Does anyone know of a midi controller keyboard that be split and send two separate midi channels ?

[OscarCasio]

Does anyone know of a midi controller keyboard that be split and send two separate midi channels ? As in the left hand could be sent as channel 1 and the right channel 2. I would like to use one keyboard to trigger two separate synth modules. Anyone know a way of doing this that hopefully doesnt involve a computer just as I want to keep the set up nice and small and portable for live use. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[SeaGtGruff]

AFAIK, most of them can do that, although the smaller ones-- that is, the ones with fewer keys or octaves-- might not have that feature. It's usually called "zones," and typically a keyboard controller will let you set up 4 of them, defining the lowest and highest keys of each zone, as well as its associated MIDI channel. This lets you create splits and layers by defining the zones so that they overlap (layers) or don't overlap (splits).

 

[OscarCasio]

Thanks for your reply. I thought that it seemed like a feature that would be on most controllers but found it difficult to actually find that listed anywhere but perhaps I was using the wrong terminology. " zones " might well be the word I'm looking for. Thanks

 

[SeaGtGruff]

For some reason, the very first manufacturer I checked (Novation) doesn't list the number of zones on their pages for their keyboard controllers, so you might need to look at the owner's manuals for more information. That's a good idea, anyway, once you've chosen a few controllers you're interested in based on their looks (the variety and number of their controls, etc.).

 

[OscarCasio]

Thanks yes I will do that. Very good to know it's all possible. Thanks again

 

[anotherscott]

Yes, there are lots of boards that can do this. To help narrow down suggestions, are there other preferences you'd like to consider? LIke, budget? travel weight? how many keys? Weighted hammer action (piano style) keys, or un/semi-weighted?

 

[OscarCasio]

Hi, thanks for you reply. I think semi weighted if possible but not a deal breaker and probably 61 possibly 88 keys. As for budget idealy nothing to much more than $600 but wiling to consider more expensive ones