What types of midi keyboards are there and how to choose the right one?

Modern midi keyboards are a large group of sound devices designed for professional use and work with audio. The variety of assortment is so great that it is not so easy to navigate it, especially if you are choosing your first midi keyboard. In our material, a specialist from the online music store Muzline will help resolve this issue.

What is a midi keyboard, how is it different from a synthesizer?

Externally, many midi keyboards really look like synthesizers. However, there is a fundamental difference between these two devices

1. the synthesizer independently generates its own sound and therefore can be considered a full-fledged musical instrument, albeit an electronic one.
2. A midi keyboard is a complex digital device that does not have or produce its own sound, so it would be more correct to call a midi keyboard not a musical instrument, but a controller that helps work with the functions of music programs.

This controller connects to a computer and the user can assign options available to him in the program to the controller’s controls, select sounds, work with plug-ins, and enter information into the software. In other words, in order not to manually write notes in a music program, it is much easier to play them - this is what midi keyboards are designed for.

What does the market offer?

There are midi keyboards

• studio
• portable
• full size.

This classification could be continued, since the range of keyboards is currently incredibly diverse.

Studio MIDI keyboards are, as a rule, very high-quality devices with a good controllable keyboard, a number of reliable controllers in the form of rotary controls, sliders, they are intended for professional use and demonstrate high efficiency in the long term. Very often, such models have a full-fledged piano keyboard with hammer action, which makes playing easier.

Portable midi keyboards are small devices that can be taken with you, easily transported, and used in any conditions. They are equipped with two or three octaves of reduced size keys and a set of standard controls for controlling sound parameters. This category presents a huge number of budget models that fully deserve people’s love and are extremely popular, especially among young musicians.