posted 17 years ago
Don't lock yourself into Casio just yet. Yamaha has some good consumer keyboards, and I'm sure there are other makes. Cruise the electronics departments at some big stores, or even Radio Shack if you can get to them. My local Sam's Club even has good prices now and then. Look for good sized keys that fit your hands, not scaled down toy keys. Look for a good feel when you hit them, not too light or bouncy. Listen to the built-in sounds. Are you after "real instruments" like a good piano, strings, flutes, etc? Or "synth" sounds? Do you want a built-in drum machine?
I'd look for MIDI in and out ports which runs into slightly higher dollar units. Those will let you connect to your computer with an inexpensive USB MIDI adapter so you can play your sound card from the keyboard, or drive your keyboard from software. If you outgrow your built-in sounds but like the keyboard for playability, you can use MIDI to drive other sound modules, too.
Other things you may read on the box: "velocity" means notes play louder if you hit harder - very good to have. "aftertouch" means you can control some aspect of the sound with finger pressure even after you hit the key - much less important. "weighted keys" are meant to feel more like a real piano; high end units actually use the wooden key mechanisms from real pianos. A "polyphony" number tells how many notes it can play at once ... more than you have fingers may be a waste unless you have the computer play it. Keyboard "splits" or "programs" let you play one sound in the left hand and another in the right, or different sounds on several MIDI channels.
Any of that useful?
A good question is never answered. It is not a bolt to be tightened into place but a seed to be planted and to bear more seed toward the hope of greening the landscape of the idea. John Ciardi
