Wanting to get into keys.

[savethegibbons]

I've never really played keys before, and I was interested in getting into it. Would a MIDI controller be suitable for this application?

 

Currently, I have a 1500XP athlon, and am using my onboard audio controller (which is snappy with the WDM drivers I'm using, or at least for guitar amp modelling, but it's hardly a monster sound card).

 

Anyway, firstly, what number of keys would be recommended? I'd like to play simultaneous bass and treble parts, so I would assume a ~5 octave 61 key controller would be sufficent, or should I aim for more keys?

 

Secondly, what kind of sound quality could I expect to get with a controller + decent software?

 

Finally, what controllers would you recommend? Currently I'm looking at the Fatar Studiologic SL-61.

 

Thanks for your time.

[clusterchord]

Fatar 61 is fine. I wouldn't reccomend using on-board audio.poor quality. you need an ASIO2 compatible low-latency card.

 

something like RME HDSP9632 or ESI QuataFire etc.

 

 

how much can you play depends on speed of your comp and card. shorter the latency, easier to play. Your configuration will give you reasonable results as long as you dont use too much polyphony and turn-on too many VST plug-ins.

 

 

Still, to complete keyboard newbies in terms of playing ability, i always suggest getting some kind of keyboard that already has a sound of its own(like ROMpler etc). There are advantages in being able to take it with you and play/practice anytime/anywhere. also, it takes care of fundamentals like piano, strings, synths,organ etc so you dont have to squeeze that out of your CPU, leaving it free for other duties like seq, mixing, other VST plug-ins..

 

standard entry-level recommendations here are Motif 6 or Triton LE used. Or even cheaper Alesis Q6.2, Roland XP series...

 

Beside this keyboard you get sequencer/DAW program for your AMD and you already have a nice, small but capable system.