Article by: Terry Wilhite

If you're looking to buy a synthesizer or digital piano, hang on to this article. We're about to give you the top 10 things to look for when you go shopping. Synthesizers are long-term investments. Nicer ones are costly. It’s best to buy “enough digital instrument” to last a while – one that will do all that you want to do now, plus things you’ve not thought of or learned yet but will if you hang around this article.

Maybe you don’t even need a new keyboard. How do you know? You should consider a new synthesizer if:

• The one you have now is more than a few years old. Chances are when something dies on your keyboard, you won’t be able to get replacement parts.
• You’re trapped into using the same old sounds. Using digital instrument librarian software, it may be possible for you to rid your keyboard of old or unusable sounds and install all new sounds. With many Yamaha keyboards, librarian software ships with the instrument.
• Your needs have changed since your purchase or you’ve simply “outgrown” the keyboard you have now. Sounds have become much more realistic, newer larger storage media has replaced old, floppy drives. Technology now is not nearly as limited in the number of sounds a keyboard can produce simultaneously.

Simply put, you’ll want to buy as much keyboard as you can afford. Consider the following as you search for just the right one.

Things to consider:
Portability. Digital pianos are not really portable. Synthesizers and auto accompaniment keyboards can be bagged and transported fairly easily. Don’t choose a digital instrument just because it’s the closest looking one to a piano. You can’t judge books or keyboards by their covers!

Multi-timbral. How many sounds can the synthesizer play at one time? The maximum is 16 – that’s one instrument (or sound) for each MIDI channel. Less expensive keyboards may only allow four or six instruments to be played at once.

Polyphony. How many notes can be played at one time? Sure, you only have ten fingers and ten toes but when you’re layering sounds, say a piano, flute, and strings, you’re actually playing notes for multiple instruments, although you’re pressing one set of keys. Aim for as high of polyphony number as possible.

Layering. How easy is it to use the control panel on top of the keyboard? If you want to combine piano, string and organ sounds, for example, you’ll want to be able to do this easily. You should not have to be a computer programmer to combine sounds. Note that this feature is only available on keyboards that are more advanced.

Touch sensitivity. Does pressing the keys with force make the sound louder like a piano? Furthermore, most synthesizers have an organ-like touch. Eighty-eight key synthesizers typically feature a piano-like touch and feel.

Expandability. If you buy this keyboard, are you going to be stuck with the sounds it makes or does the manufacturer or third party offer more sounds, uploadable via digital media? Some keyboards will not allow you to change sounds, while some synthesizers will let you change some banks of sounds but not other banks. Also, some keyboards even allow for an additional hard drive so that you can load .wav files or sounds that may not even have been created by the manufacturer but that can be used with many different synthesizers.

Number of keys. “Weighted action” keyboards come with the full 88 piano keys. These full size keyboards are obviously bulkier and heavier to tote. Keyboards also come in 61 and 72 key varieties.

Speakers or no speakers? As paradoxical as it may seem, less expensive keyboards come with speakers while more expensive ones do not. Higher end systems usually rely on sound systems for amplification. Higher end synthesizers also have multiple ¼ inch sound output jacks.

MIDI connections. Typically, even the least expensive keyboards have MIDI IN and OUT jacks. You’d better check, however. Some keyboards now have a USB port for MIDI. Even the least expensive keyboards can get notes via MIDI into sequencing software which is able to record every thing you play such as velocity – that is, how hard you press a key. If your keyboard is unable to produce this type of information, it can’t be recorded.

Sequencer. Does the synthesizer have an on-board sequencer that records MIDI without a computer? Even less expensive keyboards sometimes can record MIDI but can you load MIDI files from diskette onto the synthesizer or take a MIDI file recorded on your keyboard and dump it to digital media? You may or may not need these features. It’s really nice to be able to pre-load a dozen or so MIDI files into the synthesizer and play them in a concert setting, without lugging around a computer, even a laptop.

What about price?
When it comes to synthesizers, it’s been my personal experience, more times than not, that you get what you pay for! Just like buying a computer, the price depends upon the “bells and whistles” you select. Simply, features cost. You should play as many synthesizers as you can. Don’t be overly influenced by who is using what. Shop for your taste and your needs. Further, mail order catalogs have bargains, but your local dealer can often get you out of bind late Saturday night when your keyboard isn’t working and you need one to play Sunday morning. Whatever you do, don’t judge a keyboard just by how it looks. With an ample amount of playing and researching, you’ll find the majority of features you need at a price you can afford. You may want to delay purchasing a keyboard until you have the dollars to buy what you need. Again, synthesizers should be long-term, well thought out investments.