midi controller help

[ootini]

They may be very expensive but the Kawai MP9000 Stage Pianos are meant to be absolutely incredible, this is only here say though, I've not touched one myself.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan00/articles/kawai.htm

 

[randoker]

As long as whatever you buy has a MIDI out, you always have the choice of playing soft synths.
It also depends what you want to do in the future, a full spec Master keyboard would be more "future proof" than a digital piano as far the MIDI spec etc goes, but this is only important if you wish to expand your rig and what it can do in the future. If you simply want to play pianos and the odd soft synth, then you know what to do. Find a piano you like, and buy it.

That's something that kept pulling me toward the midi controllers like the Roland A90 and the Akai MPK88.

The reason I collapsed back down to my original requirements is cost really, and I'm not sure if I'll ever use the other stuff.

I don't even really know what all the extra features are for. I saw that the buttons/sliders can control editing software, but I guess also if you are playing with other live band members, you can use the board as sort of a mini mixer or something?

Maybe some day I'll get into some more sophisticated music production or playing with other people that will get me interested in some heavier equipment.

 

[goz211]

randoker - just had a chance to read this thread. Good luck with the new addition - is this your first?

Yes to the A90 running a piano VST but for right now for $1000 - I'm thinking you're going to be very busy very soon - why not think about a switch it on and play solution to keep you going - for those occasions where you're only getting a few minutes to yourself. You'll not want to be waiting for a computer to power up, and tweaking buffers, and tracking down rice crispie crackling noises, and selecting options ...

If it's just to be set up at home - for playing piano - and you're ok to run it through a set of powered monitors (active nearfields?) as you mentioned in your original post:

http://www.keyboardmag.com/article/Casio-Privia-PX-3/2319

That's a link to the Keyboard (US) magazine review of the Casio PX-3. I got a chance to play one a few months back. It's a good buy.

Also you could search for a second hand pair of active nearfields like Tannoy Reveal 5As or ... lots of good stuff available now. The (UK) magazine Sound On Sound has plenty of reviews. A Paul White review (IMO) is something you can take as being reliable and fair. Plenty of other reviewers on there that I like (Dave Stewart - the prog rock one, not the Annie Lennox bloke) is good for keyboards and VSTs/samples.

http://www.soundonsound.com/search?url=/search&Section=7&Subject=42&Summary=Yes

That's the link (I hope) to the "monitors" section of the reviews. If anyone is reading this a while from now (and it has changed) do a search for SoundOnSound then the "Articles" tab followed by "Reviews" and "Monitors."

Active Nearfield Monitors.

Loads of them about.

Hopefully that should bring you in around the $1000.

And again - good luck. People kept telling me that "your life will change forever." Then one mum new said - it would be more accurate to say "your time will never be your own."

My brother in law reminded me of the language tapes I bought in advance "for learning Spanish during the night when I'm up doing the feeds, just to make good use of that time, if I'm up doing feeds anyway I might as well do something useful at the same time" - he's right, I'd no idea what was on its way.

Be sure and let us know about any new additions - keyboards and ....

 

[randoker]

randoker - just had a chance to read this thread. Good luck with the new addition - is this your first?

Yes to the A90 running a piano VST but for right now for $1000 - I'm thinking you're going to be very busy very soon - why not think about a switch it on and play solution to keep you going - for those occasions where you're only getting a few minutes to yourself. You'll not want to be waiting for a computer to power up, and tweaking buffers, and tracking down rice crispie crackling noises, and selecting options ...

Yes! It's our first baby. We know it's a boy. Leaning towards the name "Jack", after my wife shot down my first choice, "Johnny Walker". Kind of an unexpected whirlwind in several aspects of our life right now. I'm sure it will all work out.

That Casio looks great. I ended up doing exactly that... going with a "switch-it-on-and-play"... I found an open box Yamaha P95B for $499 and a set of Sennheiser HD448 headphones.

I hope the headphones are decent. I don't have any experience with them and bought simply based on price and Amazon reviews.

 

[goz211]

Good purchases and again ...

good luck on your new adventure.

 

[petervanpersie]

If you notice a delay between hitting the keys and sound coming out of the amp you Might need a low latency USB to audio converter as you might find the sound board on your laptop too slow to respond