Comparison Studiologic SL73 Studio vs Roland A-49

The total number of keys on the keyboard.

The more keys provided in the design, the wider the instrument's own range, the more notes it can play without resorting to octave shift or transposition. On the other hand, this characteristic directly affects the dimensions and cost, and an extensive range is not required so often. Therefore, 88 -key instruments corresponding to a full-size classical piano keyboard are quite rare. But compact models with only 25 keys(2 octaves), on the contrary, are popular: for the purposes for which MIDI keyboards are used, this is often quite enough. Other common options are the 49 -key (4 octave) and 61 -key (5 octave) models; somewhat less common are 32 and 37 keys.

Type of mechanics used in keyboard keys.

— Hammer. The most advanced type of mechanics: provides a link between force and sound dynamics, as well as a characteristic tactile response — the same as on a classical piano with hammers (hence the name). In other words, these keys provide a feeling that is as close as possible to playing a traditional piano. However, hammer action is not cheap, so it is used mainly in top professional keyboards.

— Active (dynamic). Active keyboards are keyboards that provide a link between pressure and sound dynamics, but do not provide the tactile response characteristic of the hammer action keyboards described above. In other words, the faster and harder you press the key, the sharper and louder the sound will be, but the resistance to pressing is low, and the transition, for example, from a traditional piano to such a keyboard usually requires some getting used to (for more details, see "Rigidity"). At the same time, active keyboards allow you to use all the basic techniques for controlling the dynamics of sound, and are much cheaper than the same hammer action keyboards, which is why they are widely used in modern MIDI keyboards.

— Passive. The simplest type of mechanics: each key only “turns on and off” its note, the sound dynamics does not depend on the strength and speed of pressing. Passive keyboards are very i...nexpensive, but this is, in fact, their only advantage; from a musical point of view, they are very inconvenient; only the simplest melodies (or parts of instruments in which the sound cannot be dynamically changed) can be played on such an instrument. As a result, this type of mechanics is used extremely rarely and only in the simplest low-cost keyboards.

The presence of the aftertouch function in the keyboard (aftertouch). The essence of this function is to track the pressure force on the key after it is pressed. In fact, this means that in models with aftertouch, you can control the sound not only due to the force and speed of pressing the key, but also due to the change in pressure on it after pressing; this gives additional features and allows you to use various specific tricks of the game. The specific ways of changing the sound “tied” to aftertouch can be different, depending on the synthesis settings set: for example, when recording a guitar part, you can tie a small change in tone to this function and imitate string bending, when recording a saxophone, change the volume of notes, and etc.

Relatively inexpensive models use a common sensor to monitor aftertouch, which monitors the average force of pressure on all keys pressed; in more advanced ones, separate sensors are installed for each key.

The number of encoder controlsprovided in the design of the keyboard.

Such a knob looks like a rotary knob, with which you can control various functions of the device to which the keyboard is connected — for example, turn the virtual knobs in the programme for recording and sound processing. At the same time, we note that a full-fledged encoder is capable of rotating 360 ° and turning to any angle in any direction, however, keyboards can also contain knobs with a limited rotation sector — they can also be called encoders. None of these options has a clear advantage: in some cases, an unlimited turning sector is more convenient, in others, a limited one.

Input for receiving MIDI signals from an external device such as an optional keyboard or other controller, sequencer, etc. For MIDI signals, see “MIDI Out”; here we note that such signals received at the MIDI In input can be mixed with signals from the keyboard and output via MIDI Out or another interface of a similar purpose, or they can be sent unchanged to the MIDI Thru output. It is worth looking for a device with this input if you plan to build a complex from several MIDI signal sources and intend to use the keyboard as an intermediate link in such a system.

The output to which the MIDI signals received at the MIDI In input are output (see the relevant paragraph). The key feature of this output is that the signals are output to it unchanged, regardless of the impact of the musician on the keyboard. In other words, if the MIDI Out input receives signals from both MIDI In and the keyboard itself, then MIDI Thru receives only signals from MIDI In.

MIDI Thru can come in handy when using the keyboard in large musical complexes where there are other sources of MIDI signal — in some cases it is convenient to use the keyboard as an intermediate link for these signals.

The maximum number of pedals that can be connected to the keyboard at the same time.

Pedals are used as additional controls to change various keyboard settings. The “classic of the genre” in this sense is the sustain pedal (see “Sustain”) — if the device has one connector for pedals, then this will almost certainly be the input for just such a pedal. Keyboards are produced, where there are 2 or more such inputs — in addition to sustain, you can connect pedals to them for other adjustments and effects (in particular, changing the volume).

The type of display that the keyboard is equipped with.

Most modern MIDI keyboards have relatively simple monochrome (single colour) displays. Such screens are inexpensive, and their capabilities are sufficient for most cases. However, there are also models with colour screens — usually, such equipment is a sign of an advanced keyboard with an abundance of additional functions; for simpler devices, a colour display is overkill.