electronic synth keyboards-infinite tunings.....help?...

I want to by a keyboard that will allow me to experiment with my own
tunings and that will allow me to split the octave into large numbers
as well as just tuning....I am lost trying to find which
manufacturers
offer such instruments. Can anyone offer me any guidance? What brands
cater to the radical composer if any?
any tips much appreciated.

On 6/17/05, elfdreambaby <elfdreambaby@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I want to by a keyboard that will allow me to experiment with my own
> tunings and that will allow me to split the octave into large numbers
> as well as just tuning....I am lost trying to find which
> manufacturers
> offer such instruments. Can anyone offer me any guidance? What brands
> cater to the radical composer if any?
> any tips much appreciated.

Any MIDI keyboard will work if you plug it into your computer and use
a soft synth. If that doesn't suit you, you'd better tell us why to
save us guessing about your exact circumstances ;)

Graham

thanks for the response, graham.
well, to start, i totally reject 12-semitone equql temperament, and i
have heard that most keyboards are fixed in that system. i would like
an instrument designed for infinite experimentation with tunings and
scales and that might include a a preset for Just Intonation. I would
like to try a 112 part equal temperament, for example. What keyboards
are designed with this kind of use in mind? Is manipulating the
keyboard thru external computer software the only way? If so, ok. I
just like the idea of an alternative keyboard instrument designed with
creators like me in mind. btw, what is a soft synth.
oz.

--- In tuning-math@yahoogroups.com, Graham Breed <gbreed@g...> wrote:
> On 6/17/05, elfdreambaby <elfdreambaby@y...> wrote:
> > I want to by a keyboard that will allow me to experiment with my
own
> > tunings and that will allow me to split the octave into large
numbers
> > as well as just tuning....I am lost trying to find which
> > manufacturers
> > offer such instruments. Can anyone offer me any guidance? What
brands
> > cater to the radical composer if any?
> > any tips much appreciated.
>
> Any MIDI keyboard will work if you plug it into your computer and
use
> a soft synth. If that doesn't suit you, you'd better tell us why to
> save us guessing about your exact circumstances ;)
>
>
> Graham

--- In tuning-math@yahoogroups.com, "elfdreambaby" <elfdreambaby@y...>
wrote:

> I would
> like to try a 112 part equal temperament, for example.

What's the attraction of 112? I would think both 111 (which is a
strong high-limit system) and 113 (which supports miracle) would make
more sense.

> well, to start, i totally reject 12-semitone equql temperament, and i
> have heard that most keyboards are fixed in that system. i would like
> an instrument designed for infinite experimentation with tunings and
> scales and that might include a a preset for Just Intonation. I would
> like to try a 112 part equal temperament, for example. What keyboards
> are designed with this kind of use in mind? Is manipulating the
> keyboard thru external computer software the only way? If so, ok. I
> just like the idea of an alternative keyboard instrument designed with
> creators like me in mind. btw, what is a soft synth.

There are keyboards and synthesizers. The keyboard is the thing you play and the synthesizer makes a noise. Most good keyboards these days will support MIDI, and so you can plug them into any synthesizer that also supports MIDI. That means it isn't really a question of whether or not the keyboard are designed for alternative tunings or not provided you have the right synthesizer.

There are keyboards designed for alternative tunings. The Starr Labs Mini-Z is a good one to start with. You can also run two normal keyboards together if you want a large number of notes. 112 keys is quite a lot!

You don't need external software, but you probably will need an external synthesizer. It's too much to expect a good microtonal keyboard and a good microtonal synthesizer to come in the same box. A soft synth is a piece of software running on your computer behaving as a synthesizer. Once you get it set up and plug the keyboard in, it's just like playing the keyboard itself. Soft synths tend to be more flexible because it's easier for the programmers to add specialist features for people like microtonalists.

There are at least ways to do what you want, and more and cheaper than ever before.

Graham