Noob here, I just got an Alesis Vortex Wireless 2 and I'm wondering what sort of amp/foot pedal or whatever I need to get the sound out. I don't want to have to plug it in to my desktop everytime I wanna play it.
TL;DR: Never (properly) played an instrument before but want to get into the keytar. The SHS-300 caught my eye as a good starter keytar. Am unsure about what features it supports and which not like for example, using it as a MIDI controller for a synth, DAW or Synthesia. Am also open for other suggestion for low budget starter keytars.
Hello everyone,
Recently I have been getting more into music, specifically learning basic music theory and starting to compose a bit, and I think it's time for me to start learning an instrument. I am naturally drawn to the keytar as my OC plays the keytar and I would love to do small performances cosplaying at cons playing the keytar some day. As an absolute beginner however, I am unsure which keytar to go for as I don't quite know which features I will need, which I would miss if I didn't have them and which are worth the extra price.
I did some research and currently my most likely pick seems to be the Yamaha Sonogenic SHS-300. It's low budget which is good in case I lose interest after a few weeks. (At the very least it will still make a good cosplay prop, hehe.) It's small, light weight and easy to transport. It's not just a MIDI controller and has a built in synthesizer and speaker so there won't be much carrying around of other devices at cons. And while I've heard people talk bad about jam mode, I think it is actually going to be pretty useful for me when I want to perform or sing while playing but haven't learned all the chords yet.
There are downsides to the SHS-300 of course. The available samples/voices that are included aren't a lot and fairly basic. It has smaller keys which could hurt my muscle memory if I decide to upgrade to a different keytar later. And of course visually it isn't the most interesting design. That being said, I do still believe the pros outweigh the cons which is why I am wondering what else I could do with an SHS-300.
The SHS-300 does have a USB port to send MIDI data but what could I do with it? Would it be possible to connect a synthesizer to the SHS-300 and simply use it as a MIDI controller? And then I suppose I would use the AUX In to have those synthesized sounds play out of the keytar's speaker, yeah? And would it also be possible to connect to USB port to my PC and then use my keytar to create melodies in DAWs or even practice songs I want to learn in software or games like Synthesia? That would be a lot of help to learn how to play!
The only other issue is that it is currently pretty difficult to get your hands on any Yamaha keytar. Barely anybody is offering them and the only places that do have them like eBay are located in Japan which could add some hefty import taxes/customs that need to be payed. (I'm from the EU for context.) I am definitely open to consider other keytars and am not set on my decision yet. However, I do believe the SHS-300 is my best fit.
I could go for something like the SHS-10 but it would miss some features I find intriguing like jam mode. There's also the SHS-500 and while it has more voices, the fact that the speaker is facing the wrong way is pretty bad if I don't wanna bring my own speaker. And the only similarly priced keytar I could get locally without having to deal with shipping costs or customs is the Alesis Vortex Wireless 2 which, don't get me wrong, could be a good keytar but I haven't looked too much into it yet. (I think that one is a MIDI controller only, no?)
Either way, I appreciate any input you all have on my matter whether it is answers to my questions, suggestions on which keytar I should look into or even places I could order them at.
Thank you for your time and (hopefully) reading all of this! Can't wait to hear what you have to say. :>
So after months of building, debugging, rewiring, breaking things and fixing them again, I finally finished my DIY keytar.
The project started with a Yamaha PSR-E303 keybed. I kept the key mechanism and rebuilt basically everything around it to turn it into a standalone MIDI controller.
The main controller is an ESP32-S3, which handles the key scanning, velocity calculation, sensors, controls, OLED, MIDI processing and wireless communication.
The keybed has 36 velocity-sensitive keys with aftertouch. I built a custom matrix-scanning system for the key contacts and measure the timing between the key contacts to calculate velocity.
The controller also has:
Most of the analog controls are read through the ESP32-S3's ADC inputs and converted into MIDI CC values.
The pitch and ribbon inputs have software-based dynamic centering, so the controller can detect the center position and return the value to the configured center when released.
The SoftPot was one of the more annoying parts to get working reliably because it needs continuous analog scanning and filtering while still responding quickly enough for live playing.
The ESP32-S3 handles the MIDI generation directly.
Key presses are converted into:
Key matrix → contact timing → velocity calculation → MIDI Note On/Off
while the other controls generate MIDI CC, pitch bend and other appropriate MIDI messages.
I also implemented filtering/debouncing and value handling so the controls don't constantly spam duplicate MIDI messages when they're sitting still.
The OLED is updated with things like octave, transpose, ribbon bank/value, connection state and the currently active CC/value.
For wireless MIDI I built my own Wi-Fi transport instead of relying on Bluetooth MIDI alone.
The ESP32 creates the wireless connection and sends MIDI data using UDP packets.
The basic architecture is:
ESP32-S3 → Wi-Fi → UDP → Receiver application → MIDI output → PC / synth
The receiver listens for the incoming UDP MIDI packets and converts them back into normal MIDI messages.
I also built the receiver application myself. It shows the connection state and MIDI activity and can route the received MIDI to the computer or a supported external synthesizer.
This ended up being a whole separate project by itself lol 💀
The hardware was only one part of it.
I had to debug:
There were definitely points where I thought:
"yeah this thing is never getting finished" 💀
But eventually everything started behaving properly and I ended up with an actual playable instrument.
I'm also planning another part of the project: a Raspberry Pi-based sound engine that isn't limited to this keytar.
The idea is to make a standalone sound module that can accept MIDI from basically any MIDI controller, process the MIDI and generate the sounds directly on the Pi.
So eventually the setup could be something like:
Any MIDI controller → Raspberry Pi sound engine → audio output
I'll post a proper video demo tomorrow showing the keytar being played and going through the controls, wireless MIDI and receiver.
For now, here's the finished build. Would love to hear what you guys think!
Heya! The other day I rented a KORG RK-100S 2 and its set to ship to my local store in a few days, anything I should know prior to using it?
Thanks!
Hey! I’m really struggling on trying to figure out how to program my keytar in Logic Pro and FL studio, I have the required cables but I can’t find any drivers for it online and when I try to program it, nothing registers.
I would like to try getting a Keytar, but my right hand is messed up. I can barely control the thing, there’s like no individual finger movements at all, but by the looks of it, the hand on the stem of a Keytar really only needs to be on or off and slide back-and-forth, you don’t need really your fingers to control much at all. It’s the hand on the keys doing all the work so that would be the perfect instrument for me, but usually it’s the left hand on the stem. Does anybody know a place that makes left-handed ones? That would be the perfect instrument for me to be able to play with my condition.
I have tried all the usual suggestions as I always do every time I have this problem. Every once in a while it works again for some amount of time before it craps out again. I have no idea if it starts working because of any combination of things I've done, or if it's totally random. I really need it to work again as I have shows coming up soon and need to edit the keytar.
Does anyone have the magic solution for this? If I can get it working again even fleetingly will be a godsend. Thanks in advance for any suggestions