Words by Mixdown Staff
Live the school year in style
Whether you’re a bright-eyed newbie or a seasoned audio professional, you never stop learning in the music business. It’s one of the endless joys of making music: even if you’ve mastered one instrument or area of study, there’s always another ready for you, and with so many lessons, resources, and channels to learn, it can often be a bit difficult to know where to start.
As students across the country settle back into the program for another year of study, we’re helping to shine a light on some of the best academic tools and experiences on offer in our latest special print magazine on school essentials.
Here we highlight some nifty keyboards and tech devices!
Novation Launchkey 25
Distributed by: Focusrite Australia
Characteristics: An intuitive and fully integrated MIDI keyboard, the Novation Launchkey 25 is the ideal compact composition tool for the budding musician, songwriter or producer. Featuring full integration with Logic and Reason, plus out-of-the-box functionality with other DAWs, including Studio One, Cubase and Pro Tools, via HUI, it’s the perfect tool for exploring the wonderful world of MIDI, effortlessly taking care of all your mapping and triggering needs. Packed with handy tools like Scale mode, as well as various chord modes and arpeggiator functions, Launchkey 25 is a grassroots creative tool, ideal for on-the-fly composition or creating lightning bolts of chords. sudden inspiration. Its size also makes it a great portable option for students looking to enter the world of electronic music production.
Globally: A good MIDI keyboard will undoubtedly be one of the most liberating purchases on your ancient musical journey and with its small size, rock-solid connectivity and plenty of impressive mapping and triggering options, the Launchkey 25 is an intro tailor-made to -composition box and noon notions.
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Beale AK160 Numeric Keypad
Distributed by: australian music
Characteristics: If you know the history of the piano in this country, you probably know Beale. For the Sydney society that been an integral part of the Australian musical landscape since 1883, they know all too well the countless hours spent learning the piano and the importance of finding the right beginner instrument.
The AK160 digital keyboard is the perfect option for those just starting to shimmer digital ivories, with 64 note polyphony and 585 different sounding voices to keep their hands busy, it’s absolutely perfect for anyone looking to learn the harmonic structure and theory. The built-in speakers are also a handy little touch for instant plug and play operation.
Globally: For anyone learning solo piano or keyboard, one of the steepest learning curves is usually learning to fit your solo playing into the context of an ensemble. With 202 accompaniment styles and 157 backing songs to choose from, you’ll have plenty of practice playing in full band arrangements.
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Novation Launchpad X
Distributed by: Focusrite Australia
Characteristics: Launchpad X is Novation’s essential 64-pad MIDI grid controller for Ableton Live, giving you everything you need to make music at your fingertips, no matter what setup you’re using. Launchpad X lets you launch, play and run sounds, and build your tracks using the large, responsive RGB pads, combined with dynamic note and scale modes to make sure you never miss a beat. are never short of tone and play flawlessly in any form. Novation has created essential performance controls like stop, solo, mute, record arm, and adjusting your levels, pans, and sends, all at the touch of a button. Ultra-smooth button presses with their most responsive velocity-sensitive pads with polyphonic aftertouch
Globally: Using Launchpad X is as simple as it gets, no drivers to install, just plug and run, absolutely perfect in terms of mind buying, allowing you to “step back from the screen, familiarize yourself and dive into your tracks.” Play your instruments and devices expressively with the 64 velocity-sensitive RGB pads, then never lose track with one-press MIDI Capture control.
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Kurzweil M110A
Distributed by: australian music
Characteristics: Digital pianos come in all shapes and sizes, but there are few as striking as the M110A, by industry stalwarts Kurzweil. Featuring 88 fully weighted keys plus a host of other awesome features such as 2-digit 7-segment LED polyphony, 88 voice presets and 88 expressive sounds, it’s the perfect combination of sound and feel.
Featuring a spruce-style cabinet and available in faux rosewood or white finishes, the Kurzweil M11A is the perfect digital piano for those working with a piano teacher.
Globally: With its built-in 30-watt speaker, 1-track recording, 20,000-note sequencing capability plus a host of MIDI operability and USB plug and play functionality (all with no driver required), it’s both a classic looking centerpiece for any living room. and a cutting-edge music creation tool all at once.
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