How to Compare Electric Keyboards

A fancier keyboard is not necessarily a better one. For a classical musician, the best keyboard is usually one that mimics a piano as accurately as possible and has few other features. For an experimental musician, by contrast, having the touch sensitivity and authentic feel of a piano may not be as important as having lots of effects to play with. Consider where you will be using your keyboard, what you want to do with it, and what your price range is. For most musicians, not spending money for features you don't need is as important as making sure you have the features you do.

Instructions

1. Look at how many keys the keyboard has. A full-size piano has 88 keys, so you will need that many keys to ensure you can play anything written for piano. If you are a rock keyboardist, you can probably get by with a smaller keyboard. No matter how you intend to use your keyboard, you should buy one with full-sized keys.

2. Look for touch sensitivity and feel. Earlier keyboards had plastic keys without much tactile feedback. They would play each note at the same volume no matter how hard you struck them. Touch sensitive keys will play louder or softer notes depending on how hard you strike them. Really high-quality keyboards have weighted keys designed to have the same feel as pianos. See if the keyboard is touch sensitive and if you like the feel of the keys.

3. Look at the midi features. Basic general midi (GM) will allow you to export the music you play to a sequencer or other processor. More advanced features, such as XF or XG Midi, will let you do also export effects and do other fancy things. For most musicians, a GM keyboard will be just fine, but composers may want to spring for an XF or XG keyboard. Follow the link in the Resources section below for more info.

4. Compare polyphony and built-in sequencers. Polyphony is the number of notes you can play back at once. The sequencer determines how many tracks you can record and playback. If you are only interested in playing live, 16-note polyphony will do just fine. If you want to record multiple tracks and play them back while you play live, however, you will need a keyboard with a good built-in sequencer and least 32-note polyphony or higher.

5. Look at the voices your keyboard comes with. Some professional keyboards only come with a few voices. If you want other sounds, you can run the midi out of your keyboard into your computer or some other midi gear, and get the sound you want from midi software. Some people prefer to have a keyboard with an extensive selection of voices, since it allows them to not have to use other equipment to process their sound.

6. Look at onboard effects. There are filters, flangers spacial and chorus effects, modulators, and too many other devices to list. Like voices, you can do without these effects and process your keyboard sound somewhere else. The advantage of having onboard effects is that you can easily modulate your sound while you are playing live. This is pretty cool for experimental music, but not important for classical.

Tips & Warnings

• Make friends with someone who plays keyboard and have them show you around. There are too many variables and innovations for a neophyte to keep track of. Having a friend who knows the features to look for can help you make the right purchase.

• Don't rush to a decision. If you find a keyboard you like, take the time to do some research on it before you make a purchase.

Resources

• Information on Keyboard Midi