Keyboard Suggestion Please

[Scott]

Hello: I use CakeWalk for home recording. I'd like to put some keys in the back ground. So, I need to get a keyboard with choices that's not too robust or complicated. I don't need much. Just something with good quality chords.  And, I go into my Focusrite 212 with my guitar. Some keyboards have USB connections. My Focusrite doesn't have USB.  Can I plug a keyboard into my computer's USB port and have it picked up within Cakewalk?

 

Thanks

[Glenn Stanton]

you could plug the audio out on the keyboard in your IO unit, or, you could, with the right drivers for your keyboard, use a USB connection (sometimes it's audio, sometimes MIDI, sometimes both options). depends on your keyboard. and that choice will depend on your skills and expected use - piano -- people who play piano often like weighted keys, organ and synths, often prefer semi-weight or synth weight keys. MIDI controller vs keyboard w/ audio which has a number of sounds etc. and lastly -- budget for said device.

[57Gregy]

Also, you don't need a keyboard of any type to use keyboard sounds, or any sound known to man, in a song. 
Just click them in using the Piano Roll View or Staff View and play through a software synthesizer.
Of course, it's easier and less time-consuming (for most of us) to use a keyboard.
A keyboard connected with USB to the computer may need a driver to work correctly. You would get that at the manufacturer's web site.

[Scott]

thank you for your suggestions.

[John Vere]

My favourite is my Roland A49. The last one lasted 18 years. 49 keys is perfect and the keyboard is really small so fits on my desk.  I just slide it aside out of the way. What guitar player never think about is that keyboards are just like guitars and you need it to feel good under your fingers. I have a bunch of others that are old synths and stuff but I like to play the Roland because it’s responsive.  
I’ve got lots of videos about midi stuff 

https://youtu.be/T3ES7-l4WS0?si=BsKmtkXdwRjcKNFc

https://youtu.be/8xYGKsLHAh0?si=eauVT1ysgJS-tBq8

https://youtu.be/YJlI6U8Rqa0?si=xAVTiVko2x7NWliT

 

[mettelus]

On 1/13/2024 at 5:41 PM, Scott said:

Just something with good quality chords.

Just to reiterate the above, what you are seeking can easily be done with a VST Instrument (there are many free ones that are nice) and you can either trigger notes by manually entering them in the Piano Roll View (PRV), via the Virtual Keyboard, or with an external MIDI controller. You will be editing mostly in the PRV, but you would not need a keyboard that has onboard sounds, so if you want a physical MIDI controller, that can be plugged in via USB and seen as a separate device in CbB without issues or conflicts with your 2i2.

[Brad Scholz]

I have been using the Nektar LX49+ keyboard very successfully with Cakewalk. The Nektar LX+ is one of the few keyboard series (25-, 49-, 61- and 88-key versions) that have mappings specifically for Cakewalk and they are pretty good not just for triggering notes, but also for controlling the DAW and various virtual instruments. It is a shame that more manufacturers don't include Cakewalk integration in their products. I guess because it's free, they view it as a lesser product than, say, Ableton or Reason, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

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[Scott]

Thanks again for your suggestions.

[Jan Deeben]

I'm using a Nektar Impact GX61, which connects through USB to my computer and works fine with Cakewalk. You have to install some minimal software for it, but Nektar explains quite clearly which software and how to do it.

[bmarlowe]

Take a look at Arturius mk-3