Buying a keyboard. Need help
 

Hello everyone. I'm new here and I need some advice. I'm a producer. I use FL Studio currently to make beats. I went around asking lots of people whats the best keyboard to get. On one hand, im completely new to the keyboard. The only knowledge I have of playing a keyboard is what ive learnt to do with the piano roll in fl studio. On the other hand im looking to take my beats to a whole new level. A nice workstation would be good. I was told to get a yamaha mm6. Its a bit pricey for a college student but wouldn't it be a good investment overall seeing that further down the line id end up buying something similar? I travel between the us and Jamaica a lot. Is it portable? Speaking of portability im going to need something small enough to carry between Jamaica and the US but also something large enough for me to have less trouble or no trouble at all with transposing. I'm going to be switching my major from information technology pretty soon to something over the music school and i've always wanted to play the piano. I need advice more than anything else in the world right now.

Thanks in advance
Caesar

$600 USD is actually a pretty good price for what that mm6 does. it's also the cost of something that will provide a worthwhile upgrade from FL.

the fact that it's only 11lbs makes it AWESOME for travelling. most of the time they're closer to 40lbs

as for 'down the line' issues. odds are by the time you're looking for the next step the type of stuff available would make today's high end seem retro.

thanks for the reply. But as a beginner pianist do i really need a $600 workstation? my brother will be mad at me if i buy something so expensive and im just starting out. id really have to discuss it with him. That being said if he says no to the mm6 which i pray to the mother of country fried chicken and mash potatoes he doesnt. Is there a regular keyboard you would recommend? Also im looking to supplement or even replace my piano lessons with a teach yourself series. Do you know if any of them are good? I googled some and i clicked on one of the ads on the page. and i got this site, pianoforall. i hate how most of these ad sites look. they look like scams

quite frankly $600 isn't THAT expensive for intermediate gear. especially considering most other workstations are around $2000.

casio offers some cheaper entry level workstations for under $300 but at that point you're going to start missing on features and the quality of the available sounds will likely suffer.

learning an instrument on your own is really up to your own abilities. you have to be self disciplined and patient enough to put up with the necessary practice. there are plenty of books out there on the market if anything the "X for dummies" might be a decent start (at least if the guitar version is anything to judge by).

i wouldn't subscribe to any self-teaching series. if you're paying a regular fee then you might as well stick with an actual teacher, but a few self-teaching books never hurt.

okay thanks for the advice. Im sold on the yamaha mm6. it really is amazing.

sounds good, hope your brother approves hehe :thumb:

he said i can get a used one as long as its under 450. im going to check ebay. how much should i pay for a used mm6?

I bought the mm6 from ebay. Is it possible for me to hook it up to my pc speakers or do I have to definitely plug it into the pc then play it through fruity loops?

it should work but it might not be the best sound quality.

how would i get the best sound quality from it?

by running through a proper keyboard amplifier combo instead of pc speakers :p:

but one of those will probably cost just as much as the mm6 hehe

ohh dear im beginning to think this was a bad decision. more costs or ill get crappy sounds. can my pc speakers even hook up to the mm6 i got a 5.1 logitech set. i am disheartened by your latest post. i guess i can always sell it back on ebay and get a regular old keyboard with built in speakers...

relax. you don't need to have everything at once. your pc speakers will be fine for playing back whatever you record.

woo hoo what a relief. tx again for all the help and advice

i have more questions. maybe this should be asked in another section. i got the mm6. its great. i love it to death. its been 3 days since i have it and i can play 1 song really well thanks to youtube. i managed to hook it up to fl studio but it wont record the sound from the keyboard. maybe im going about it the wrong way. is there anyway i can do that? cuz i made like a drum loop that id like to transfer over.

I would get a $100 M-Audio Keystation and use your computer for the sounds. Combine it with a laptop and it's better than a workstation, even for performing.

okay but i already have the mm6 and it has some really nice instruments that sound tons better than the standard sounds in fl studio. thanks for your opinion though.