use of your MIDI keyboard.
Check out useful tips in buying Midi Keyboards. Know what other users say in the Midi Keyboard Reviews section.
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