I've been toying with the idea of getting a keyboard for the past few weeks. For anyone who plays the keyboard regularly, what are some of your suggestions in the way of keyboards? Also, I'll want to get some software that will record as I play, and then be able to print/edit what was played at the sheet music level. Any suggestions?

I've been a little interested in getting a keyboard myself (mostly for learning/enjoyment, less for actual composition which I'm sure I suck at [lol]). One thing that immediately jumps out at me is that the number of keys on keyboards are different. If I want to play a piano piece on a 25 key keyboard, how exactly does one do that? Typically more keys == more expensive, so what's a good number of keys to shoot for? Enlighten me if you please. [smile]

Quote: Original post by Roots
I've been a little interested in getting a keyboard myself (mostly for learning/enjoyment, less for actual composition which I'm sure I suck at [lol]). One thing that immediately jumps out at me is that the number of keys on keyboards are different. If I want to play a piano piece on a 25 key keyboard, how exactly does one do that? Typically more keys == more expensive, so what's a good number of keys to shoot for? Enlighten me if you please. [smile]

I'm in the same boat as you lol. The primary reason that I want a keyboard is for learning and enjoyment as well; and I was also wondering about the number of keys. My first thought on the key thing is, find a keyboard that has as many keys as you can, that is within your budget. I admit, my knowledge on keyboards is extremely limited so I could be completely wrong, lol; but that's what my first instinct is. Any and all input would be appreciated :D

Anyone else have any ideas?

What kind of keyboard are you looking for?... a hardware synth keyboard or a midi controller to work with soft synth? Then figure out how many octaves you need and the size of your table; they come in size of 25, 37, 49, 61 keys. 3 or less octaves are usually not enough if you want to play a full piano piece, but they are perfectly suited if you're simplely looking to drop a baseline in the arrangement. After that you have to take into account of the number of knob/button/faders you need to tweak the sounds.

Anyway, Edirol/Roland got some good cheap midi keyboards...
http://www.audiomidi.com/master.cfm?CID=262

If you're willing to go old school, you can get some decent boards on ebay.

Last I checked, a DX7 was around $100-150. It's so dated it's not even retro anymore, but it's a full synth with one of the best feeling keyboards I've played, and worst case you can always use it as a midi controller and stack up cheap synth or sampler modules, or just use a computer synth.

I picked up a Korg 01/W pro from there recently, which is still old ('93 or '95 or something) but works great for what little I do. A lot of the other old korgs are cheaper, too, and most of them have sequencers as well.

You could also look at an ensoniq eps (sampler with sequencer) although I've heard they have problems.

Bear in mind I'm not a real keyboard player, I just tinker around and I'm not any good anyway so take all this with a grain of salt.

Your best bet is to look at 'workstation' models by companies like Alesis, Roland, Korg, and Yamaha. These are more expensive, but offer the most features and have the best construction. If you just want to use the keyboard as a MIDI controller, of course, then look elsewhere - Studiologic, Edirol, etc.