i want something relatively cheap ($200 max) that can trigger samples and sequences as well as play sofysynths. i have a g4. THANKS YOU!
― czjk, Friday, 5 May 2006 18:04 (nineteen years ago)
Czjk, what kind of software do you use? There are plenty of MIDI controllers in your price range, largely two-octave ones, but which one suits you will kinda depend on (a) what software you use, (b) how much you want lots and lots of knobs and sliders to map onto that software's parameters, and (c) how much you care about the keyboard playing/feeling right.
― nabisco (nabisco), Friday, 5 May 2006 22:04 (nineteen years ago)
yeah thanks nabisco, i should have been more specific ... i use reason 3 and dont care so much about weighted keys .. most lines i play are pretty minimal since i try to focus on texture. and i don't need like a billion knobs. what is that little guy? looks perfect
i know this is a generic question but i kinda see IMM as like harmony central, except not populated by tweens ... so thanks for your input!
― hjxfdkl, Saturday, 6 May 2006 03:12 (nineteen years ago)
That's the E-Mu 300, or something. It does what it's supposed to do. So far, I haven't had much need to re-map the knob controls onto Reason stuff, but when I have it's been pretty straightforward. That's the cheap end of your range, I guess. Take it up toward $200, and you've got lots of options that should all work fine, just with various trade-offs in what you want: knobs, sliders, drum pads, better keys, extra octaves. (Main thing to decide will be whether you want more octaves, for actual playing, or more knobs and sliders, for programming and automating.) And if you want to go toward $250, you could get a combined MIDI controller and audio interface, like the M-audio Ozone.
I wouldn't expect loads of difference between the brands, though -- they're all going to be constructed about the same way and send the same MIDI. The rest you can check out in the store -- you know, making sure you like the way it feels, making sure you're not totally annoyed with the display interface, checking that it feels solidly constructed and the knobs and wheels aren't funky, etc. (Solid construction in particular, I guess -- these are built a little cheapy, and I remember getting annoyed with my Ozone when the pitch bend would always snap back to slightly flat of center.)
― nabisco (nabisco), Saturday, 6 May 2006 05:01 (nineteen years ago)