This is difficult to do because a controller has no strings or hammers. Many controllers have 88-note keyboards that replicate the mechanical action of a conventional piano keyboard. You can choose from three basic keyboard action types: Don’t underestimate the impact of having a less-than-ideal keyboard on your creativity and productivity! The type of action you prefer is usually determined mostly by what you are accustomed to, and also by the particular style of music that you play, which may call for one type of action over another. You, the player, need to feel comfortable using the controller, whether live on stage or in your songwriting or recording studio. Shop for Compact Controllers Shop for 49-key Controllers Shop for 61-key Controllers Shop for 88-key ControllersĪ vital quality of any keyboard controller is the keyboard action – the manner in which the key responds to playing. We also occasionally see models with 32, 37, 73, and 76 keys. Controllers generally come with 25, 49, 61, or 88 keys, and can be anywhere from under 20″ to over 50″ in length. How much space do you have in your studio? Do you play two-handed? Do you want to be able to do keyboard splits (range mapping)? How important is portability – are you taking your controller on the road? Your answers to these questions will determine how many keys you’ll want on your controller. If you’re a DJ, you would definitely appreciate the compactness of a 25-key controller while using its knobs to modulate the filters of a loop sequencer that lives on your laptop.
Onstage, you could connect your controller to your laptop – or a rack full of synth modules and effects processors – and use presets to combine or split devices using simple button pushes. This was one of the original concepts of MIDI: control of other modules from one keyboard.
Some controllers now include automapping technology that sets up the knobs and faders to correspond to your specific software applications. This provides a much more “authentic analog” feel over using a mouse. The controller’s knobs, sliders, and modulation wheel give you hands-on, real-time control over tweaking the synth’s filter cutoff and resonance, amp envelope, and so forth. Here’s a specific example: you have your controller plugged into your computer and your DAW of choice running with an instance of your favorite soft synth. These are capable of transmitting MIDI data and can dramatically increase the hands-on control you have over your software or any module you have connected to your controller. In addition to the piano-style keys found on keyboard controllers, many also include a range of knobs, sliders, and buttons on their top panels. They give you control over virtually the entire range of modern music hardware and software while sometimes even being compact enough to fit in your laptop computer bag. The real advantages of a keyboard controller are versatility and portability.
Most keyboard controllers themselves have no internal sound-generating capability, but almost any keyboard synthesizer/workstation can act to control the sounds and parameters of other devices. All of these transmit MIDI data to external sound modules (synthesizers), computer software synthesizers, or a hardware or software sequencer. Technically, a keyboard controller is a device with piano or synth-style keys, and usually a selection of knobs, buttons, and sliders. That concept has been a smashing success! Today, live performers, songwriters with laptops, studio musicians, sound designers, and others can all benefit from the flexibility a keyboard controller offers them. Way back in the 1980s, one of the original purposes of developing the MIDI specification was to allow live performers the ability to control the sounds of multiple synthesizers from a single keyboard. Using a Keyboard Controller in Live Performance As always, we welcome your questions at (800) 222-4700. The Sweetwater MIDI Controllers Buying Guide includes tips to help you choose the right controller for your needs. MIDI keyboard controllers have become an important part of the music-making process for contemporary musicians and producers due to the increasing use of virtual instruments onstage and in the studio.