Need Keyboard recommendation

I was borrowing my buddies Casio keyboard for about a year and he had the nerve to ask for it back...lol, Anyway, Now that I need to spend money on one, I was looking for some feedback on something not over $200. I don't do alot of keyboard work but I think it is a good thing to have if the need for it is there, so, It needs to have midi in/out ports for all the sfz's. Should the Yamaha's or Casio's even be a consideration?

+1^

For under $200.... lots of keyboards will fit that price range but you're not getting a top of the line synth but you know that I'm sure....

So with $200 in pocket, go visit Radio Shack, Walmart, Best Buy, and even the big music stores in the local area.  Just look at the back to see if they have the midi output or look for a USB port.

With those ports, you can do what you'll need with the cheapest keyboards. They won't play and feel like a $3k+ workstation, but it will get the midi into the DAW and that's what counts. Most of them have full sized keys so no need to worry about a kids play toy sized keyboard.

I agree that cheapness isn't always the answer but sometimes it's hard to justify the expense when there is so much more going on besides my quest to create my perfect studio environment. But, I did come across this.....  http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/UMX490.aspx even though it is Beringer it seems like it could fit in to my needs and price range.

Novation has a nice Fatar keyboard.  That seems to feel best for me.  Whatever you do, go to a local store and try out a few, and yea, beagle nails it with the controller tip.  why pay for the synth (or cheap gm) if you've already got it on the computer.

@

I bought an old M-audio Radium 49 keyboard for $50.00 . It's been very flexible for the investment, and is O.K as a synth style keyboard, with the added flexibility to work as a control surface. I've set mine up to work essentially as 8 channels. It has 8 sliders and 8 pots which I map as volume and pan for 8 Tracks. 

On the other hand, I have been seriously looking for an electric piano.  Reece had done quite a bit of keyboard comparisons and he has finally settled on a Casio Privia. I  have been doing similar tests and think I will be going the same way. Right now I'm waiting on the music store that I frequent to get in a PX-3 to compare to the PX-330.

These will run over $500 but I think they are probably worth the investment. I haven't found many keyboards in their price range that have  better action or sound.  I think your best off finding a keyboard that feels right to you in the price range your looking for and then sit down and play them. 

The CTK-3000 looks like it might be a good one in your price range to consider.

I pulled the trigger on the Behringer umx490 that I posted earlier but have a question maybe someone can help me with, The current casio that I am using has midi in and midi out ports and the Behringer has one (I'm guessing it's midi out) The question is...Why only one midi port?