Yamaha EZ20AD 61-Note Portable Keyboard with Guide Lamps and AC Adapter Review

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(More customer reviews)As a beginner wanting to learn how to play the piano, the Yamaha EZ20AD Portable Keyboard had everything I could ask for. With lessons and Guide Lamps. The follow-along illuminated keys facilitated learning, and the Education Suite 3 provided virtual lessons using 100 built-in songs. I was able to start playing the first time I tried. I would highly recommend this product for anyone, whether you are a novice or an expert.

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Beginning keyboardists will love Yamaha's EZ20AD Portable Keyboard With Guide Lamps. The follow-along illuminated keys facilitate learning, and the Yamaha Education Suite 3 provides virtual lessons using 100 built-in songs. It features 61 piano-size keys and MIDI interface for computer connectivity.
Two stereo speakers plus bass ports and bass boost enhance the sound. With 100 instrument voices to choose from, plus 100 accompaniment styles, the Yamaha EZ20AD encourages creativity. In addition, it includes 19 multipads using keys for sound effects. If you need to practice in privacy, the EZ20AD features a built-in headphone jack.
The keyboard operates with an included Yamaha PA3B power adapter or with six optional D-cell batteries. Yamaha provides a one-year limited warranty on parts and labor.

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Casio CTK810 Keyboard Review

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(More customer reviews)Casio CTK810 Keyboard
This is a fine solid keyboard if you are looking to learn a couple of songs and have a good sound. Even if you want to get a keyboard for your kids, as well as a good item for amusement. It is equipped with several voices, functions, and a teaching method. It is Touch Sensitive, so you can express yourself fully and it has USB connectivity that other brand's similar models lack.
It's an excellent option for your first keyboard.

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Yamaha PSR-350AD 61-Note Touch-Sensitive Portable Electronic Keyboard with AC Adapter Review

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(More customer reviews)Along with the PSR280 I have this one for home i love this one because it has a 3.5 floppy disk drive and because of the music database. I enjoy playing frank sinatra songs and many others. I sit for hours playing this keyboard and listen to the songs i sent to disk through the computer. I take the psr 350 data disk to my aunt's or uncle's house and impress them. The great thing is that you don't have to bring the whole keyboard to someones house, only the disk. I also love all of the expanded voices, great accompanent styles and the sound. This keyboard is worth its price

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With 600 voices, 32 notes of polyphony, a 6-track sequencer, 3.5-inch disk drive, and stereo two-way sound system, the Yamaha PSR350AD is packed full of features for amateur musicians and beginners alike. It includes Yamaha's interactive Yamaha Education Suite with grading functions and a talking guide. You'll learn easily with 100 songs built in.
The PSR350AD contains a 3.5-inch disk drive for loading additional software and saving work. The disk drive allows you to write, arrange, and store songs, while recording at the touch of a button. If you enjoy downloading songs or MIDI files from the Internet, the PSR350AD will play back your files. In addition, the 6-track sequencer provides recording and editing capabilities for the budding rock star.
Stereo two-way speakers with bass ports provide a dynamic sound system. If you need to practice in privacy or you don't want to disturb your neighbors, a headphone jack lets you plug in your favorite pair. The PSR350AD also includes a sustain pedal jack, assignable to 11 functions.
The keyboard operates with an included Yamaha PA6 power adapter or six optional D-cell batteries. Yamaha provides a one-year limited warranty on parts and labor.

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Celemony Melodyne editor Software Review

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(More customer reviews)This software is a game changer. For the first time, audio can be edited just like MIDI. In the past, audio editing was done in a linear fashion, left to right along the time line, not necessarily so here. Once the material has been analyzed, it is converted into what they call "blobs". These blobs can be removed, copied & pasted here or there, stretched longer or shorter, pasted on top of one another, louder or softer, adjust formants, timing, etc. I find most aspects of this software very easy to use, and the layout makes good sense with the time line along the horizontal axis and the note info along the vertical axis. It helps to actually see where the notes are so I can work out parts better. The only thing I haven't gotten a grip on is the timing tool, it's still confusing to me. What I deal with is online collaborations where the singer pushes record and then sings into the air without following a click track, so the timing is off. I have nothing to go on as to BPM. So far that has been the most difficult thing to edit (confusing). Otherwise, this software is the best thing going. Highly recommended.

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Arturia ARP 2600 V 2.0 Virtual Synth Software Review

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(More customer reviews)I installed the ARP 2600 V2 on my compuuter running XP Pro then shortly there after, my hard drive crashed. I am not able to retrieve my data from that drive. Arturia only allows for one install which in order to activate you have to go to their site and copy paste and jump through hoops to activate. Anyway, the few days I did have it on my computer, the synth is wonderful. I contacted Arturia after my computer crashed and they told me I need to purchase a DONGLE to recover my activation key from my old hard drive (the one that crashed and cannot be retrieved.) They turn a deaf ear and don't understand the situation and are very slow with their customer service. I paid $200.00 for the ARP V2 and feel totally abandoned by Arturia. They love to send out emails for their new products but at the same time, do not help the musicians that have patronized them and put the money in their pockets. I have been working on this issue for a month now.........
I purchased the ARP 2600 V2 from Amazon through [...] and received it very quickly packaged well. [...] gets 5 stars from me. I would buy from them again without hesitation.
Arturia needs new management or they will not last as a successful company. Even if a soft synth is the coolest thing on the planet, a company selling such an item must have good support for that product or else they will slowly go out of business. Especially when the product is tied to a computer which has a tendency to crash. Take care of your customers and make it easy to use and activate your product and allow for at least 2-3 installs in the event of a computer issue to let your customers know that you care. I realize that some people do pirate the software but some of us just want it to work. Remember, music creation doesn't want to wait for anything.

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M-Audio KeyStudio 49i 49-Key Keyboard-based Music Production System Review

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(More customer reviews)I didn't buy this keyboard on Amazon, I bought it at a local music store 2 or 3 years ago.
I just went online to check out the price on Amazon and I found those 2 horrible reviews below me from people who have absolutely no idea what this controller is supposed to do!
First of all, this is a MIDI controller. As a BONUS, it comes with headphone jacks and a regular piano sound so you can use still play when you're away from your computer. But this is a CONTROLLER, it's designed to be used with a computer (or MIDI device), in conjunction with good software that will allow you to play different instrument sounds or samples with the keys.
I use this controller with Reason (this is the software, and it's also well worth it!), and right out of the box I got hundreds of professional sounds for choirs, drums & percussion, strings, wind instruments, even digital sounds and samples. THAT is how you use a controller: You couple it with a computer and good software.
If you're playing live, you take your computer, software AND controller, then just send the computer's output signal to the mixer (extra points if you get a really good USB interface to get a good output signal from the computer)
Come on guys, I'm a drummer and I don't know a lot about keyboards or even recording, but even I figured out how a MIDI controller works before buying it!
This is an AWESOME product, I've used it to create film score-styled songs, techie sounding songs, piano bases to do drum solos on, etc.
BOTTOM LINE IS THIS:
-If you buy this alone, you might be disappointed. This isn't your typical child's keyboard with speakers and samples of doggies and birds and cheap string instrument sounds.
-If you buy this controller, AND invest in good software (like Reason) you will LOVE it. You won't believe the quality and depth of sounds you can create by triggering good MIDI sounds at extremely low latency.
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COMPATIBILITY: By the way I've used this on 32-bit Windows XP, 32-bit Windows 7 and 64-bit Windows 7 - Just download the latest drivers straight from the M-Audio site, it works every time.
Some REAL con's:
-The default latency is too high in my system, I had to lower it both on the M-Audio Tray Icon, and in the Reason settings (Edit/Preferences/Audio/Control Panel)
-Sometimes 49 keys is just too few... it depends on your use for this. There are buttons that allow you to make the whole keyboard go up or down several octaves though.
-No Expression pedal input - therefore you can't just buy an M-Audio Expression pedal and hook it directly to the controller. You CAN buy a Sustain pedal, though.
Man, I wasn't even planning on writing a review, but this controller is just TOO AWESOME to have 2 negative reviews on Amazon from guys that don't really know what they're talking about. This controller deserves better.
Buy it, enjoy it, make music, and then send the music so I can enjoy THAT! =P

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M-Audio KeyStudio 49i 49-key USB Audio Interface MIDI Controller Music Keyboard Review

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(More customer reviews)There are two kinds of uses for this controller. One is for someone who wants an inexpensive, portable piano to practise or teach with. The other is someone who is an amateur and wants to "fool around" making recordings or compositions.
Both are likely to be disappointed.
This works as a stand-alone digital piano. If you plug in a 9v power supply (not included) and a pair of headphones, you can use this without connecting it to a computer at all. In fact, there are TWO headphone jacks, so a teacher (for example) could listen to a student play without making any noise at all. While the keys are velocity-sensitive (hit the keys harder, and the sound is louder), they are not weighted. You can easily switch the keyboard two octaves up or down, and the quality of the Steinway sampling is quite good. What is disappointing, however, is that the volume from the headphone jacks is low - too low to use in a room that is not quiet. It is relatively easy to connect the outputs on the rear to a stereo for more volume, but that is added complexity and eliminates the dual-headphone feature. Unless you have a stereo with two headphone jacks, of course.
There are 2 RCA inputs, so it's fairly easy to connect a CD or mp3 player. This allows you play along with recordings, as the sound is mixed with whatever you are playing on the keyboard. Since the piano itself isn't very loud, the volume of the music you play along with must be kept accordingly low, unless you use some kind of external amplification.
What you really getting here is not just a piano, but an "audio interface". There are very generous audio input and output options: stereo RCA inputs AND outputs, 1/4" mono input, stereo 1/4" outputs, and a mono XLR input. If you don't know what "RCA" means, it is the jack that you find on the back of your stereo - not a 1/8" jack like you would find on an iPod. What this all means is that you can use your home stereo to provide the amplification by connecting standard cables (not included) to the input and output of your home system. This interface is flexible to allow you to play piano along with a recording, while others simultaneously play a guitar/bass AND sing through an attached microphone. And none of this would involve using a computer. The 1/4" stereo outputs are kind of useless, but you could use them to connect the keyboard to an instrument amp or to M-audio's powered monitor speakers.
This is where the potential for an amateur studio comes in. Don't get excited yet, though. The sample rate of the interface's output is only 16-bit, which is adequate for an amateur but not a professional. And, in order to do digital recording, you will have to connect the Keystudio 49i to your computer. The included recording software is Ableton Live Lite, which is not easy to use. You will probably have to spend a few hours with it before you can do even basic recording. Unless you just want to use the included Steinway grand piano, you will also have to install the included General MIDI (GM) software. GM, if you don't know, consists of 127 "voices" (various instruments) of the sort that you usually find on cheap Casio keyboards. If you want to do something more complex, like synthesizer, Wurlitzer, Hammond organ, etc. then you will have buy additional software. And you will have to configure that software to work with Live Lite, which is an ordeal in itself. The GM module is, I must say, high quality. It has somewhat steep system requirements, though.
Remember, this is an audio interface. All of the sound will go through your keyboard, even if you are connected to a computer. This also means that the system requirements are considerable, including the bus. Add to that the nightmare that M-audio PC drivers have become. If you have a Mac, then you will probably experience no trouble using this interface and keyboard with GarageBand, for example. If you are using Windows, however, expect difficulties. M-audio support has become essentially worthless over the past few years, and you will be expected to spend hours reading through the "Knowledge Base" before anyone will even talk to you - and the phone support is only available during weekday business hours. M-audio will not help you with the Live Lite software, either.
You can have a lot of fun with this, but trying to do anything moderately serious will probably lead to frustration and disappointment.

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