Here's what I told peteralway. I've since added a few. Although it will be a while before I should consider getting another keyboard.
My keyboard criteria: - 61 keys (5 octaves) minimum. - polyphonic (so I can play more than one note at a time) - velocity-sensitive (the harder I strike the key, the harder the sound) -- pressure sensor a plus - weighted keys (i.e. piano action instead of organ action) - lots of preset "classic" keyboard sounds (piano, Rhodes electric, Hammond B-3, clavinet, harpsichord, celesta, combo organ, etc.) - programmable sounds (so I can set up a sound and save it in memory) - MIDI-compatible (can record key hits as MIDI files and play them back) - portability (so I can take it to house filks and filk cons) - relatively lightweight (heavy enough to take hard pounding, but light enough for one person to tote) - sampling (the ability to record and playback sounds) is a plus - relatively inexpensive ($500-$1000)
The Kurzweil met all of the criteria, except for the weight (the instrument was 50 pounds, and so was the case), size (even though it had 76 keys -- a little more than 7 octaves -- it dominated my loft work area), and cost (it was originally $1399, which I can't really afford right now since I'm not working and still relying too much on the plastic money).
Kurzweil (and Moog) are to keyboards as Lexus is to cars, or as Harley-Davidson is to motorcycles. It's high-end, professional-quality gear, not cheap strictly-amateur toy-quality gear. I've admired them since the mid-1980s, when their first model came out.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2005-12-13 03:21 pm (UTC)My keyboard criteria:
- 61 keys (5 octaves) minimum.
- polyphonic (so I can play more than one note at a time)
- velocity-sensitive (the harder I strike the key, the harder the sound) -- pressure sensor a plus
- weighted keys (i.e. piano action instead of organ action)
- lots of preset "classic" keyboard sounds (piano, Rhodes electric, Hammond B-3, clavinet, harpsichord, celesta, combo organ, etc.)
- programmable sounds (so I can set up a sound and save it in memory)
- MIDI-compatible (can record key hits as MIDI files and play them back)
- portability (so I can take it to house filks and filk cons)
- relatively lightweight (heavy enough to take hard pounding, but light enough for one person to tote)
- sampling (the ability to record and playback sounds) is a plus
- relatively inexpensive ($500-$1000)
The Kurzweil met all of the criteria, except for the weight (the instrument was 50 pounds, and so was the case), size (even though it had 76 keys -- a little more than 7 octaves -- it dominated my loft work area), and cost (it was originally $1399, which I can't really afford right now since I'm not working and still relying too much on the plastic money).
Kurzweil (and Moog) are to keyboards as Lexus is to cars, or as Harley-Davidson is to motorcycles. It's high-end, professional-quality gear, not cheap strictly-amateur toy-quality gear. I've admired them since the mid-1980s, when their first model came out.