[sdiy] Synth Keyboards and Number of Keys

[Dave Kendall]

IMO,  plastic synth keyboards and weighted keyboards are different 
animals - perhaps as different as a Nylon strung guitar and an 
electric. They have a completely different feel and do different jobs 
well. For anyone with less than brilliant keyboard technique, the 
average plastic keyboard can be re-triggered much faster than a 
weighted one, so it lends itself well to lead synth solos and 
percussion stuff. I guess it depends on your style, but 61 keys have 
never been a problem for solos for me.
For anyone who loves using realtime pitchbend and mod wheel, the 
smaller size of many synth keyboards means that those controllers are 
nearer to grab, twiddle, and return to the keyboard again. Making a VL7 
really sing, requires the use of the pitch wheel on many notes, as well 
as the essential breath controller. (One day I'll mod it with a sprung 
pitch lever when I've finally finished everything else on the to-do 
list :- )

That being said, a weighted action is much better for piano style work, 
and anything more involved than pad sounds, and can help to even out 
inconsistencies in playing technique. But maybe that's just me....
My knackered old Fender Rhodes 73 really needs boxing gloves to play 
properly , but aaah, The Sound ......... :-)

For the ultimate giggable keyboard controller, I 'd go with Achim's 
idea of a tiered machine, with a 76+ note  weighted keyboard on the 
bottom, and 1 or 2 lighter and smaller ones above.
Ideally they would all be quite close together, and the shorter 
synth-style keyboards would be offset to the right, maybe with their 
pitch wheels/roland style levers to the left, above the bottom of the 
lowest keyboard manual. Patch select and other common controllers could 
also be on the left, and any programming controls could be either at 
the top/back, or even be on a separate controller connected via a plug 
in lead- like the Roland JX, super jupiter and others.

I did lug around a 5 foot A-frame stand with a legless rhodes, a K2000, 
and a VL7 to gigs for a while,  (+19" rack and amp), and was almost 
glad when the band decided not to carry on...

Anyway, anything's got to be nicer to play than the first synth I had - 
a regular EDP wasp ...........

just my 2pence....


On 1 Mar 2007, at 19:31, Quixotic Nixotic wrote:
> I have long wanted to make a curved keyboard - 360 degrees would be 
> fun. Hang it off your shoulders and play all around yourself. Or 
> perhaps a larger set that you can sit down inside and play on a swivel 
> chair. Or a spiral, go around twice. Why not?

Captain Nemo would almost definitely install one in the Nautilus.......

cheers,

Dave