keyboardists/recording engineers please help!!!

[Katalepsy]

I have a couple questions for all you keyboardists and recording engineers out there...

(pre-questioning)
Okay, well I just started playing keys a little less than a week ago, and I have been playing guitar for almost 3 years, so I'm doing alright learning a new instrument. In fact, I'd say I am progressing rather quickly for never really having any chance to learn to play keys/piano. And now I'm really starting to get into it, and I'm trying to find some better equipment for sometime in the future. I am pretty sure that I want to get 88 and 61 key MIDI controllers, and I have no idea what kind of sound module I should be looking for.

1. Does anyone know anything about the M-Audio Keystation Pro 88es and 61es? Those are the two I'm looking at currently. They have gotten some pretty good reviews on Musicians Friend, and they are pretty affordable.

2. Do any of you know of a good sound module that's relatively cheap? I'm not lookin for a Korg Triton module or anything (though that would be nice) because I won't be looking to spend $98237597213985912375973195737. I've been looking at the E-MU (Creative Labs) Proteus X PCI card, but I'm not sure exactly what I should be looking for with a sound module.

Any help would be greatly apprectiated.

 

[Liquid Shadow]

Softsynths are another alternative if you're not planning on doing any gigs on keys...unless you feel like dragging your computer around and hoping that it doesn't crash mid-song, plus there's latency issues with patch/setup changes. For playing at home and recording though, they work just as good as anything else. You just need to find one that's got a variety of stuff, not JUST piano or JUST virtual synths or any other instrument, which a lot of them are.


You can get an Edirol PCR-80 midi controller for $200. It has 61 semi-weighted keys, and 27 buttons that can be programmed for any midi message you want. There's also dedicated octave +/- buttons, so you're not limited by only having 61 keys. If you need to go lower or higher, it's only one button away. There's no need for a full 88 keys unless you start getting into difficult solo piano stuff...otherwise a large portion of that range goes unused. You can still get to the higher/lower stuff by shifting the keyboard in octaves, but you probably won't be needing the extreme highs and the extreme lows at the same time.

 

[karelrulez]

I have just bought a very cheap second hand Yamaha CS1-X. This thing is doing really MAD things for me I bought a Yamaha QY-70 Sequencer with it which also works great, and it was also very cheap. Reason is a fun software synth by the way!

 

[OfSinsAndShred]

Oooh man, karelrulez. They just got Reason in the labs at my school - it's so cool! Virtual cable patching is awesome!

Katalepsy - I have two friends who have the M-Audio Keystations, they're pretty freaking cool. Get one of those and a decent MIDI module, and you should be pretty well-set. And if you're gonna do a lot of home stuff, just get a MIDI key controller, and a softsynth - they're really flexible, and they seem to be the way the industry is going.

 

[arglebargle]

Sound modules:

If you have a grand, pick up the Yamaha Motif rack module. The Motif fucking rules, it's sound quality is second to none, including the overhyped Korg Triton.

The Proteus 2000/2500 are less expensive, if you're on a budget. I don't think you can pick up a good sound module for under $500.


I personally use softsynths and sample libraries, because they're cheaper and more versatile. At least I think they're more versatile. A good general-purpose software ROMpler would be SonikSynth 2 or SampleTank 2.


Reason is cool, yes, but unless you write electronica, hip-hop, pop, or any other kind of highly repetitive music, you might be kind of disappointed. It's too pattern-based for my tastes.

 

[Liquid Shadow]

Sound modules:

If you have a grand, pick up the Yamaha Motif rack module. The Motif fucking rules, it's sound quality is second to none, including the overhyped Korg Triton.

It's synthesis engine also dies a swift death when compared to the Triton.

 

[Katalepsy]

For a sound module...I think I'm going to want something with good:
-Ensembles (Strings & Voice)
-Acoustic Grand Piano
-Harpsichord
-Rock Organ
-Ambiance Patches
-Lead patches
-Sound Effects (Rain, Thunder, stuff like that [although not absolutely necessary])
-Patch layering

If there's a softsynth that has all I need, fucking sweet; otherwise, I guess I'm going to have to start saving for something good... I'm almost 100% positive I'm going to get the M-Audio Keystation, so that's one thing I don't need to worry about looking into any further.

 

[arglebargle]

Any sound module has all of those sounds.

I really like the strings, pianos and organs in SampleTank 2. It has pretty crappy synth sounds, but if you're looking for software, there's 45904387543908 synths out there to choose from.

kvraudio.com is your best friend for softsynth-related stuff.

For ambient sounds you can't go wrong with Crystal. It's free and has no right to be. Best freeware softsynth ever.