Keyboard Archives

So, what's the best keyboard workstation? Well, you might be confused with the many available keyboard workstation in the market. Are you are professional and beginner composers? Well, read through to get a feel of the keyboard workstation that'll match your recording demands and style. What about an arranger keyboard versus a workstation? The arranger keyboard comes with an "auto-accompaniment" that's in-built to get you backing tracks to match a specific tempo, rhythm, and style. Read Also: Midi Keyboard for Ableton Live. Reviews: Top 7 Best Keyboard Workstation in 2025 Roland FANTOM 8 is an excellent new workstation (indeed its the flagship model). It has the PHA-50 hammer-action keys with plastic tops and wooden sides for a better look. Check these acoustic guitars. Roland FANTOM 8 has an engine powered by V-Piano technology to give excellent tones. The technology has gone through continuous development - check the many onboard analog filter plus voices. You'll love the workstation's step sequencer (TR-REC) that'll ensure the device is very productive, allowing clip-based sequencing, step recording, and real-time recording - with extra digital and analog connectivity. Roland FANTOM 8, as a great layout, allows better use of the workstation functions. For example, it's possible to customize and equally save you're the settings for scenes, including sounds and songs. Roland FANTOM 8 is a powerful but equally costly keyboard workstation. Luckily, it's a futuristic keyboard that most DJs, song composers, and producers will love. The tool has an intuitive touch screen that'll make it easy to use the various functions- you can also easily manage the VST's and DAW from there. You'll get six clickable knobs that have high-resolution great for editing below the workstation's screen. Further, on the front panel, you'll get effect, envelope, filter, and oscillator controls. Further, for great step-sequencing, it comes with 16 step buttons that have the TR8-style - these will get you to the sixteen instrument categories allowing faster performing and editing. Pros For hands-on control, you’ll get the eight faders having LED-ring dials, two wheels, and several assignable switches. Comes with many audio channels Excellent effects, sampling, sequencing, and step LFOs Clear touchscreen plus an excellent build Cons Costly workstation https://youtu.be/ELYQKUdIayg Read Also: Laptop for Video Editing First, are Korg keyboards any good? Well, Korg has top-notch keyboards with attractive and sleek designs - they sound great, are highly portable (lightweight), and easy to use. Korg Kross 2-61 has an adapter plus AA batteries to allow 7 hours operation and excellent portability. You can use the step sequencer to edit the individual notes - but not with your regular sequencer. It has the 128-note polyphony that is okay for professionals - Vocoder, Audio Recorder, Wave Importation, 4 Zone settings, Sampler (14 sec), & 210,000 MIDI-events sequencer. You can get this Kross 2 in both 88- and 61- key versions to match your needs. You'll find enormous excellent drums(58), strings, Synths(lead or pads), organs, and brass. Korg Kross 2-61 has a backlight that'll create a great scene when it flashes the rainbow colors. It offers impressive control with pads & knobs for the great experience - you'll love 120-note polyphony and 1000+ preset fills. Korg Kross 2-61 ha an excellent layout that's great for your live performance. You can assign the favorite sounds using the available 16 (A to H) sampling pads. It reduces the need for scrolling - you can control the Tempo, Audio, FX, and Tone using the Real-Time Controller Knobs that's located on the left side. The innovative piano engine comes with new piano tones, including the Berlin Grand. You'll get nine unique sound engines plus preset sounds totaling to about 21GB! Pros You’ll get the open sampling system plus an audio recorder or the MIDI sequencer (16-track), and hence it’ll be easy to record your stuff. Korg Kross 2-61 has weighted keys that are great for editing your velocity curve. Its an excellent piano engine to give great synths and sound. It has a TouchView display that colored an 8-inch in size – where you can control its function through the touch-drag and TouchView display. This live-keyboard players will be great for DJ’s playing rock or pop music, live musicians, and EDM producers. Cons None https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj7sVy7rCVw Read Also: Sound Cards for Music Production Casio WK-6600 is a very portable workstation keyboard with 76-key keyboard that are touch responsive (2-level). You can use it both as a workstation or small keyboard - its highly versatile. Further, you'll get the Step-Up Lesson capability, in this Casio WK-6600, with 100+ pre-programmed songs plus additional features that'll better the playing skills. Casio WK-6600 has 200+ accompaniments and built-in tones (700) that you can easily customize. You'll get a 17-track recorder, and hence you can easily record as you're playing. Despite having many advanced features, this Casio WK-6600 is an excellent instrument for budget customers and beginners - and hence a superb keyboard workstation. Casio WK-6600 has in-built effects like 100 DSP, five choruses, and ten reverbs, and you may add some personal effects. With one system track + sequencer, it's possible to record 30,000 notes or five songs. You can adjust the DSP and chorus, reverb, vibrato, cut off, release and attack time using the included Tone Editor in this Casio WK-6600 keyboard workstation to match your preferences. You can use Windows or Macs to record music and play with no need to download drivers. You'll need to use the Sibelius with your workstation and mac in recording music. Further, you can operate it using a battery since it also has an AC power adapter that'll plug into the wall or simply get D batteries. You can use the workstation for your church or classroom. Pros Casio WK-6600’s selection of rhythms and voices is excellent, plus the inbuilt songs. Further, you’ll love the in-built instructional program particularly suitable for students. Suitable for audio and music recording Has included tones Budget-friendly keyword workstation Cons Comes with un-wight keys Read Also: Bass Compressor Pedal Yamaha MX61 is a great entry-level board in the company's new synth series with attractive features for beginners at a budget. The 61-note board is highly portable - weights only 10lbs (4.8kgs) for regular gigs. Yamaha MX61 has a plastic casing, but I would consider it excellent build quality, but you may need to protect it using a flight-case - has tight dials & switches for playing piano & synth sounds. Thus you'll have better control of the functions & sounds with semi-weighted keys that's highly playable, smooth & balanced keys. Easily slip & layer the sounds by clicking on the layer or slip buttons. It has a variety of ports that allow multi-functionality such as it's possible to have MIDI hardware in or out of the workstation - comes with many piano strings and organs. Its display (red-on-black number) plus the blue backlit screen (2-line) allows showing of performance number and displaying editing tasks and names, respectively. Altering sound (for real-time), you reach one of the four knobs to twerk the FX, envelopes, or filter levels - you can use the 16 category-select buttons easily choose from onboard 61 drum-kits and 1,106 voices. It comes with polyphonic sound (128-note) that you can recognize from the EX5 and original Motif - particularly the preset or waveform library. Pros It allows complete control with the included 47 buttons, data dial, four multi-function knobs, mod wheels, and pitch bend. You can use the four knobs in DAW functions, particularly with DAW-Remote mode. Yamaha MX61 is a portable instrument that offers several sounds and functions. Its user interface is relatively easy-to-use thanks to its innovative deign. Cons None Read Also: 49 Key MIDI Controller Conclusion Luckily, its VCM effects will be great and will make your playing excellent plus the Chorus Block and the Global Reverb Block plus it allows many insert effects like distortions, phasers, and delays.