Hello

[in_the_pocket]

This looks like a very resourceful forum!

Just a quick intro here...I've played music all my life. Started on keys very young and switched to guitar at age 6 and several other instruments since then. Play mostly guitar and upright and electric bass now (and sing lead and backup). Both of my parents were pianists and I grew up gigging with my dad. I LOVE keys.

I joined this forum because I want to set up a midi keyboard at home so that I can compose/arrange without having to go to the studio I've been using(to save time and money). I'll be using a win xp laptop.I have my dad's very old Roland, but I think that it's from the late eighties and I've never used it for its midi (just for playing). I'm not sure what to look at now. I am still a little new to midi and am not sure if the voices will all come from software (please excuse my ignorance!), but I suspect that especially specialized instruments will. I'll be doing a mix of acoustic with electronic.

Any advice is welcome, as well as links, etc.

Thanks so much. Really appreciate it.

 

[The Y_man]

Welcome to the wild confusing world of laptops, MIDI keyboards and DAW's.....

A few things:

1. Yes you can use your laptop in place of a multitrack tape recorder (the software is genericly called a Digital Audio Workstation - see Wikipedia entry). I use a free one called Kristal from
http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/index.php?section=download

2. You most likely need a "fast" (low latency) USB-audio device. You CAN use your normal audio plugs (mic and headphone) on the laptop, but there is significant delay - so if you want to say play along to a track that's already recorded, you have to play ahead of it! (it's be like listening to a drum track that's already been recorded, but the sound you hear is half a second after ....). I tried a cheap Behringer lowlatency unit
http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/UCA222.aspx
but it still has delays (much better thna using the built in laptop aduio though). I am assuming the more expensive products are better for this.

3. If you want to compose on the laptop and then play it back on your synth you can use a sequencing software like Anvil
http://www.anvilstudio.com/
but you probably need (assuming the synth doesn't have a USB connection) a MIDI ot USB connector
http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/p/usb-midi-cable-connection/

4. The above (3) will laso let you use the keyboard to control the sequencer - so you don't have to use the laptop keyboard to input the notes etc.

5. You can also have additional synth sounds generated on your laptop thru virtual synths (quite a few free ones around to try) - if you buy the Behrginger unit in (2) above, you get a CD full of virtual synths. Again you need the MIDI-USB connector and the laptop acts as a remote synth module. (You need a decent laptop though - I tried it on a netbook with Intel Atom - and it struggled!)

Hope this helps.

The Y-man

 

[in_the_pocket]

Thanks very much for your help!

 

[Becky]

Hi there, welcome to the forums