MIDI controllers
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Category: Other music related lounges
Forum Name: Tech Talk
Forum Description: Discuss musical instruments, equipment, hi-fi, speakers, vinyl, gadgets,etc.
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=28018
Printed Date: November 28 2024 at 13:10
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Topic: MIDI controllers
Posted By: gods of marble
Subject: MIDI controllers
Date Posted: September 01 2006 at 01:56
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what are they? what do they do? are they synth related? are they cheaper than synths? can they give you multiple sounds (ie hammond organ/rhodes/synth/piano/mellotron)?
i need the info. cause i would love to know in case i need to buy one.
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Replies:
Posted By: MarkOne
Date Posted: September 01 2006 at 10:14
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MIDI controllers are basically dumb remote keyboards (Well, some of them are quite clever, but they don't produce any sounds themselves)
They come in all sorts of sizes from tiny 2 octave things right up to weighted piano key 88 note monsters. They vary a lot in their capabilities the cheaper ones won't have aftertouch response, most of them respond to velocity.
They all require you to connect to a sound source of some kind - either a real synth module or a computer running virtual instruments.
Some allow you to zone or split the keyboard so it can send MIDI say from the top 3 octaves to a module or VSTi running a Moog sound, the central 3 octaves to a module or synth running a melotron sample and the bottom octave and a bit to something emulating a Taurus bass. (Just one example). Another might be to layer sounds from different synths and maybe define which one gets played based on velocity (Play soft, get a string sound from synth A, play hard, get orchestral brass from Synth B)
Many of them these days also have banks of knobs and sliders allowing real time control of parameters on your synths or VSTis. Some allow you to set up and recall scenes and presets, making complex patch changes live a bit easier.
Several of the bigger synth workstations can double quite comfortably as a controller for other synths or modules.
They run in price from sub 100 UKP to maybe 500+ for a big weighted key 88 note controller.
Common makes are Fatar, Evolution, Studiologic, M-Audio. Roland's AX30 is the one you can wear slung like a guitar and strut like your guitarist buddies
 Hope this is helpful
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Posted By: gods of marble
Date Posted: September 01 2006 at 10:57
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hmmm...
im definately considering. i could use somthing like this for cheap.
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Posted By: MarkOne
Date Posted: September 01 2006 at 12:13
But what will you control with it?
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gods of marble wrote:Posted By: DirkNJ
Date Posted: September 18 2006 at 13:25
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I have two things you can consider a midi controler in my arsenal. First, any midi keyboard can be used as a midi controler. I use a Roland XP-10 to trigger sounds in my Novation Bass Station (rack mount) and the Oberheim Matrix1000 (rack mount).
The second thing I use is a Roland PK-5 foot pedals which is somehow interfaced to my Roland D50, Bass Sation and Matrix. With some quick thinking on my part I can switch between just about everything I use to perform live.
You can probably guess that I'm a Roland fan
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