workstation vs pc

[benis]

Hey, I just found this old keyboard in my basement, its a casio something or other that has no midi or usb port and can only register 4 keys at a time!!! anyways ive always wanted to play an instrument but i was never any good(drums, guitar, etc) but when i started playing the keyboard i was having so much fun getting into different chords and such, i want to get a sick workstation but i dont have the money as im a poor student. but what i DO have is a sick laptop, its mostly for gaming, but its quite powerful and i wanted to know if there is a program out there that will make [my laptop] + [generic keyboard] into an awsome workstation comparable to a $1000 korg or something, if so im looking to spend a mere 100-200 dollars on a board to connect to my laptop, any input would be appreciated as i have no knowledge on the subject.
thanks,
Benis

 

[kanthos]

You won't find anything that cheap. A half-decent MIDI controller alone will cost that much. Then, you'd also need at least one virtual instrument (Kontakt 4 would be the one I'd recommend; it's a sampler with a massive sample library) and, depending on the instrument, host software to run it.

 

[benis]

You won't find anything that cheap. A half-decent MIDI controller alone will cost that much. Then, you'd also need at least one virtual instrument (Kontakt 4 would be the one I'd recommend; it's a sampler with a massive sample library) and, depending on the instrument, host software to run it.

ok, well my dj friend said hed hook me up with the software i need so thats not really an issue, apparently theres alot of free stuff out there, as for the controller, i found a yamaha sy-22 for $190CAD which is about the same USD atm. assuming the condition is in order, would this be a good buy? i heard it makes a good synth and doubles as a decent midi controller.

thanks again,
Benis

 

[kanthos]

Free stuff is hit and miss. You're not going to get ultra-realistic acoustic instrument samples for free, and some of the best software synths are ones that cost a fair bit. But you can certainly do a lot with free stuff.

No idea about the Yamaha. It should have MIDI out but it definitely predates the days of MIDI over USB, so you'd still need to get a MIDI interface for your computer, though those can be pretty cheap (the simplest ones let you connect your keyboard's MIDI OUT to a single MIDI In on a tiny adapter which has a USB cable on the other end).