Okay, keyboardists...enlighten me.

[leftist_rebel1569]

After months and months of scrounging together what little change I have to realize I'd never have enough money to buy a musical instrument, I recently found myself a job and now I have a source of cash for such an endeavor. I was going between bass and keyboard, but electronica and industrial is where my heart is so I must comply.

Now, that brings me to my question(s) - I need to find out more about keyboards in general.

1. What would be the best brand/type of keyboard for making music of the listed genres above? The more I can distort the sound, the better.

2. What accessories should I look in to, if I buy a keyboard? I know I'll need a stand, cords, a pedal, and an amp, but what about stuff like synthesizers?

3. How much am I looking into really spending if this ever really happens?

Also, any other side notes you can tell me would be greatly appreciated.

[democracyindanger]

1. I'd suggest

you buy an inexpensive midi keyboard and a little software. Get yourself set up for a few hundred bucks. It's not like you'll be performing off the bat, so you don't need to buy an expensive keyboard with all the bells and whistles.

[leftist_rebel1569]

8. That's true.

I would definitely take some time to hone my skills before I do anything live, so that would be a good way to go.

[ProfessorGAC]

2. Another Thought

Given the music you want to do, you might have to look into the used market for something that actually gives you control over the sound synthesis.

Things like the starter Yamaha's and Casio's are really fine keyboards for the money, but they offer very limited control over sound parameters.

Look into something like the Ensoniq ESQ. It's old but has a fairly powerful synthesis engine. You can learn the ins and outs of synthesis (the creation and modification of sounds, noises, and tones) and still have a reasonable full featured keyboard. Those things were only about $1200 list, when new. That's probably 15 year old tech now, so a used one might be had for under $300. (BTW: I have one, that i still use! And i did buy it new.)

It's set up like an old analog synth, and those are back in vogue, especially in electronica and industrial. Things like the Korg MS-2000 are an example of the new wave in synths. (Those are around $1500, though.) It's got a sequencer on board, but not an arpegiator. The sound is fairly full, since it uses digital wave forms but all the sound shaping is done in the analog domain. And, it's MIDI capable, so the suggestion of the other poster to get some good software would still work, too.

This might give you a full featured board, with some reasonable synthesis capability and shouldn't set you back too much.
The Professor

[leftist_rebel1569]

7. Wow.

Thanks a lot! This seems a lot like what I was looking for. I mean, with the mixture of digital output and analog control and with synthesis of sounds, I'm pretty much set for the price that you give me.

[livinginphotographs]

10. Actually, the MS2000 is nowhere near $1500 anymore.

Mine cost $700 new. And it doesn't have a sequencer, but does have an arpegiator (sp?).

It's definitely a good synth to start a set-up with. I'm thinking of adding an XP-80 to mine to fill in with more organic sounds.

Both are pretty easy to program (relatively) and can get you the basic sounds you would need.

[ProfessorGAC]

19. Sorry. Brain Cramp

The one i was thinking of, even though i said MS-2000 was the Ensoniq model that is a throwback to the OB-8/Prophet 5 days. That one is still pretty pricey.

Thanks for correcting that. I used to have an old MS-20. Loved it. I would hate to scare anybody off because of a price mistake.

The Professor

[Beware the Beast Man]

3. If you want to do home recording on your computer,

I'd look into a keyboard MIDI controller. You can get a good one at a decent price. One of these days, I plan on picking up an M-Audio Keystation controller. Here's an idea of what to look out for:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=key/s=midi/content/cb/index

You'll need some type of recording software. Some good brands are Reason, Cubase, and FL Studio. Also there are a ton of websites out there where you can download free VSTi (Virtual Synth Technology Instruments) for free that emulate everything from acoustic instruments to chanting Buddhist monks.

While you wait to get a keyboard, you can try some recording software for free (but you may not be able to save your projects). Many of these come with piano roll editing where you can click and drag notes onto a virtual keyboard with your mouse.

good luck!

[ProfessorGAC]

4. Wow! That's A Good Idea

I'm still a synth for live dinosaur i guess. I know about that stuff, but don't have any of it. I still think of the keyboard or rack mount MIDI tone generators as synths. The idea of using software on the home computer has not been internalized, i guess.
The Professor

[sendero]

5. I still prefer the boxes...

... but if you are not planning on doing any live performances, only recordings, the PC is probably the way to go.

I would never trust a PC setup in a live performance tho' :)

[tuvor]

6. If you're not into performing, get a newer Palm (OS 5) & buy Bhajis Loops

It's really frikkin' amazing what this guy's crammed into this $27 application. It's all sample-based, and it's been compared to Fruity Loops and Cubase. (He's also got a more live-oriented application called Microbe.)

The website's at www.chocopoolp.com.

Here's some tunes I've made with it:

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/7/tuvorandtheyikesmusic.htm

[asthmaticeog]

9. Check this out:

http://www.novationmusic.com

They make incredible preformance synths, hardware and software - all pretty amazing stuff. I proudly rock a K-Station -- one can make some incredibly sick sounds with it.

[leftist_rebel1569]

13. Yeah. That's really cool

except a few of those that really appealed to me aren't available in North America :(

[emulatorloo]

11. Hope I'm not too late, but check out this website

This guy has a great website for helping people get started w MIDI music making - excellent tutorials, etc etc

http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm

of special interest to you, see section on buying keyboards and what you should look for:

http://www.tweakheadz.com/tips_on_buying_a_keyboard.html

After you have had a chance to look at that, let me know your budget and I can give you some new/used recommendations.

[progressoid]

12. I dunno about the original poster, I'll certainly use it!!! THNX

[leftist_rebel1569]

14. Holy crap, did that ever help

Thanks a ton!

So, I think that my budget will be in the 300-500 dollar range to start, possibly more if I decide to wait a couple weeks. The maximum, I think, will be about 650 dollars. Keyboards that I could use primarily for stuff like manipulation and distortion would be good :)

[emulatorloo]

15. Will you use a computer exclusively or will you want to play the keyboard

standalone?

One option as mentioned above it to get a keyboard controller that hooks up to your computer. The keyboard has no sounds, but you use software on your computer to generate and manipulate the sounds. You would need a pretty modern computer though - PIII or G4 mac.

Example of a really super duper software synth studio (samplers synths etc all running on your computer) - Propellerhead Reason; be sure to follow the "listen to reason" link to hear demos:

http://www.propellerheads.se/index.cfm


A simpler app and real cheap if you have a mac is Garageband:

http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/

You could pair either with a MAUDIO keyboard controller like this

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Oxygen8-main.html
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Radium49-main.html

As to standalone keyboards, current ones that might interest you are Roland Juno-D, Alesis Ion, both probably pushing your budget.

Used ones - Yamaha CS1x or CS2x might work for you

Here is another site w user reviews of synths. . .

http://www.sonicstate.com/synth/

[livinginphotographs]

16. Sonicstate is a great site for this kind of thing.

Check out their messageboard: I used to post there a few years back, and those people really know their shit.

[leftist_rebel1569]

18. Thanks a lot!

I think I'm officially on the right track, now that I'm a little more educated on the ins and outs of keyboards. Thanks! :)

[Beware the Beast Man]

17. And his VST plugins are great too...and free!

My favorite is Toad, which samples old Nintendo game system sounds.