Madvillain wrote:
I'm not sure what the technical name is, but I am looking for a piano keyboard that will work with garage band via USB. Anybody have any recommendations?
Nothing fancy, but not a POS either.
It sounds like you are thinking of a keyboard controller -
For "nothing fancy but not a POS either" I would recommend M-audio. They make a variety of keyboard controllers that have good bang for the buck and work well with GB. Here's their full selection:
http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.family&ID=USBkeyboardcontrollers
IMO, the most important decision is key action, which varies from unweighted, to semi-weighted, to hammer action or fully weighted.
While the unweighted keyboards are the cheapest, they're also the hardest to control.
Personally, I'd recommend at least a semi-weighted action, like an Axiom. The Axioms feel pretty good, have some "bite," and work well with GB. I imagine the Keystations would also work well.
If you're a keyboard player or have a piano background, a fully weighted action is even more satisfying to play, although they'll cost a bit more.
The other thing you have to decide is how many notes. If you're using it to just enter a few notes here, a few notes there, then a small controller without weighted keys may be sufficient. But if you want to play it like a keyboard with both hands, you'll probably want a 61 note controller (or bigger).
Sweetwater Sound is a major music retailer with a helpful website. It's a good place to check out what's out there - here's their page for controllers:
http://www.sweetwater.com/shop/keyboards/keyboard-controllers/
Good luck!
