5 ms·
The sound of a DX7 not the 10 ton keyboard[1] :-) The ability to re-create these sound flavors "on the cheap" is really something. I keep wondering if someone i
by ChuckMcM 3y ago
The sound of a DX7 not the 10 ton keyboard[1] :-) The ability to re-create these sound flavors "on the cheap" is really something. I keep wondering if someone is selling nice keyboards that one could pair with these sound modules.
[1] Keyboard not literally 10 tons, it just feels that way when lugging it to and from the van to the gig, typically about 40lbs in the case with accessories.
- dave_sullivan 3y agoMPK Mini is all you need, they're like 80 bucks
- fahrnfahrnfahrn 3y agoHah hah! I had to lug around a Rhodes suitcase, a B3, and a Leslie. My DX7 in an anvil case weren’t nothing.
- jacquesm 3y agoSure, but you'll always have some lag and the aftertouch of the DX7 might not come across in the same way. But any half decent midi keyboard should work, for instance: https://www.thomann.de/nl/native_instruments_komplete_kontrol_s61_mk2.htm https://www.thomann.de/nl/native_instruments_komplete_kontro... They have Fatar keyboards which is more than good enough.
- ChuckMcM 3y agoI was thinking more like the burgeoning mechanical keyboard business for computers. If the mechanical structure was there your could provide arbitrarily low latency (some of the high end 'gamer' keyboards are sub-millesecond). Given the physical system you're modelling (Harpsichord, Piano, Etc.) all of the computation vis-a-vis the velocity can be computed while the key is moving and delivered when the key is "down", after touch on a per-board basis is easy, per key basis doable with more sensors. After touch doesn't have quite the latency requirements either. With these 25 cent M0+ 45MHz processors you could put one on every single key and 88 keys would incur like $88 cost for electronics.
- jacquesm 3y agoI wouldn't be able to build a substitute for a half decent brand-new manufactured keyboard for $88 if I got the parts for free. I've build some interesting musical keyboards but mostly because they had geometries that were non-standard and I'm still toying with the idea of making a complete action from scratch. But that's 'madman' territory, just as a challenge, not for cost savings.
- ChuckMcM 3y agoSorry I wasn't clear, I was think just the electronics at $1 per key. The action for the keyboard would cost more than that. In my alternate life I find a broken/disused KX-88 and rebuild its keyboard :-)
- jacquesm 3y agoShall I keep an eye out? I repair DX-7's to keep them alive (usually three broken ones yield about two good ones and some spare bits), I can look for KX-88's while looking for DX-7s if you want.
- ChuckMcM 3y agoI periodically search Craigslist for them and I've asked the local gear reseller (Starving Musician) to be on the eye out for a "dead" one. I seriously doubt having one shipped would be cost effective :-). There is a $50 one on Ebay in Illinois for local pickup.
- jacquesm 3y agoThat will be hard to beat :) Go grab it then! For that kind of money you really can't go wrong.
- munificent 3y agoFor what it's worth, I've been into hardware and software synthesizers for a while and in the many many discussions I've seen around MIDI controllers and keyboards, I can't recall latency ever coming up. As far as I can tell, basically all MIDI hardware is fast enough that musicians don't seem to notice or complain.