Please forgive my ignorance, if you can help me I would appreciate it! I am a professional singer, mostly weddings, funerals, and church gigs. I don't play the piano, but my 5 year old twins and I want to learn. So, I want a digital piano in a case, with an LCD screen, disk drive, (so we can learn to play) and a sequencer that allows vocals (or several tracks of vocals) to be recorded as well as piano. It needs to be easy enough that a hack like me can figure it out, but advanced enough that my long time pianist can go to town. I would love to be able to record our music for folks considering hiring us. Any thoughts? Again showing my ignorance, would a Suzuki ST-7 do the job? THANK YOU!

Hi,
Just to clear up a couple of things.

There is a difference between recording MIDI and Audio so when you say you want to use a sequencer to record vocals I guess what you really mean is that you are looking for a DAW (Digital Audio WOrkstation). A digital Audio recorder that allows you to capture live audio signal and record it digitally to a hard drive.

A *MIDI* sequencer is not what you would use for recording vocals. It is used to record/play MIDI events. In short, MIDI events are nothing but a set of commands that tell a keyboard to play a certain note (or any given amount of notes) and other MIDI data (controls and so on( using this digital language called M.I.D.I. (Google that one(.

I think if portability and ease of use are a priority for you you are potentially looking at a more or less 'all in one' kind of workstation that has lots of good sounds, MIDI and Audio recording capabilities and of course a good keyboard feel.

To be honest there are no 'all in one ' units that cost little and really work all that great. What you could do is:

1. Get a laptop that's up to specs.
2. A good audio card and a keyboard controller.
3. Some sequencer/audio host application like Cubase, Live, Sonar, Logic, Pro Tools (depending on whether you use a mac OS or Windows XP(.

I know its a little more than just carrying a single keyboard that 'does it all' but to be honest having a computer based setup is by far better option than messing with portable daws and so on. Both Audio and MIDI recording is best done through a computer and software.

I think what you should do in any case is pay a visit to your local music store and find out what is available. Talk to a few sales reps, explain what you need and how much you are willing to spend. From there I'm sure you will be presented with quite a few options to choose from.

cheers,

-ED-

Hi,

Here would be an ideal set-up for you.
pRP Series Digital Pianos

Genesys XP Professional Arranger/Workstation Module

The pRP series utilizes Physical Modeling Technology to create the acoustic and electronic piano sounds. HERE is a video showing the capabilities and sound of this instrument. NOTE this video was created on the GRP800 which is the home grand cabinet version of the pRP800, but internally both models are the same.

And THIS link will take you to the Genesys Ensemble home page where you can view a number of videos detailing the capabilities of the Genesys series of instruments.

The Genesys XP has a 32 track sequencer, internal hard drive w/audio recording, internal CD Burner, four part vocal harmonizer and much more. You songs including recorded vocals can then be burned to a CD for demo purposes as you described.

The nice thing with this set-up is you have the option of taking just the module with you to perform with since you are just learning to play piano at this point. Plus while you are gigging, you haven't taken the piano away from the rest of your family.

If this is of interest to you, I would be happy to answer any additional questions you may have.

Best Regards,

Dave


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Wm. David McMahan
Nat'l Product and Support Manager
Generalmusic USA
GEM Community Forums

[This message has been edited by WDMcM (edited 10-10-2006).]

Thank you. I was looking for something that does not exist for a long time. I paid $800.00 today for a Technics SX-PR602/M. In unused condition, I think I got a good deal. It is really what I wanted, now I just have to learn to play it. Thank you again for your help!