Where can i find it on a keyboard?

Where can I find an USB Piano Keyboard?

• So I was thinking about starting to make music on my computer. As it turns out I need a proper piano-looking keyboard for that. So I was searching and found out that they (MIDI keyboards) are very expensive. My question is where can I find a USB keyboard that only imitates piano and doesn't produce any sound on it's own. It's only for that I push a key and my according software makes the music. Do these things even exist?

• Answer:

  For a given level of quality, the -price- difference between a 'USB' and a 'midi' kbd is approximately: zero. Electronics and connectivity is cheap as dirt. By analogy, when PC kbds switched from the large PS2 to USB, the prices didn't change at all. That's because the vast amount of the cost is all in the mechanical parts and not the electronics. What the higher quality = more expensive keyboards have is the accuracy of the feel of the keys. A traditional piano kbd has tons of intricate precision mechanical stuff going on. High quality electronic kbds use only -slightly- simple mechanisms, to try to keep the same feel quality. There are some aspects that they can leave out, but not much. > It's only for that I push a key and my according software makes the music. If that's all you want, then you can get 88 pushbutton switches for about $20, mount them on a $10 piece of plywood, hook them up through about $10 worth of electronics interfce, and you're done for $40. Obviously that's a silly ridiculous solution but I'm trying to get the point across is that it's the keys and the mechanism that the keys operate that makes them expensive. Electronics is cheap. Quality mechanical hardware is very expensive. Go to your local Guitar Center and try out a bunch of keyboards. You'll instantly feel the difference between a small pure consumer level $80 kbd, and a full on pro $2k model. To -just- 'make music' you really -don''t- need any external kbd at all! You -can- push PC kbd buttons that make notes. Obviously of course your hands can't move around the PC kbd the way they can on a piano kbd, but if -just- music is your real intent you could try that first. Or, since you're new at this you -can- get by very well with a smaller 'intro' model. You're really talking here about 'learning piano' not 'making music on PC.' At GC also look for discontinued/demo models. They'll cost tons less and still have the same warranty.