Hi Folks, These may be tired questions for a group of experts, but I'd really love some opinions. I'm just getting back into playing keyboards after a 8 yr hiatus. I own an original Yamaha DX7, an early Sound Canvas, and some rack-mounted sampler whose name I've even forgotten. What are the good, professional-quality, mainstream synth/sample keyboards these days? I'm not looking for the most expensive, just a good workhorse that's reasonably priced. The equivalent of a Consumer Report's "Best Buy" would be ideal. Do keyboards come with built-in sequencers these days? I used to always hook up to a Mac to do it, but I thought I heard a few years back that they were starting to add good ones onboard. What are the best/easiest ways to convert sequencing data/MIDI data to sheet music these days? Any suggestions appreciated. Cheers, John
In article <>, JWil <> wrote: >What are the good, professional-quality, mainstream synth/sample >keyboards these days? Ask 10 people and get 11 opinions. Mine is, Roland synths make the best overall sound textures for general purpose use. However the Roland architecture is a pain to learn and is ALWAYS a challenge to work with. No matter, I'd put a Roland XV as my hands down favorite. The pianos are fine, the orchestra instruments are fine, the percussion is as good as it gets, and they are flexible enough to get truly WILD things out of them. What's to want? Lots of pros swear by Korg Triton, but I have come to believe this is more a function of pros wanting to standardize things. I can see the point, but there's something, dunno, kinda sterile about them. >Do keyboards come with built-in sequencers these days? I used to >always hook up to a Mac to do it, but I thought I heard a few years >back that they were starting to add good ones onboard. They do, but it's always a lot more practical to use your mac or pc or whatever. You know about VST soft synths and stuff? If not, you will probably be very surprised at what the computer can do. >What are the best/easiest ways to convert sequencing data/MIDI data to >sheet music these days? Cakewalk Score Writer, which I got for free maybe 4 years ago, does the job just fine for me. If you want to spend money on it, I think Sibelius is the big player.
(james) wrote in message news:<6y%Rb.3249$Ii2.413@lakeread03>... > In article <>, > JWil <> wrote: > > >What are the good, professional-quality, mainstream synth/sample > >keyboards these days? > > Ask 10 people and get 11 opinions... <snip> James, thanks so much for your opinions. Well, so far, shockingly you're the only one with an opinion, so I'm far short of 10. Doesn't anybody else have any favorite equipment they'd like to recommend for someone getting back into the synth scene after a long hiatus? I was hoping I'd find some peolpe who had just done all the comparisons before making their own purchase, to help save me the redundancy of doing the empirical comparisons. I realize some issues like sound quality and user interface are subjective. James, which Roland XV are you talking about? All models appear to be rack-mount modules or other boxes, and I'm hoping to get one with at least a 60+ key keyboard. Were you suggesting that I get a box as a slave and then use any old MIDI keyboard I have laying around as my keys? Also, I've seen several good reviews of the Yamaha Motif 6, 7 and 8 which seem to be good keyboards, synths, samplers, and sequencers all in one keyboard. Any opinions on those? Not a complaint but just a comment...this must be the slowest internet group I've ever seen, and I thought it would be hopping! Thanks, John
I am the best of all MIDI (JWil) wrote in message news:<>... > Hi Folks, > > These may be tired questions for a group of experts, but I'd really > love some opinions. I'm just getting back into playing keyboards > after a 8 yr hiatus. I own an original Yamaha DX7, an early Sound > Canvas, and some rack-mounted sampler whose name I've even forgotten. > > What are the good, professional-quality, mainstream synth/sample > keyboards these days? I'm not looking for the most expensive, just a > good workhorse that's reasonably priced. The equivalent of a Consumer > Report's "Best Buy" would be ideal. > > Do keyboards come with built-in sequencers these days? I used to > always hook up to a Mac to do it, but I thought I heard a few years > back that they were starting to add good ones onboard. > > What are the best/easiest ways to convert sequencing data/MIDI data to > sheet music these days? > > Any suggestions appreciated. > > Cheers, > John
