smallstonefan
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Keyboard question
Hi guys, I have invested in a number of soft synths including Omnisphere hoping that I could make them part of my creative process. I am a guitar player, and most of my recording is live jams with my drummer. The softsynths just are NOT conducive to that creative process. I am considering getting a real keyboard with its own sounds, that I can send both audio and midi to the computer. My thought is that with the keyboard by my guitar rig, and being able to easily press buttons and move knobs, I will be able to make the keyboard part of my jamming. I am really into atmospheric pads and arped patterns. Is there a good keyboard I can get in the $500-$700 range (used is OK) that would give me a nice pallet of textures but be fairly easy for a non-keyboard guy to tweak and make fun sounds? the other option is to get a laptop with an audio interface and put that on a stand with the midi controller, but that seems far less elegant and I'm back to clicking with the mouse again...
post edited by smallstonefan - 2010/08/26 10:29:28
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DigiBiu
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Re:Keyboard question
2010/08/26 15:22:40
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http://digitalbayoustudios.com/https://soundcloud.com/digibiuDavid Stuckey Sonar X3 Producer ,Windows 7 64bit ,6G Ram, Quad Core 2.6,3 1 UAD 2 card, 4 UAD-1 Cards, 2 Dell 24" LCD, ADAM ANF10, Avantones, Crown Power Amp, Great River ME-1, UA Solo/610, Distressor,Presonus ADL600,, RNC, RNLA, 2 PBC-6a, JoeMeek MC2, ART Pro Channel, Yamaha MO8,Korg Triton,M-Audio Keystation Pro 88, Custom Shop Fender Twin, 76 Randall Tube Amp, Custom Blue Runner Tube Amp, Lynx Aurora 8 FW Apogee AD8000 SE MixedLogic M24 Control Surface Yamaha Pro Mix 01
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smallstonefan
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Re:Keyboard question
2010/08/26 16:22:14
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thanks for the advice! I'm going to see if I have a local store that has some of these to play with. As a guitar player, I feel like a duck out of water. I just want to hold a chord and have much awesomeness evolve from the speakers! :)
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dmbaer
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Re:Keyboard question
2010/08/26 16:34:31
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There's just no way your going to get a hardware synth that comes anywhere close to what Omnisphere can do without paying mucho $$$.
You didn't say one way or the other, but are you running your synths inside Sonar or another DAW? Would it be less of a creative impedement to run a standalone soft synth? Some soft synths come only as VSTs and need a microhost to be able to run "standalone". But standalone is a lot less hassle than using a DAW as the host.
Just some ideas here ... Omnisphere is going to be hard to even come close to with a totally hardware solution.
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smallstonefan
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Re:Keyboard question
2010/08/26 16:50:53
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I have thought about that. Right now, it's all in Sonar. I even considered a laptop with an audio interface set up next to the keyboard - separate from my DAW and just used for the keyboards.
Is this realistic? Could I get away with a cheaper laptop and audio interface? I could use midi through and send the midi and audio to the DAW, but run the synth from the laptop...?
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dmbaer
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Re:Keyboard question
2010/08/27 21:00:06
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smallstonefan
I have thought about that. Right now, it's all in Sonar. I even considered a laptop with an audio interface set up next to the keyboard - separate from my DAW and just used for the keyboards.
Is this realistic? Could I get away with a cheaper laptop and audio interface? I could use midi through and send the midi and audio to the DAW, but run the synth from the laptop...?
Certainly it's realistic for some (most, probably) synths. I'm not sure about Omnisphere though. I don't own it myself (yet) but I understand it's very resource intensive. But Rapture, Z3ta, Ultra Analog, FM8, Absynth ... the list is a long one ... could probably do just fine on a laptop if no other processing were happening (i.e., you were running them standalone and not part of a multi-track DAW project).
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smallstonefan
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Re:Keyboard question
2010/08/28 14:17:29
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thanks for the feedback. I am going to do some experimenting with a laptop and see what I can determine.
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DerGeist
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Re:Keyboard question
2010/08/30 15:50:27
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If you want to incorporate synths into your jams and are a guitar player I highly recommend bass pedals. This is what I use: http://www.rolandus.com/products/productdetails.php?ProductId=880 It takes the brain a while to adjust but once you get it you are golden. Load up a patch (computer or synth), play the guitar, and hit the pedals on the chord changes. I find it really helps me a lot when I am only playing with a drummer.
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smallstonefan
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Re:Keyboard question
2010/08/30 16:02:09
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Now we're talking!!!
I would love to hear more about how you use this. Can you set up one pedal to play a full chord, or is it more of a one pedal = one keyboard key? Can one pedal play a series of notes, like from a step sequencer?
You have my attention! :)
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DerGeist
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Re:Keyboard question
2010/08/30 16:16:03
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The pedals will play octaves but not chords. There is loads of software that will map notes to chords. I use Logic as my VST (AU) host and it will take a single note and then play the appropriate chord within that key diatonically -- so E, F#m, G#m, A, B7...etc. It takes a few minutes to set it up but once you do it once you can just transpose it to the other keys.
You will probably find that with a lot of synth sounds a single note or an octave will fill out the bottom end pretty well (it works for bass players). You can get a lot of pleasure out of working in a little bass line while playing the guitar at the same.
You could probably trigger a sequence of note sbut I havn't tried it.
I
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smallstonefan
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Re:Keyboard question
2010/08/30 16:19:16
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That sounds like a LOT of fun and a way to be creative and spontaneous. Now I have to roll some gear to order one... lol
I will look into the single note>chord issue; I use Sonar exclusively...
thanks so much for pointing this out to me!
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username5000
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Re:Keyboard question
2010/08/30 17:54:29
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Check this out too. This makes your guitar sound like a keyboard syntisizer. Atmospheres, pads, ........feakin' tubas. An entire orchestra from your guitar. My buddy has one. It's awsome.
www.rolandus.com/products/productdetails.php?ProductId=592
post edited by username5000 - 2010/08/30 18:07:11
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smallstonefan
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Re:Keyboard question
2010/08/30 18:46:41
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I had one of Roland's guitar synths in the past. I was really dissappointed with its MIDI tracking. They may have improved it though... I like the feet idea because it's like having a second instrument.
great ideas here guys - much appreciated! :)
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