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[jamiesd]

Hi, looking to get a really cheap usb midi keyboard to work with Garageband.

I've no experience at all and don't really want to spend very much.

Can anybody point me in the right direction?

cheers
Jamiesd

[spellchecker]

novation xiosynth 25

- built in class compliant usb soundcard (2in 2out)
- 1 line in
- 1 XLR in (including +48v phantom power)
- built in synth (same as in novation x-station)
- MIDI over USB or from midi through port


about 180 from rubadub down in glasgow (can order over internet)

[Chris]

Loads of keyboards these days do midi over USB. I've got a £100 Casio job that does it. Can use it as a MIDI controller with my laptop and can also take songs and voices across from the laptop onto the keyboard.

It's rather large though, but I'm sure you can get smaller and much cheaper ones just to act as midi controllers.

soundslive.co.uk has a whole category for them:
USB Midi Controller Keyboards, the best deals on-line

[Stripey]

Search for all products by all manufacturers in MIDI Keyboard Contollers at DV247.COM

[Gemz]

Originally Posted by jamiesd

Hi, looking to get a really cheap usb midi keyboard to work with Garageband.

Whats Garageband like? Is it easy to use?

I got Cubase SX3 an its a complete head fry for a beginner like me...

[Jim Stax]

Originally Posted by Gemz

Whats Garageband like? Is it easy to use?

I got Cubase SX3 an its a complete head fry for a beginner like me...

Basic, useful, robust and really easy. A great starter and tool. I still use it to build some loops for using in Ableton Live... or for banging down an idea quickly...

[HairyScaryMark]

It depends how much you are willing to spend and how much you are concerned about the feel of the board and the number of knobs and faders you want.

Personally. I like 9 faders for hammond emulation and a few knobs for synth emulation.

Novation are a realtively luxury brand for midi controllers and when I tried them out they seemed to be very well made, a nice keypad and display.

M-Audio do a range from cheap no-frils right through to stuff like the Axiom which has semi-weighted keys and a number of knobs faders and touch pads.

If I were you. I would aim to get one with 61 keys. 49 is the minimum in my opinion for most things but some people get away with less. I often wish I had 88 but then again, I am originally a piano player.

Korg also have a nice feel in their midi controllers these days.

I use a Evolution midi controller and the feel is actually pretty good. Not as good as my korg triton but better than the korg m1. I am not sure what the status iwth evolution is these days. I heard something about them getting bought over.

If you like piano. You could also look for the cheapest Roland or Yamaha digital piano and use it as a midi controller. You will generally need a seperate midi interface for this option however.

[jamiesd]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Since i'm on a budget and i have absolutely no experience and can't even play i bought a M-Audio Oxygen 8 v2 it's very small as i have limited space in the flat.

The guy in the work also offered me a Yamaha portasound pss-680. It's rather big i'm not sure whether to take it as well.

Does anybody have any tips for using garageband? I realy have no clue where to start.
Running version 2 but on the look out for version 3. Version 8 woul struggle to run on my g4 power pc.

I was thinking of getting the Garageband book for Dummies as a starter. Anyone got that? is it any good?

Thanks again
Jamiesd

[spellchecker]

just wanted to say if anyone else is interested, rubadub just dropped the price of their novation xiosynth 25 to £150 - a total bargain (except for me who bought it a month ago for 180 quid!!). it is a great multi function musician's tool.