MIDI Master Keyboards

A MIDI master keyboard is a type of module that specializes in sending MIDI to other devices. Strange as it may seem, this type of keyboard makes no sound on its own. It compensates by giving you extra features for music control, such as a bank of knobs and sliders that can send different types of MIDI data.

When you’re starting out, you may prefer to buy a single keyboard (such as a synth or electronic piano) that both makes sound and can transmit MIDI to your computer or other hardware. But if you’re planning to use computer-based synths, you may find that a master keyboard is a better option: It will be less expensive than a full-featured hardware synth, and may have specialized features that you’ll find useful.

Master keyboards come in a bewildering variety of shapes and sizes. Some don’t have keyboards at all. Let’s take a look at a few of the most important options.

PHYSICAL LAYOUT

If you’re making music on a desktop, you may want a keyboard with only two or three octaves of keys. Such keyboards take up less space, and they all have octave switching buttons to let you cover a wide range of notes. If you’re a two-handed player, though, a keyboard with at least five full octaves is highly desirable. Longer keyboards are also useful because they usually include the ability to define four or more zones. Each zone can transmit on a different MIDI channel, allowing you to stack sounds or play several parts at once.

Master keyboards with a full 88-key range and a weighted piano-like action are also available. They’re more expensive and less portable, but they can be very satisfying to play.

Some manufacturers look at master keyboards as computer accessories rather than as musical instruments. Because the hardware is inexpensive, you may find that the keys feel cheesy and don’t respond well. If you buy a master keyboard in a local store rather than through the Internet, you’ll be able to test the action for yourself. (And needless to say, if you use a local dealer’s stock to try out the hardware, you should buy from that dealer, even if it costs a few dollars more.)

If you’ll mainly be triggering percussion sounds and/or loops, a MIDI pad controller such as the Akai MPD24 or Korg padKONTROL might be preferable to a keyboard. A pad controller has a bank of 16 rubberized, velocity-sensing pads that can be assigned to send various MIDI note numbers. You can get the same musical results with a keyboard, but a pad controller may be more intuitive to play and more fun for your audiences to look at. A few keyboards, such as the M-Audio Axiom series (see Figure 1), have both keys and pads.

Most master keyboards have at least four sliders or knobs for sending MIDI controller data. Some models have 16 or more. Setting up the sliders to send the types of data you want can be a chore, but sliders are extremely useful: Once they’re assigned to the right parameters in the receiving module, you can make changes in the sound while playing (such as adding a filter sweep) without having to reach over and grab the mouse.

Some master keyboards come with preset templates for interfacing with popular music software. These templates configure the sliders for you.

OTHER FEATURES

The market for MIDI master keyboards is very competitive, so manufacturers are constantly adding features that they hope will give them an edge. More and more master keyboards, for instance, have built-in computer audio interfaces. After you plug the keyboard into one of your computer’s USB ports and plug the keyboard’s audio outputs into your monitoring system, you’ll be able to listen to the sound being generated by your music software.

Because master keyboards have lots of complex MIDI features, many of them come with their own editor/librarian program. This software makes it much easier to configure the keyboard so that it works well with your rig.

You may find other software bundled with your master keyboard. Manufacturers of sequencers such as Ableton Live, Cakewalk Sonar, and Steinberg Cubase often have arrangements with keyboard manufacturers to include an introductory version of their software with the keyboard. This version will have fewer features than the full version, but it will be fully functional for recording — it’s not just a demo.