If you need more guidance, head to the buying advice section at the bottom of the page. Our price comparison widgets have found the best deals online right now, too. Next up, we detail our top MIDI keyboard picks, after which we have more in-depth reviews of each of the models in our buyer’s guide to help you find the right one. And if you are a trained keyboard player, you might want to consider an 88-note model with weighted keys – we have also included some of these in our guide. It might well be a little more rugged, too something to consider if you want to take it on the road. You can get a perfectly decent cheap MIDI keyboard for way less than $/£100 if you shop around, but up your spend even slightly and you'll get your hands on a higher quality model with more features and higher specs. Many of the best MIDI keyboards also come with mapping templates for the most popular DAWs - Ableton Live, Logic Pro, FL Studio, etc - making it easy to get up and running and start producing music right out of the box. And talking of software, most MIDI keyboards include good value software bundles, and we have listed the highlights with each keyboard. Most options we recommend here also come with additional features such as knobs, pads, buttons and faders to boost creativity and give you even more control over your software. You can opt for a compact, portable MIDI keyboard that fits comfortably in a laptop bag, or you can go all-in with a full-size 88-note model with weighted hammer-action keys. There are plenty of models to choose from. They are mostly used to let you play and record with your DAW's software instruments and any VST synth plugins you might have installed. They can be plugged directly into your computer or laptop via USB - or, in some cases, operate wirelessly over Bluetooth or connect to iOS devices to control apps. Bear in mind that the other MIDI outputs are useless if playing this way, because your virtual keyboard is limited to straight on/off voltages.MIDI controller keyboards not only enable you to play and record tunes into your computer, they also let you control software - and in some cases, other studio hardware - so have become one of the most essential items for the modern music producer alongside an audio interface and laptop or PC. Add a MIDI to CV module to your synth, set its interface to the appropriate input, wire its 1V/Oct port to something interesting, and use the keys on your computer keyboard to play. Download and install Virtual MIDI Piano Keyboard from here, and MIDI OX and MIDI Yoke from here, and set VMKB’s output to MIDI Yoke. If you don’t have a MIDI keyboard, you can still get a little more interactive with your instruments. This could be as simple as wiring the keyboard’s 1V/Oct output to the V/Oct input of a VCO, or far more complex-modular synths are all about exploration and experimentation, so it’s up to you to find a sound you love. If you have a MIDI keyboard, adding the MIDI to CV module is a must-it enables you to use the notes of keyboard keys (1V/Oct), their velocity, and (if your keyboard supports it) aftertouch, as well as the modulation and pitch wheels to control anything with an input. You’ll hear a tone from one of your speakers, indicating success jiggle the “Freq” knob, and the pitch should change. Turn down your system volume, and click and drag from the VCO’s “SQR” port to one of the numbered outputs (see image below) on the audio interface. Use the drop-down below “Audio Device” to select your soundcard, then right-click in empty space again to add “Fundamental > VCO-1.” This is a voltage-controlled oscillator, essentially a sound generator. Let’s start filling it up: Right-click in some empty space, and select “Core > Audio Interface” to add an output module. With Rack installed and running (you can do it, scout, it’s just a couple of clicks), you’ll see a slightly worrying empty rack. Just be careful of your speakers, because you never know what noise you’re going to make. You may never find the same sound twice, but the journey to get there is great fun. That said, nothing’s ever 100 percent accurate with analog synthesis, and nothing’s ever set in stone. VCV Rack faithfully emulates proper analog synth equipment, to the extent that some manufacturers of real-world modules have created their own virtual equivalents, so close to the originals that patches-configurations of knobs and switches, which create a particular sound-can be faithfully recreated in Rack from the physical hardware.
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