Keys
The total number of keys on the keyboard.
The more keys provided in the design, the wider the instrument's own range, the more notes it can play without resorting to octave shift or transposition. On the other hand, this characteristic directly affects the dimensions and cost, and an extensive range is not required so often. Therefore,
88 -key instruments corresponding to a full-size classical piano keyboard are quite rare. But compact models with only
25 keys(2 octaves), on the contrary, are popular: for the purposes for which MIDI keyboards are used, this is often quite enough. Other common options are the
49 -key (4 octave) and
61 -key (5 octave) models; somewhat less common are
32 and
37 keys.
Key size
In this case, the size means the size of the keys in width — the length practically does not affect the game process.
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Full size. Standard-width keys, as on a traditional piano keyboard. Switching to such a keyboard from another instrument with standard keys does not cause any problems; Also note that this particular option is recommended for complex games. On the other hand, a full-size keyboard can take up quite a lot of space.
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Small size. Reduced width keys. It is worth paying attention to this option, first of all, if there is not much space for installing the keyboard and compactness is crucial: small keys allow you to reduce the size of the device. In addition, such keys can be useful for people with small hands. But for complex parties, they are worse than full-sized ones.
Aftertouch
The presence of the aftertouch function in the keyboard (aftertouch). The essence of this function is to track the pressure force on the key after it is pressed. In fact, this means that in models with aftertouch, you can control the sound not only due to the force and speed of pressing the key, but also due to the change in pressure on it after pressing; this gives additional features and allows you to use various specific tricks of the game. The specific ways of changing the sound “tied” to aftertouch can be different, depending on the synthesis settings set: for example, when recording a guitar part, you can tie a small change in tone to this function and imitate string bending, when recording a saxophone, change the volume of notes, and etc.
Relatively inexpensive models use a common sensor to monitor aftertouch, which monitors the average force of pressure on all keys pressed; in more advanced ones, separate sensors are installed for each key.
Keyboard split
The presence in the device of the function of splitting the keyboard.
This function, as the name suggests, allows you to divide the keyboard into two parts, each of which will have a different timbre. Thus, on one device, you can play the part of two instruments at once (for example, add the sound of a string orchestra to the violin) or accompany the part of the instrument with various effects (siren, klaxon, thunder, etc.). Some models allow you to select the position of the border between the keyboard zones.
Transport control
The presence in the keyboard of
the transport control function.
In this case, we are usually talking about support for the MIDI Machine Control standard, designed to control external recording and playback equipment. Such support actually turns the keyboard into an external remote control, allowing you to give commands from it to "Play", "Stop", "Pause", "Rewind" (forward and backward) and "Record". To do this, the design provides a separate panel with a set of appropriate buttons.
Pads
The number of
pads provided in the design of the keyboard.
Pads are auxiliary controls in the form of characteristic pads, usually square. The pads respond to touch, each of them can be tied to a specific sound or even a sequence of sounds. One of the most popular ways to use pads is to play drums or other rhythmic instruments.
Faders
The number of
faders provided in the design of the keyboard.
A fader is a slider control. The simplest kind of such controls is the volume setting; if there is one fader in the design, most likely it is responsible for the volume. If there are more controls, other functions can be tied to them, respectively — in particular, changing the settings in the recording programme on the computer to which the keyboard is connected.
Regulators (encoders)
The number
of encoder controlsprovided in the design of the keyboard.
Such a knob looks like a rotary knob, with which you can control various functions of the device to which the keyboard is connected — for example, turn the virtual knobs in the programme for recording and sound processing. At the same time, we note that a full-fledged encoder is capable of rotating 360 ° and turning to any angle in any direction, however, keyboards can also contain knobs with a limited rotation sector — they can also be called encoders. None of these options has a clear advantage: in some cases, an unlimited turning sector is more convenient, in others, a limited one.
MIDI in
Input for receiving MIDI signals from an external device such as an optional keyboard or other controller, sequencer, etc. For MIDI signals, see “MIDI Out”; here we note that such signals received at the
MIDI In input can be mixed with signals from the keyboard and output via MIDI Out or another interface of a similar purpose, or they can be sent unchanged to the MIDI Thru output. It is worth looking for a device with this input if you plan to build a complex from several MIDI signal sources and intend to use the keyboard as an intermediate link in such a system.
