INTRODUCTION TO SYNTHESIZERS - hol.gr

Master keyboards and sound modules
To enter data into a MIDI sequencer, we need some kind of input device. Of course we can use any MIDIequipped
synthesizer to do this, but there are in fact some keyboards which don't have any internal sound
sources at all - instead of making sounds, they only generate MIDI signals when you play their keyboard. These
keyboards are usually called master keyboards or just keyboard controllers.
Roland PC-180 Keyboard Controller
At first glance, a master keyboard might look like just another synthesizer, but you would soon see that the
programming buttons are missing, and so are the audio output jacks on the back of the unit. Some master
keyboards are designed to be small and convenient units to be used together with personal computers, such as
the Roland PC-180 in the picture above. More professional keyboard controllers are equipped with a full 88-key
weighted piano-style keyboard, instead of the regular 61-key keyboard found on most synthesizers.
Just as there are soundless keyboards, there are also keyboardless synthesizers. Such synthesizers are usually
called sound modules, MIDI modules or just simply modules.
Their function is very simple: they listen for incoming MIDI signals, and play them as they arrive. Having no
keyboards, obviously you can't play these modules directly. Instead you must use an external MIDI keyboard, or
let the module play back the prerecorded data on a MIDI sequencer track.
Roland SoundCanvas 8850
The reason for using such modules instead of keyboard-equipped synthesizers is of course to save space - five
or ten such modules can easily be fitted into a rack, not much larger than a normal sized home stereo rack. And
naturally the price is often much lower. But don't be mislead about their modest sizes though - they're just like
any other synthesizer.
Many synthesizers come in both a regular keyboard-equipped version, and also a module version. For instance
the Roland D-50 synthesizer has a module version called the Roland D-550.
The Roland D-50 keyboard...
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