Keyboard shopping (music). Anyone have advice?

[epicSocialism4tw]

I'm looking for a good keyboard to use in composing. I'm looking for a set as small as 61 keys with as many organic and synthetic sounds as I can get. I'm looking for drum/bass loop capability, sampling ability, etc.

I a songwriter/musician who wants to add a dimension to his sound. I would like to add NIN/Depeche Mode style hard gothic edge with rough-edged keyboard patches, and I would also like to add a Radiohead-esque dimension of etheral electronic sounds.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Are you planning to use the keyboard for recording or just performing (or both?)

What price range are you looking in?

You can either get a keyboard with its own onboard tone generator or you can get a keyboard that is just a MIDI controller (no onboard sounds) and pair it up with a stand-alone synth module (e.g., the Roland JV1010.) If you're planning on doing any home recording, you can also use a controller to trigger software-based sounds, i.e., "soft synths." (Just be sure your host computer has adequate system resources before you buy anything.) Some computer sound cards also have their own onboard synths.

I personally prefer the controller/module option because I'm not committed to a single keyboard's set of onboard sounds (and expansion cards) and I can constantly change and/or update my sounds by changing modules.

Anyway, when you're ready to shop, here are some good links:

http://www.zzounds.com/

http://www.sweetwater.com/index.php

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/

[epicSocialism4tw]

Originally Posted by L.A. BRONCOS FAN

Are you planning to use the keyboard for recording or just performing (or both?)

What price range are you looking in?

You can either get a keyboard with its own onboard tone generator or you can get a keyboard that is just a MIDI controller (no onboard sounds) and pair it up with a stand-alone synth module (e.g., the Roland JV1010.) If you're planning on doing any home recording, you can also use a controller to trigger software-based sounds, i.e., "soft synths." (Just be sure your host computer has adequate system resources before you buy anything.) Some computer sound cards also have their own onboard synths.
I personally prefer the controller/module option because I'm not committed to a single keyboard's set of onboard sounds (and expansion cards) and I can constantly change and/or update my sounds by changing modules.

Thanks for the knowledge. I dont think that I have the resources on my home PC to run the system that I want. I could be wrong, but I remember talking to some of the guys I worked with back in the day about it and they always wanted a gig or more onboard with a nice hard drive.

I will be using it for recording, but I havent got the equipment for that yet, so Im really just looking for something to use to compose and eventually record with. Use for live performance would be useful.

In the past, I've looked at the Roland XP's, the Korg Triton and Trinity lines and the Yamaha Motif, but I was really green in the keys dept at the time and dont know which one would best fit my needs in the genre I'm looking at. Unless an investor throws the big money at me (not likely right now), I wont be able to purchase the analog stuff and the synth boxes that I really want, so Im looking for a fairly versatile unit with realistic organic sounds and some quality synths that I can be creative with.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

If you record using nothing but hardware synths, modules, fx, etc., then you can get away with using a less powerful host computer, i.e., less CPU horsepower and RAM. You don't even need a soundcard if you use an inexpensive firewire a/d converter with its own DSP or hardware accelerated fx.

At any rate, for the synth applications you described, I would definitely go with an inexpensive keyboard controller (one with velocity-sensitive keys) and some rack modules.

For the same money you would spend on the Korg Triton series ($1200 to $4,000) you could put together a killer rack with multiple sound modules and an outboard sampler. Much more versatile and adaptable setup.

JMHO.

BTW, you said you wanted a keyboard with sampling. Keep in mind that when you add sampling, the price of a keyboard goes up about $1,000. Outboard samplers, on the other hand, are cheap and sound great.

[alkemical]

Get a mac