Monday, October 31, 2011

Factors to determine the right Compact MIDI Keyboard Controller

By Donald Grossy


If you have confined space in your desktop or in your live rig, you might need to consider going in for a controller keyboard with 25 keys or 37 keys or 49 keys...whatever suits your requirements. But you need to keep one thing under consideration; you need a keyboard controller that gives you lots of knobs and sliders so that you can control diverse software/hardware parameters.

If you do a lot of recording on the move, then you want to take a look at portability. Be it at home, or while you are travelling, consider if your compact MIDI keyboard controller can be powered through USB (bus power) this way you do not need another power adapter for your keyboard. The littlest, most lightweight keyboard controllers have short mini-keys, and might have only a two-octave keyboard. Such a keyboard is acceptable for data entry, for example recording bass lines and MIDI drum parts.

If you are a club DJ, who would like to hook his controller keyboard to effect processors, and has a crowded space, you would ideally prefer a Compact MIDI Keyboard Controller. Recently a MIDI keyboard controller comes with a lot smaller number of keys as well so you can easily put it in a bag and take it around. A Compact MIDI Keyboard Controller has less than 61 keys.

"Weight" is added to the keys themselves and to the key travel mechanisms to make them answer rather more like a real piano's heavier keys do. This is usually not acceptable in a compact keyboard controller, where playing fast is often desired. Many compact controllers are "semi-weighted". These also have a light touch but offer a bit more resistance and consistency. They usually have a better feel for the majority. All compact keyboard controllers offer more controls than merely the keys themselves. At minimum, you will find a kind of pitch and modulation controls, that may be in the shape of two separate wheels or a single joystick which combines the functions. There's sometimes also an input on the back for connecting a sustain pedal.

This is more important if you're controlling hardware midi synths, but less crucial for software instruments, where programs are rather more simply selected by the mouse, and that might not make a response to these commands. Finally, and maybe just as importantly, the compact MIDI keyboard controller will have knobs, sliders, and touch pads to send further MIDI continual controller commands (CC events). Typically , you can assign which CC events the knob or slider sends. That is a good thing because software instrument manufacturers may use different CC values for controlling the vital parameters of the instruments.

If you have got a cramped space, or if you record on the while traveling or if you are consistently producing demos at your valued customer place, then you require a controller keyboard that is compact and provides synth and software control in a minimum space. A Compact MIDI Keyboard Controller from brands like M-Audio, Edirol, Korg, or Novation can answer your space concerns.




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