What's the difference between a keyboard synthesizer, digital piano, personal keyboard, & keyboard controller?

Question

i want to buy some kind of keyboard for my own piano playing hobby since my piano flooded.
i have no clue as to the background of keyboards or what brands are good or what they can do...
should i get one that plays through my computer?
is it better to have one that has speakers?
should i get one i can record onto my computer with?
does it matter if i get an 88 or 61 key keyboard?
what are the pros and cons of different types?

please help me i have no clue!
i started to research keyboards for a good price and was completely overwhelmed.

Answer 1

A keyboard controller does not produce any sound of it's own... it's function it to (as the term implies) 'control' something else... like a synthesizer. These days, synthesizers don't always have keyboards... some are 'rack-mounted' or even 'stand-alone' units, usually connected and controlled by MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) cables.

Also, these days (for the most part), a 'digital piano' is probably either a synthesizer or sampler which is limited to piano-like sounds, and is meant to be played and used pretty much strictly as a piano. For that reason, they'll usually cost less than full-blown synths/samplers that do much, MUCH more.

A 'personal keyboard' (IMO) is just a small, portable keyboard/synth/sampler... most likely, with limited abilities. I think most would be able to be used as MIDI controllers, but some may not, and be capable of only producing the limited sounds programmed at the factory... (and- they may have small, non-standard sized keys)(toy-like).

If you're a beginner, you may not wish to get all that involved with interfacing thru your computer at this point... although some programs let you do just about anything a real synth does, and can use a keyboard controller. But... think 'pricey', and not as portable (unless using a notebook), and speakers/amp is whatever is external to your computer. ( I personally don't like going with virtual, but some folks do). Plus... many people like to 'tweak' their sounds (adjust in real-time)... and that's hard to do with a menu.

This may be the kind of thing where you want to start off not spending a lot... and, you may want a dedicated keyboard which can connect to external amps/speakers, as well as have it's own internal amp/speakers. Most of these will also interface via MIDI and other cables to other synths, computers, workstations, sequencers, etc. Some also allow you to expand their capabilities later on down the road... add more sounds/samples... that sort of thing. Yamaha's PSR series would be a safe bet in that realm. Casio... (a-hem).... I dunno... I've always thought of Casios as toys (just my opinion)... and being a studio recording engineer and modular synthesist for nearly 35 years, I've never known any 'pros' to use Casio. Besides... Yamaha has a wealth of sounds and samples which are top of the line. You can spend anywhere from a couple-a-hundred, to a couple-a-thousand (or more) for Yamaha PSR series (or other models). And, the PSR's are what is known as 'accompanyment' or 'arranger' synths... specifically set up to let you easily do arrangements, and most have onboard 16-track sequencers for composing and playing your songs.

88 or 61 keys?.... and whether you get weighted keys or not.... all of this really depends on what you intend to do. At this stage, I would thing that all you really need is 61-keys... and non-weighted... it sure makes it easier to move around! I've got a Motif ES-8... and that sucker weighs a ton!

I'd strongly suggest that you locate and join 2-3 groups here on Yahoo. I know there has been PSR groups... and there are other synthesizer groups. I moderate some modular-synth groups... and know that with just about any popular keyboard/synth/sampler made, there will be a user's group on Yahoo. Join some of these groups... explain you're a newbie... ask concise, non-rambling questions... and be sure you search thru the group's archives. Often, many or most of your questions will have already been asked several times in the past by others. Some (few) members may get irritated if you don't at least 'try' to locate answers yourself. (That's just a friendly suggestion). Oh yeah... ask, or look for complaints/bugs, etc.

Finally... once you narrow-down the ones you're interested in... go to a music store which has these models on display (like Guitar Center), and play them. Try to get a salesperson who has been there a while, and IS familiar with all of the models... and don't be affraid to ask questions, and ask them to demo the units.

Once you decide... check other sources... like the internet... internet music stores... eBay, etc. You'd be surprised at some of the deals you can find easily. And often, if you buy from an outfit which doesn't have a retail store in your state, you may be able to skip the state sales tax (that varies from state to state). Another thought is to buy something used. You can get stuff that sold for 2-4 grand 2-3 years ago for $800-$1,500 (+/-). There are lots of people that are constantly buying what's new (this week)... and will sell-off stuff that's a couple of years old. If you're interested in analog modeling... the Korg MS-2000 is a great synth, and you can pick them up pretty cheap, now. But that is a synth... not a sampler. You couldn't do convincing piano sounds... and it's also a 4-voice (meaning only 4 keys can be played at once). You're probably wanting full polyphonic, which can play all keys... like a piano or organ.

Starting off... don't drop a buch of bucks. Buy what you think will work best for what you want to do... and always keep in the back of your mind, that later on, you can sell it, and upgrade to bigger/better or different. Good luck. : )

Answer 2

I'm not a professional musician, but I have played both acoustic painos and electric pianos and keyboard instruments. Here are some reasons people prefer acoustic pianos over electric keyboards. 1. The digital synthesizers and keyboards can not, in fact, make the same sounds as an acoustic piano. Many of them can get very,very close, but there will always be high overtones from a live piano that change the overall effect of a tone on the human ear. 2. Acoustic pianos also have a great deal more fine control over their dynamic levels, and have a larger dynamic range (unless you use the volume knob/pedal on the electric piano). 3. Acoustics *feel* better to the pianist. It feels like you are doing something real. You can imagine making the strings vibrate when you strike a key. At least, that's been my experience.

Answer 3

Piano Synthesizer