Hi spalding.



OK so don't read this reply then because there is a huge difference and it's what makes the open keyboard really good :-)

Doing what you said will get you close but the advantage an Open Labs or Lionstracs keyboard will have is in it's custom software, controllers and integrated hardware.

If we look at the custom software for the Open Labs Neko for a moment, it has a program called RIFF on it which basically allows you to recall entire setups for songs just by touching the block you placed the song into on the screen.

So regardless of how complex your song is or how many different VSTi's you decided to use all at the same time, all that is only a single press of a button away and this works for both live performances or sequenced.

This setup can extend out into mapping all the controllers of the keyboard too, so for example on a Lionstracs product, you have actual buttons and sliders that are directly connected to the very specific program you loaded.

So in short, the difference between a cheap keyboard connected to a computer VS an open keyboard is that the open keyboard is designed to operate like a closed keyboard from the point of view that you have real buttons, controllers and a software system driving it all that makes everything only a single press away and when you recall a VSTi the controllers are mapped and tie directly into that VSTi so you can get the most out of it.

There's more to it than that, but that's the basic idea.

Regards
James