MIDI keyboard advice please

[Dankology]

On a whim, I've picked up the Behringer Solina recreation and I'd like to use it at gigs, using a cheap(ish) MIDI keyboard.

 

I've currently got an old Novation Remote SL25, which is a bit too small (ideally want 3 octaves) and a Kawai electric piano (which isn't portable).

 

I'm looking for a 37 key keyboard and I think it will need to have a traditional 5-pin MIDI output.

 

The Solina has a 5-pin and a USB-B, the Kawai just has USB-B, the Novation has both but the 5-pin seems to be disabled when it's powered via the USB port... I'm also led to believe that connecting two USB-B ports together doesn't work.

 

The module only arrived today so I've just been testing it out by plugging the keyboards and the Behringer itself into a laptop but this is causing terrible lag between hitting a note and the sound emerging (which doesn't happen when using the same keyboards via USB to trigger soft synths.

 

So... am I looking for what appears to be a rare thing (a reasonably priced 37-key keyboard with 5-pin port) or is there some way of connecting two USB ports together without a laptop that will allow for latency-free live use?

 

This is fairly new ground to me so please speak slowly and imagine you were speaking to someone far more at home twanging wires stretched over planks of wood.

[TheLowDown]

There's plenty to choose from, but it depends what you mean by reasonably priced. Maybe Akai mini plus?

 

If you want to connect using USB  then you'll need a MIDI host which is kinda like an adaptor.

Edited 13 hours ago by TheLowDown

[BassTractor]

IF you can stretch this to 49 keys, the simple Midiplus AK490 spawns enormous quality and playability for the money. Expect to have to search, though Bax seem able to deliver next week. 5-pin MIDI.
IMS, it spawns a battery compartment, which in case I've used extensively.

Maybe obsolete, the M-Audio Keystation 37 is a bit more spongy in its keys' response, but still quite alright. 5-pin MIDI.

I've recently also bought an Icon iKeyboard 4S (three octaves, not four, so 37 keys), which surprised me positively to the degree I'll go for Icon from here on, despite its higher price point. 5-pin MIDI.
Icon has cheaper models too: the iKeyboard 4 and iKeyboard 4X, which I feel still are impressive for the money. 5-pin MIDI.
Icon make things a bit complicated with the enormous range they offer. They offer three different key sizes (regular, mini and nano), lengths from 25 to 88 keys, and also different levels of being advanced and knobby. If you can, visit a shop and compare them. Be aware that the more knobby models tend to have better keybeds, and sometimes the longer models spawn better keybeds than the shorter ones.

I know zilch about USB and about the disabling you mentioned, so can't help there.

 

 

Edited 11 hours ago by BassTractor

[BassTractor]

6 minutes ago, TheLowDown said:

Maybe Akai mini plus?

Nice one. Akai tend to use reasonably good keybeds too, and I found their Miniak synth and MPC Key 37 production workstation to be very playable.

[Dankology]

Thanks for the replies. 

 

Am I right I thinking that the Akai doesn't have full sized keys? I'm guessing from the replies above that this isn't much of an issue though.

 

I think I've got one of the Icon models on my Ebay watch list but wasn't sure what they were like so I might pull the trigger on that one. The Midiplus one sounds good too.

 

Lots of options then - thank you once again. 

[BassTractor]

1 hour ago, Dankology said:

Thanks for the replies. 

 

Am I right I thinking that the Akai doesn't have full sized keys? I'm guessing from the replies above that this isn't much of an issue though.

 

I think I've got one of the Icon models on my Ebay watch list but wasn't sure what they were like so I might pull the trigger on that one. The Midiplus one sounds good too.

 

Lots of options then - thank you once again. 

Yup. Not full-sized. I don't know its keybed though, and my earlier comment re Akai should've been worded more carefully.
Some people report size is a huge issue; others that it isn't. Animosity then ensues. (Why the flying do they need to fight over this?)
What I personally find to be a problem is that keys of lesser size tend to sit in keybeds of questionable quality (not always!), which potentially gives timing issues or finger tiredness or whatever.
For myself I've decided to stay well away from slim, mini or nano keys. I can adapt, but I also note that the error rate goes up after 60 years of playing full-size keys.

I don't know your Novation, but your Kawai probably is very good. Then again, for the Solina, you'd likely go for an electronic organ action AKA synth action anyway, and would then land roughly in the Novation landscape anyway. As said, even the three brands I mentioned vary wildly within that landscape. Also Icon's ranges vary considerably. 

As to the eBay one, Icon do name their MIDI keyboards to incorporate key size for the mini and nano ones, so you should normally know what you buy, but I cannot tell right now whether the mini and nano ones do have 5-pin MIDI. Somehow I doubt it.

 

[bass_dinger]

If I were searching for a midi keyboard, I would be looking on Facebook Market place, and popping into the local cash converters and charity shops. 

 

It's easy to look up the specifications of whatever comes up - and if it has Midi DIN, then you can play it and see if it feels right for you. 

 

I picked up a £50 Kurzweil SP76 from Cash Converters, which has Midi-din, and I later realised that it has multichannel Midi capability.