Choosing a Keyboard
What to look for when buying a new keyboard, well the main task is to think about what the use of the keyboard. When you know what the use is then you can decide what keyboard fits best for the use.
If you are looking for a home use keyboard
Look for a keyboard with 49 keys or over if possible, this will allow good use without becoming too expensive.
There are many well-known keyboard brands like Yamaha, Casio, Korg, Roland and some more these are best to stick too for a first keyboard as the quality is normally good. You can find other good brand keyboards but you cannot expect a good output from very cheap brands.
Voices
Voices are the sounds that you can use on the keyboard that synthesize instruments. Keyboards will come with 128 or more voices and this may be a factor if you plan to use the keyboard for arranging. If you want to practice piano then this is not so important and may be better spending your money on a keyboard that has good piano sounds and not many others.
Styles and Rhythms
Again if you plan to arrange or play as a full band then the use or styles or rhythms may be important so have a look at the range of these and see if they fit your requirements.
Touch Response
This means that the harder you press a key the louder the note. This is good to have as it allows more response from the keyboard and allows dynamics to be used.
Looking for a more advanced keyboard
61, 76 or 88 keys are useful for more advanced playing, as the note range will be greater. This is also important if you are using for piano practice. Brands such as Yamaha, Casio, Korg, Roland are also the way to go for more advanced keyboards. These will give a better output sound and better supported than some other brands.
Weighted action or Synth Action keys
This is how the keys feel as you press them. Piano action means that the keys are weighted like a piano so this is good if you are a pianist. If you want to play more synth or arrange with the keyboard then synth action is the way to go as you can play faster and is easier to play different types of instrument with the keyboard.
Keyboard to use for midi input to computer
If you want to use your keyboard as a midi controller and want to plug it into the computer then you need one with USB. This can then be connected with a USB cable to the USB port on the computer.
Have a look around this website and see if you can find your perfect keyboard for your use.
