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Where to start with keyboarding?

CrescentShadow	Date: February 29, 2004 @ 11:40 AM I love to use midi keyboardish sounds in my songs.. for atmosphereic parts and piano parts. Put they sound really crappy. I've always wanted to have a real keyboard so I can have real synth sounds. Do keyboards require amps? I would think they would.. but I really have no idea. And could someone suggest a relatively cheap keyboard that sounds ok? I imagine different keyboards have different sounds, like guitars do.. I dont know how far I would go into really learning how to play keyboard/piano, I would mainly use it to just play notes or single chords to create the atmosphereic parts. Any suggestions or wisdom would be really appreciated
CrescentShadow	Date: February 29, 2004 @ 11:45 AM Also, if someone could explain how you would record using a keyboard, it would be very helpful too.
harperandjoh...	Date: February 29, 2004 @ 5:51 PM Hello, Let me suggest that even something like the Yamaha DJX is perfectly good enough for pc based music. and unless you are going to spend a grand on a decent keyboard then. Well, what i mean is, if you get the right midi software. like Reason and or Cubase, The world is your oyster. For example. Steinberg have a peice of software called the Grand. which replicates near on perfect the above mentioned piano perfectly. Well verry close. There are heaps of realy good virtual instruments. Known as VSTi's virtual instruments, that replicate any of the great keybords that you could never afford to buy. Ultimatly there are plentry of resources on the net to get free plug ins and other midi music making software. in the long run its better than owning 50 keyboards just to get every sound you want. when you can have it all at your disposal in the form of virtual instruments. I hope this has helped you.
voxster	Date: April 19, 2004 @ 1:10 PM I would definitely start by visiting a USED music store (call first) that has a dozen or more keyboards in stock (this is obviously for price). I currently have a DX9 (big brother to the DX7) as part of my arsenal. You'll have plenty of great string and ambience sounds to choose from without knowledge of going into the sound and fine tuning it to your liking (unless you already know how). I was able to pick one up for about $400 and used it as my primary board in my latest studio effort (which 2 of the 3 songs are getting solid airplay). But again, go visit a used gear music shop and lay around - you'll be surprised at what you can pay for a board with a nick or ding. Hope this helps-
PuffDanny	Date: April 22, 2004 @ 1:10 PM I would agree with a used store. You could probably check out different ones and try them instore. If you're going the computer way. Getting a simple midi keyboard (just a workstation with no sounds) would cost anywhere from 100-$200. Then I would highly recommmend getting Reason 2.5 from Propellerhead (http://www.propellerheads.se)
pog	Date: April 23, 2004 @ 8:25 AM here one thing to try for that truly unique sound on a budget... get an old casio home organ, and plug the headphones output into a bunch of guitar pedals... distortion pedal goes on... voila... nine inch nails drumbeats It's all up to your imagination
sepidman	Date: May 16, 2004 @ 2:08 PM Hmmmmmmmmmm, for our demos we use a a small Roland-ep5 that has a velocity sensor so we can get a simulated real feel. Also use a small Yamaha for some effects and some of the drum patterns. When we do the final tracks though we always use a Baby Grand. You do have to mic those of course. And more than one mic. At least 2. Brian
EmpireDay3	Date: May 18, 2004 @ 3:51 PM right on dudes! some good keybaord suggestions! don't forget about ebay, either - great stuff at lower than used prices sometimes. if you can afford a few bucks, there are a lot fo really cool synths with built in sequencers that make awesome sounds - like the korg M1 (remember that one!) or I used to have an ensoniq mr-61 for which you can buy tons of custom sound disks with some really cool original sounds on them and the sequencer is really cool to use. There are so many boards without sequencers that make great sounds, but the quality and number of great sounds goes up in relation to the cost of the board. Other than that, everyone has had great ideas up here so far - reason 2.5 is a great one. There are a million soft-synth programs and even more sequencing programs for you to get as elaborate as you'd like. I use Logic for sequncing and sampling and the softsynth pop right up as vst instruments, but it's kinda pricey. Plus, if you go with just a midi keyboard (no sounds) you can add a bunch of modules from different manufacturers which are considerably cheaper than full keyboards. Any of e-mu's modules are really, really cool. As for an amp, you can connect a keyboard direct to your recording console. Unless you take it live, then, yes, I would recommend one because the sound guy never gets it loud enough in your monitor (learned that one the hard way). Most keybaord amps then also have direct outs on them to run straight to the board which will make the sound guy happy and preserve the integrity of your sound. so many keybaords, so little funds...
Emoceon	Date: May 26, 2004 @ 6:26 PM yeh...i remember when i played for stevie ray vaghn and double trouble as a keyboardist....

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