Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: zirk on 23 October 2010, 19:07:14
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Its for one of my Sons (19), He has decided to learn, mainly so He can full fill one of his dreams of writing songs and music, He doesn't know his EGBDF from his FACE at the moment, which is more than me, so something cheap to start with.
Its his Birthday next week, so Her indoors is looking at Argos, Acoustic Solutions or a Yamaha YPT210 both around £80 mark.
I was thinking of going down the second hand route say up to £100 for something with more features or something but have no knowledge of Keyboards at all.
Any help with this would be great.
Chris :y
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what about getting a USB keyboard (music type) and get the music software, that way as he progresses he can upgrade the software instead of having to buy a whole new setup, quite handy for recording tracks seeing as its all thru the pc.
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what about getting a USB keyboard (music type) and get the music software, that way as he progresses he can upgrade the software instead of having to buy a whole new setup, quite handy for recording tracks seeing as its all thru the pc.
Nice one, never even thought about that. I'll add it to the list.
:y
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you could go one step further if you're not too concerned with buying 'brand new'.
a good second hand midi keyboard can be plugged into any number of sound sources, effectively separating the keyboard from the bit that generates the sounds. this gives you the advantage of having a gazillion sounds at your disposal, as well as being able to plug it in to your computer and run 'soft' synths too, thus furthering the sounds you can make without actually leaving the traditional keyboard set up.
my recommendation for this kind of thing, as a beginner but providing the foundation of something that will really last a long time (expandable sounds and all the things i mention above):
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midi controller/keyboard (this one is fab): ***edit link removed as i didnt realise advertiser was saying it might not work***
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usb interface (if you want to connect to computer):
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180575776034
amazing syth module, no end of piano sounds as well as strings, orchestral stuff, ambient noises, a lot of fun and a staple of recording studios everywhere. put it this way, it's been used on more recordings than any other synth/keyboard in history so it should be easy to replicate the sounds of your favourite hits!:
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_npmv=3&_trksid=p3910.m570.l1313&_nkw=roland+jv1080
those jv1080s do come up at sub £100 very often, but of course there are a trillion other synth modules you can consider that feature less sounds and therefore are cheaper :y
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ah looks like vauxfan2k has the same idea! the two links i posted first will give you everything you need to plug the midi keyboard into the computer. you could then look for an 'evaluation' or trial copy of Propellerhead Reason which is a whole bunch of soft synthesisers rolled into one, as well as a sampler for you to feed your own sounds into. it also comes bundles with lots of effects modules which can be fun.
once you have evaluated your copy of this software, of course, you can download the full version from the propellerhead website, you know, cos im not condoning the use of unlicensed software and all that jazz :y
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Thanks humbucker, some good advise and links there, I will certainly look into this.
Chris :y
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no problem chris. i just edited the original post of links above as i noticed that the midi keyboard ad says the keyboard may or may not work, which is obviously no good to anyone, so may i recommend this one instead. i can vouch for this particular model of midi keyboard as i have one myself and it is extremely versatile; would suit a beginner but also will remain a staple of their setup even when they are at an advanced stage.
the key here is your son's ambition to write and record music, so a basic keyboard will have a very short shelf life. this model, when combined with USB interface and synth module/soft synths will provide your son with a world of opportunity when it comes to realising his musical ambition:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ROLAND-PC-180-PC180-MIDI-KEYBOARD-CONTROLLER-/220684649757
and a power supply
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Roland-ACA-230E-Power-Supply-A37-PC180-PC160-PK5-/110590292893
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Might be better to learn to play piano and then move onto electronic keyboards imo.
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Might be better to learn to play piano and then move onto electronic keyboards imo.
Maybe, but Im not buyng him a piano.
:D