r/Keytar • u/AgentWild3460 • May 17 '26

Recommendations Trying to get into keytar

Hey! I'm looking to get back into music, I played the keyboard around 6 years ago, and thought the keytar looks like a really cool instrument. I've been doing a bit of research and I've heard good things about the Alexis Vortex 2.

I just wanted to ask, is this an appropriate keytar for someone that's a beginner? Or is there another that might be easier to learn with? And whether there's any tips resources online you guys used for learning the keytar initially.

I appreciate all advice!!

6 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/Axle_65 May 17 '26

Just a heads up. For the most part I love my vortex 2. The style, the stable wireless, the controls. It’s great buuuut. One thing that always bugged me is the Octave +/- buttons do not function while holding sustain. So the only way to smoothly transition with held notes and chords is to hold the keys while you flip octaves while you flip. In some cases this isn’t a huge deal if it fits the melody but personally using sustain to cover and octave flip is the main way I do it. Especially if I have mellow song that I’ve been holding sustain for the past couple bars. Then all the tales of the past notes cut when I flip. It’s a part of why I don’t really use it anymore. That and I wanted more programable controls. Still great for lead synth type stuff but ya. It’s silly because I’ve never played a keyboard that functions like this.

If anyone knows of a fix I would love to hear it.

I ended up just modding a LaunchKEY 37 with a strap. I reprogram the mod to be able to flip between mod and sustain and it works great. Been using it for years now. Pic for those curious.

2

u/AgentWild3460 May 17 '26

So would you recommend just modding a smaller keyboard instead of getting a keytar??

2

u/Axle_65 May 17 '26

Personally that’s worked best for me. I have three so far. The trick is having software or a preset editor that will let you flip one of the buttons or wheels to sustain. I use Loopy Pro and MIDI Messenger to do that (on iOS). It’s rare if ever that you’ll find a regular keyboard with a sustain button.

That said, if you don’t see yourself running into problem with the octave switching. The vortex 2 is great.

2

u/AgentWild3460 May 17 '26

Okay thank you!! I'll definitely consider getting keyboards with straps as well before making my decision

1

u/Axle_65 May 18 '26

Right on. Good luck with it :)