Is 25 Keys Enough?

[Deep Orbit]

Hey TranceFix, first post!

I'm starting out on my journey to produce some trance, I've been reading theory for the last month and I think I'm ready to invest in a MIDI controller keyboard.

The thing is that they are very expensive and currently I am very poor. The 49 key controllers are upwards of €80 for anything half decent.

Is 25 keys enough to comfortable write melodies in FL or Ableton? Will it significantly slow me down having to press the octave buttons all the time? The 25 keys tend to be much cheaper, at around €49.

Will 25 keys be enough? Should I save and get a 49 key?
Either way, I would appreciate reccomendations on what model is best in a budget.

[asteski]

Even 1 octave (12 keys) is enough to write melodies. But if u think about producing seriously, save for 4 octave midi keyboard.

[tranced34]

Of course 25 keys is enough, plus a smaller unit is a lot easier to fit into a small studio solution. They come with an octave shift button so you can shift up and down octaves on the fly

[Deep Orbit]

Thanks for the replies.

Even 1 octave (12 keys) is enough to write melodies. But if u think about producing seriously, save for 4 octave midi keyboard.

I'm only planning on writing some basic psytrance melodies on FL.

Thanks also tranced34.

I think I will buy a 25 key to begin with and possibly upgrade later, I'm not interested in investing too much yet in case I find producing isn't for me.

[Voci]

seriously

Well I think "seriously" is not the good word.

It does depend on the genre you'll be wanting to make.

If you want (and are able to) play complex melodies then a bigger one might come in handy.

If you want to mess around with some basic melodies I think 24 is good too.

[Deep Orbit]

Thanks for the advice.
What do you reckon would be necessary for melodies such as in, for example, Kabalah by Astral Projection?

[Voci]

Well that melody doesn't have a lot of difference in height, (low notes and high notes), all mid. So 2 octaves would be enough.

Doesn't seem like anything you'd play live though. Else, I would be impressed!

[Deep Orbit]

In general do you think 2 octaves is enough for making psytrance? Considering there is also the up/down octave buttons?

[Domesty]

Its not about the octaves or range of keys. When you start experiencing whit different kinds of synths and samples you will see that you will spend FAR more time on defining your sound and finetuning it, than creating melodies. As said even likes of Daniel Kandi has created songs only whit his laptop mouse and Reason (which is DAW that many users see it only as big vst bank).

So no worries. Its definately enough!! creativity is all you need

[john adams]

Hi there
I,m new to the site and i read this thread.
I have an EMU 25 note controller for sale that you can have for a reasonable price.I used it in my studio and made a lot of Trance with it.
The octave keys are your friend,just push one when you want bass ,or lead etc.
Its fine too for use with a drum sampler ,not too much need for a huge keyboard there.
I have the cd installation and the manual.You could use its features ,its quite sophisticated under the hood,but mostly i just used it in Cubase without needing to do much else.
I also have the updated drivers on my external hard drive which i could mail to you.
Let me know if you are interested.
Cheers Violetice.