Keyboards - Controllers and Instruments 101

    So I'm trying to get better set up to record some keyboard parts and have a bunch of dumb questions that I don't want to ask on a forum full of mostly keyboard players.


    What I've got:

    Thomann keyboard, 88 weighted keys and feels nice to me. Has preloaded instruments and all sorts of over the top stuff that I'd never need.


    Questions:


    1) I usually record with midi and use the keyboards in Presonus Studio One. Are those likely to be better than the instruments on the Thomann?


    2) The touch and interaction between the actual keys and the instruments feels more natural when using the Thomann alone. Is this likely to be due to the way the keyboard midi is configured in the DAW?


    3) When I record both the midi and the analogue output, the midi is a tiny bit out of sync due to latency. Aside from manually sliding the midi track to align, is there any way to reduce this?


    4) How much real difference is there with the approach above and using the "actual" keyboards (Rhodes, synths etc) and recording them as audio files?


    Thanks!

    2) Virtual Instruments typically allow you to set up custom velocity curve. By default it is most likely a linear map. You may experiment with different curves and see if they give you a better feel.

    4) IMO most virtual instruments (I use mostly Arturia's simulations for all my keyboard needs) sound as good as original hardware and in a mix no-one will be able to tell the difference. Even outside of mix most people won't pass a blind test. I wouldn't worry about it. The only difference is really in resources usage. Simulations eat way more CPU than just audio playback, but on Macs with M1/2 CPU or any modern computer even this matters less and less. I typically start with MIDI but as soon as I'm ready to commit I bounce to audio and disable MIDI tracks.

    Thanks for that! I run a high performance PC, so I haven't run into anything that looks like a resource limit.


    I originally got a cheap M-Audio Keystation61, but the plastic keys and dodgy response were no good.

    Quote from DonPetersen

    MIDI data is so tiny, there is no latency. How are the tracks misaligned? MIDI data first and the audio a bit later?

    The midi parts are a bit "late" - ie: to the right in the DAW. I would be really surprised if it isn't something about the way I've got it configured. I'll have another go tomorrow.

    the common way to set this up is to disable local control on the keyboard, and have the MIDI be recorded in the sequencer and at the same time sent (back) to the keyboard/synth were the MIDI triggers the audio.


    This way you record only MIDI, you can listen back to it, make edits and once you're happy you record the audio.

    Then there usually is a way in the sequencer to adjust for the latency, in other words, the audio will arrive ~10ms or so late which the sequencer will automatically compensate for.
    For pad sounds it's a non-issue obviously, the more percussive the track, the more this becomes important.