Well I thought it would be easy. I wanted to upgrade to a new midi kb and keep the cost to $500 or less.First prob was 61 keys or 88. then the features m-audio or Native inst Kontakt or others. The next prob or really the first is I don't play piano but with a daw can add a phrase or 2 to a BB chord set in the DAW So do I need a 61 key NI for about $500 with all the integration to different DAWS or a $300 M-Audio with fewer buttons and knobs and 88keys but more hands on in the software in the computer. If any have a comment of the quality of either KB such as "Clunky" or smooth , please have a say, I've enjoyed writing music with BB for backing tracks for my wife, but now, Im looking to do more composing with wider range of sounds like Spitefire Samples and VSTI(free ver) I'm kinda wandering around in an audio forest at midnight with sunglasses on.
Those 9 faders, 8 knobs, and 4 drum pads will come in very handy when inputting MIDI automation.
I have a very old M-Audio Evolution MK-449C MIDI keyboard controller. I use it just about every day and it still works fine even though it is over 10 years old. It is the 49 key version.
JonD has his new M-audio Oxygen 49 keyboard here also. It has 49 keys as well as everything you see in the 61 key version. Mine does not have the drum pads.
Personally I would select a keyboard that has faders and knobs over one that does not include them. In fact you may want to consider the 49 key version as you, like myself, are not keyboard players. YMMV
The fitness trainer asked me, "What kind of a squat are you accustomed to doing?" I said, "Diddly."
64 bit Win 11 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
Thanks Mario, I was looking at both the oxygen 61mkv and the oxygen 61 pro the pro is supposed to have semi weighted key and it's about $70 more but have not found other differences for the $$
Hi, I had an M-Audio Oxygen 61 it was very cheap at the time and worked fine but after a number of years some keys went dead. It was easy enough to pull apart and fix them but eventually I got fed up. I was thinking about another but saw a Novation Launchkey 61 on sale so I went that way. It is a really good keyboard. Looking at the WEB it seems the M-Audio now has keypads.
The LaunchKey has keypads but I can’t say I’ve used them. The Oxygen had much better control over the velocity settings (IMHO). Both have 8 sliders, rotaries and buttons.
If you are an Ableton user (I’m not) the LaunchKey is all set up just plug in and away you go all set up to match the DAW. It is fairly easy to set either keyboard in Reaper. In Cakewalk once you get to understand the setup it is not too difficult.
IMHO either is good. There are also many other options out there. See what comes with the keyboard (the goodies, plugins, instruments etc) let that and price assist your decision.
Have fun.
Tony
Last edited by Teunis; 08/13/2112:25 PM.
HP i7-4770 16GB 1TB SSD, Win 10 Home, Focusrite 2i2 3rd Gen, Launchkey 61, Maton CW80, Telecaster, Ovation Elite TX, Yamaha Pacifica 612 BB 2022(912) RB 2022(2), CakeWalk, Reaper 6, Audacity, Melodyne 5 Editor, Izotope Music Production Suite 4.1
The video on this page focuses on the free expansions that Sweetwater throws in, but there are plenty of other youtube videos. It's a pretty popular board.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!
Man, for a couple hundred more you could get a real synth. I'd give that some serious thought. ................
Good point. The question is does he want a synth or a MIDI controller? Maybe he could give us more information on exactly what he is looking for if indeed he really knows; no offense as getting started can be very confusing on what to buy.
Both are options that he should look into.
The fitness trainer asked me, "What kind of a squat are you accustomed to doing?" I said, "Diddly."
64 bit Win 11 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
Your first keyboard and you are not a piano player - based on that, keep it cheap and simple. 61 keys is fine, touch is irrelevant. You will discover keyboards are like guitars, you eventually will have several of them. Each one will be a step up and you will "grow as you go".
BIAB – 2025, Reaper (current), i7-12700F Processor, 32GB DDR4-3200MHz RAM, Motu Audio Express 6x6 - My SoundCloud (Tip: No need to create a SC account to hear music - just hit ESC ).
In general I think a 61 key keyboard will serve to do 99.9% of things most anyone would need to do. Second to Dan's point about "touch" being irrelevant, I don't agree with that unless you are just pecking things out with one or two fingers. If there is a music store you can go play some different keyboards, I would suggest you do that.
If you find you like playing a keyboard, you will most likely be buying more than one as time goes by. There are plenty of Midi controllers out there for $200. M-Audio Keystation 61 MK3 at $200, Alesis V49 MIDI keyboard with 49 keys that Guitar center has on sale for $60. There are dozens of free VSTs to play there keyboards through. Something like this will give you an a chance to experiment without spending any real money.
I also am not a "real" keyboard player. I have five keyboards. Three I use and two that I don't like that did not cost enough to get upset about.
As I don't have any idea what your background is, so it is hard to say what the likely value of a keyboard will be for you. They are great for learning music theory, very visual. It will not take you long before you will be playing chords, bass lines, and simple melodies plus all the midi stuff.
Most new keyboards will be recognized by most new DAWs.
Billy
Last edited by Planobilly; 08/14/2105:01 AM.
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig? “Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
Well a bit of background. Years ago I bought a roland xv 88 for my wife. She basically is a chord player and a singer, together we wrote some Gospel songs and I accumulated some things like an analog mixer, a couple of studio monitors, and stuff. The music room(spare bedroom)is more of a music closet with an xv88 that I need to replace 2 broken keys(have the parts, not the time) I can tap into the xv88 sound bank from the M-audio pro, if I have the inclination but I want to experiment with the addition of utility track when I upgrade to 2021 and work with Bandlab and some other DAWS with some sample libraries like Spitefire or some free ones in with BB, it might be fun The M-audio 61 pro should fit for my wife's playing if she wants to get back into writing. I have been watching Guy Michelmore's channel on composing, scoring for movies and TV using Kontakt full blown libraries and a bunch of equipment. He is a hoot and a very fine composer, check it out if you have a mind to. This has given me a bit of a boost , modestly,to get back into music.
Yeah, I get the libraries thing, and the DS IS a library of thousands of sounds and can also still trigger those other libraries (as well as be a sampler in itself), just sayin' Getting a board that does nothing but send MIDI, when you could have the same capability and a whole 'nother expandable hardware sound set for not much more seemed like a no-brainer to me.
For the money the DS has been very appreciated here. Sure there are better keyboards out there; again just saying the cost/value on this one impressed me.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!
Well I got the oxygen 61 pro and will set it up and test it with the PC and Ipad. The plan was to do it yesterday but I was chasing a bad connection from my phone jack to the router which was killing my internet speed down to .14 MB/sec making it worse than old time dialup. In my head, I was blaming my ISP, but a corroded phone jack was the gremlin. Also,living in the boonies(Ether, NC) is fine till you need things like adapters,Ipad to usb cables and such and going 50 miles to Best Buy or Guitar center or the Apple store on a Saturday can be fun .
I think you will like that M-Audio product. It has a world of stuff to learn how to use. At $300 bucks it is unlikely to cause you to want to drive to San Francisco to jump off the Golden Gate bridge should you find it was a buying mistake...lol
Best of luck and enjoy.
Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig? “Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
I also am not a "real" keyboard player. I have five keyboards.
I hear you there.
I don't really know how many we have around our place. There's a Bösendorfer 200 but that's normally a bit impractical for BIAB and doesn't have MIDI. Then there are many we no longer use. We took advantage of lockdown to have the action on this rebuilt by a factory tech and it was worth every ¢
If my wife is playing, it's normally a Yamaha P-121, the 73 key version of the P-125.
Since touch is not an issue for me but weight is, I might play the Yamaha since it's set up in my control room but I'm more likely to grab my Line 6 Mobile Keys 49 that weighs less than 3 Lb. Line 6 Mobile Keys 49
BIAB 2025 Audiophile Mac 24Core/60CoreGPU M2 MacStudioUltra/8TB/192GB Sequoia, M1 MBAir, 2012 MBP Digital Performer11, LogicPro, Finale27/Dorico/Encore/SmartScorePro64/Notion6 /Overture5
If they haven’t improved the key bed on the oxygen series, and you have played the xv88 for any length of time, the oxygen is going to feel like a cheap plastic toy.
Yea, but it takes me 5 mins to find some chords and I've always been amazed that people can use both hands at the same time,just to put my abilities in context
I have a Yamaha S90 that has 88 beautifully weighted keys and a number of fantastic built-in sounds, which was worth over $2000 when it was new. I have an iRig Keys that has 37 miniature unweighted plastic keys, which I bought at a thrift store for six bucks.
Guess which one hasn't been unpacked since I moved 10 months ago?
Basically, if the cheap one does what you need, then it is the correct choice.
I have a Yamaha S90 that has 88 beautifully weighted keys and a number of fantastic built-in sounds, which was worth over $2000 when it was new. I have an iRig Keys that has 37 miniature unweighted plastic keys, which I bought at a thrift store for six bucks.
Guess which one hasn't been unpacked since I moved 10 months ago?
Basically, if the cheap one does what you need, then it is the correct choice.
I don't want to hear this...lol Reminds me too much of a expensive Roland I never used...lol
Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig? “Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
For use in a home studio.... 61 keys is often plenty. Since you said you were amazed by those who can use both hands at the same time to play.... yeah... 61 is plenty.
I have 2 keyboards. Both are 61 keys. The good one is a Yamaha DX27S which was state of the art when it was bought. I picked it up second hand from the keyboard player in our band. Long story on that... for another day.
The main thing is do you want something that plays and feels like a piano? If so, get something with weighted keys. To use it for any other purpose, unweighted is good. Both of mine are unweighted and the cheap one is actually touch sensitive but unweighted. When it comes to using a DAW and soft synths like Kontakt or something else.... midi is midi and any keyboard that has midi out will get the job done. I don't think I have ever recorded with either where I used the audio output. I have always just used them for their midi. Reason being..... I can easily edit the mistakes. Two hands only means twice the number of mistakes in the same amount of time....at least for me.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.
The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
We've had it now for a few days and I like the feel, as does my wife. Still getting things setup. I did a quick setup with the Ipad and GB. It has a lot of stuff to learn and I still need to get BB2021 as I'm still in 2017 but by the time we get home and dinner, not a lot of time to do any music. I'm starting to get interested in making loops from midi phrases played on the KB. Still a bunch to learn
XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs Special Extended Until August 31st!
XPro & Xtra Styles PAKs Special Extended Until August 31st!
The XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAKs special offers are now available until August 31st at 11:59pm PDT!
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XPro Styles PAKs are styles that work with any version (Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition) of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). XPro Styles PAKS 1-9 includes 900 styles!
Xtra Styles PAKs are styles that work with the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). With over 3,500 styles (and 35 MIDI styles) included in Xtra Styles PAKs 1-20, the possibilities are endless!
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Note: XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Get Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 19 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Listen to demos and order now! For Windows or for Mac.
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 19 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
Don’t miss this chance to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box setup—at a great price!
Mac 2025 Special Upgrade Offers Extended Until August 15th!
It's not too late to upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® and save! We've extended our special until August 15, 2025!
We've added many major new features to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®, including advanced AI tools like the amazing BB Stem Splitter and AI Lyrics Generator, as well as VST3 plugin support, and Equalize Temp. Plus, there’s a new one-stop MIDI Patches Picker with over 1,100 MIDI patches to choose from, all neatly categorized by GM numbers. The MultiPicker Library is enhanced with tabs for the SongPicker, MIDI Patch Picker, Chord Builder, AI Lyrics Generator, and Song Titles Browser, and the tabs are organized into logical groups. The Audiophile Edition is enhanced with FLAC files , which are 60% smaller than AIFF files while maintaining identical audio quality, and now ships on a fast 1TB SSD, and much more!
Check out all the new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® here:
Purchase your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac during our special to save up to 50% off your upgrade purchase and receive a FREE BONUS PAK of amazing new Add-ons. These include the 2025 RealCombos Booster PAK, Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana, Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes, MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano, Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7, Playable RealTracks Set 4, RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark, and more!
Upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and add 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and 20 RealStyles, FLAC Files for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks, Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster, MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster, Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8, and RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe.
Learn more about the Bonus PAKs!
We’ve expanded the Band-in-a-Box® RealTracks library with 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 449-467) across Jazz, Blues, Funk, World, Pop, Rock, Country, Americana, and Praise & Worship—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Blues & World (Sets 449–455):
These RealTracks includes “Soul Jazz” with Neil Swainson (bass), Mike Clark (drums), Charles Treadway (organ), Miles Black (piano), and Brent Mason (guitar). Enjoy “Requested ’60s” jazz, classic acoustic blues with Colin Linden, and more of our popular 2-handed piano soloing. Plus, a RealTracks first—Tango with bandoneon, recorded in Argentina!
Rock & Pop (Sets 456–461):
This collection includes Disco, slap bass ‘70s/‘80s pop, modern and ‘80s metal with Andy Wood, and a unique “Songwriter Potpourri” featuring Chinese folk instruments, piano, banjo, and more. You’ll also find a muted electric guitar style (a RealTracks first!) and “Producer Layered Guitar” styles for slick "produced" sound.
Country, Americana & Praise (Sets 462–467):
We’ve added new RealTracks across bro country, Americana, praise & worship, vintage country, and songwriter piano. Highlights include Brent Mason (electric guitar), Eddie Bayers (drums), Doug Jernigan (pedal steel), John Jarvis (piano), Glen Duncan (banjo, mandolin & fiddle), Mike Harrison (electric bass) and more—offering everything from modern sounds to heartfelt Americana styles
And, if you are looking for more, the 2025 49-PAK (for $49) includes an additional 20 RealTracks with exciting new sounds and genre-spanning styles. Enjoy RealTracks firsts like Chinese instruments (guzheng & dizi), the bandoneon in an authentic Argentine tango trio, and the classic “tic-tac” baritone guitar for vintage country.
You’ll also get slick ’80s metal guitar from Andy Wood, modern metal with guitarist Nico Santora, bass player Nick Schendzielos, and drummer Aaron Stechauner, more praise & worship, indie-folk, modern/bro country with Brent Mason, and “Songwriter Americana” with Johnny Hiland.
Plus, enjoy user-requested styles like Soul Jazz RealDrums, fast Celtic Strathspey guitar, and Chill Hop piano & drums!
With your version 2025 for Mac Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Or upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
The 2025 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 33 new RealTracks and 65+ new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 29 new RealTracks and 45+ new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 20 new RealStyles.
Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana
Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes
MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano
Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7
Playable RealTracks Set 4
RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark
SynthMaster Sounds and Styles (with audio demos)
128 GM MIDI Patch Audio Demos.
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyles,
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster,
Instrumental Studies Set 23: More '80s Hard Rock Soloing,
MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster
Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8
RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Mac!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Mac!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!
Special Pricing! Until July 31, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Windows!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
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with sunglasses on.
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