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View Full Version : Using cheap home keyboards as MIDI controllers



Progbear
02-15-2017, 10:41 PM
Does anyone do this? I found an old Yamaha Portasound (don’t remember the exact model) with full-sized keys and nearly bought it when I found out it had MIDI. If I got one of those MIDI hubs, I could totally have used it to play soft-synths on my computer. I imagine the MIDI implementation is pretty limited with those sorts of things. Anyone have any experience in this field?

Supersonic Scientist
02-16-2017, 10:54 AM
I use 3 different MIDI input controllers depending on what I'm trying to accomplish

For straight single-note/one-at-a-time input: I use my trusty Cazio CZ-101

For more "performance/gotta-get-the-vibe-right" input: I use my Kurzweil K2000

For a completely different compositional input: I use my Mallet Kat

.....all 3 have their +'s & -'s.......this 3-option system works great for me

pmrviana
03-17-2017, 10:34 AM
I imagine the MIDI implementation is pretty limited with those sorts of things.
Not really... the MIDI standards are pretty much the same since the begining. Any cheap keeyboard will send the same messages as any Pro keyboard. Just have to check if the keyboard supports the MIDI features that you need. For example, most of those cheap keyboards will not support aftertouch, so if that's important for you, you should look for one which supports that. Also, MIDI velocity implementation can be pretty poor, so that the "feel" of the dynamics could be quite awkward (though you can probably compensate for at least some of that effect on your VST host by editing the velocity curves).
I actually still use a Yamaha PSR-48 as one of my controllers, as it is great for playing organ and analog synth sounds (no velocity support, so the playability is very similar to a real organ).

Progbear
03-20-2017, 08:34 PM
I was expecting some of the older keyboards to be rather limited in MIDI implementation. I remember someone saying that the DX7 (not a cheap home keyboard by any stretch of the imagination) is only usable on MIDI channel 1. But since, from my experience, the DX7 has a really nice, weighted, piano-like keyboard, it would make a nice controller otherwise.

Aftertouch I really don’t care about, as I never use it! If I want velocity-sensitivity, I still have my M-Audio keyboard.

GuitarGeek
03-20-2017, 11:34 PM
I have this old Yamaha keyboard, I think it's called the SHS-10 or something like that, but it's one of the ones that's meant to be worn around the neck, like a guitar (yes, I know there's a word for that, but I don't like using it), with a built in rhythm box, etc. My parents bought it for me when I was a teenager, for my birthday or Xmas, probably. Anyway, when I started putting my Eurorack synth together, I got a Doepfer MIDI-to-CV module, and found the Yamaha does a pretty good job as a controller. I think the keyboard is supposed to be able to send pitch bend and I think modulation signals, but I haven't been able to make that work, so far it just does note one and note off. For now, though, that's all I need. And I kinda like the idea of re-purposing what is essentially a toy instrument for quasi-professional purposes (well, they would be professional if I could find some musicians to play with, and we could record and release music, and/or do some concertizing).