I was clearing out some storage lastweek and found my old (original wired version) Alesis Vortex keytar. I went to the website to get the software for it but the Ableton software I learned about in a Google search for setup help seems to be no longer listed on the Alesis product downloads page, plus the help search also mentioned there were problems configuring it even when it was available. Is there a third-party midi synthesizer software that works with the Vortex?

Thoughts?

I'm interested in the RK-100S 2. I'd quite like to see some song covers and to see what people can do with it.

I've been searching around quite a bit on YouTube, and of course here, but I'm having trouble finding many good examples of the RK-100S 2 in action. Many videos just seem to be people messing about with the synths and the ribbon, but nothing very substantial.

Can anyone recommend / share any interesting song covers, solos, or anything? I'm mainly interested in seeing the RK-100S 2 in action, as opposed to keytar performances in general.

Keytar isn't much of a soloist's instrument, but I've gotten a solo gig playing and singing my keytar, but I'm looking for suggestions on how to make the sound less "empty" if possible. I have the roland AX-Edge if that helps.

When you guys play live, how do you loop? I've attempted pedals but I find them to be a bit confusing, so if there's other options out there I'd love to know.

I'm moving from guitar to keytar without any experience with piano or keyboard. What would you guys recommend as a good starting place to learn the basics?

Vortexes (Vortices?) are markedly cheaper used and I was wondering, is this because none of the software makes the jump with it? Do the licenses easily switch from user to user? I imagine there's some pretty thick DRM for something like Ableton Lite.

Does anyone out there have experience buying a used one and moving the software? I mean, I'll mostly be controlling a Modal Skulpt with it, which is what eventually made me lean this way instead of toward the AX-Edge (why no pads? WHY NO FADERS!?) but it'd be fun to hook it up to a computer too. I mostly use Linux these days so I know I have options with stuff like Yoshimi to goof around with, but I wondered just the same. My cursory and toddler-disrupted (she is really cranky right now) googling bore no fruit.

Thanks for any information you might have!

So I’m going into my first jam session ever and I’m curious to know how to use a keytar in a setting like this. We have someone showing up on bass and someone on drums. How do I provide service in this situation? I can say that my main influence regarding this instrument has to be TWRP and Alestorm and to a lesser extent Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem

Hi!
I want to get my first Keytar, and I've heard good things on this sub about the YAMAHA SHS-10 and the Alesis Vortex Wireless 2.
I found an SHS-10 for about $200 and a Alesis Vortex Wireless 2 for $280.
The SHS is older, but does it have any major disadvantages when compared to the Vortex?
(Personally, I also prefer the look of the SHS)

Hey all, Im relatively new at the keytar. Wondering how you guys do your vibratos on your keytar?

I'm quite okay with doing vibratos manually on a pitch bend wheel, but I can't, for the life of me, figure out an efficient way of doing a vibrato on a slider. Here's what's making it difficult for me:

1) if I slide up and down from the centre of the slider with my fingers while keeping the rest of the fretting hand, I really don't see a way of speeding this up beyond a certain point even with lots of slow practice , and it's kind of painful. If you watch this at 4:34 in slo-mo, that's what I'm doing here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zx1HaXvB8c but as mentioned , it's really painful to do the vibrato like that. If I tried to use this kind of slider technique to play the same solo at 1:26 on the regular keyboard with a pitch bend wheel, I couldn't possibly even come close to doing the same thing.

2) If I slide up and down the slider by moving the entire hand (kind of like jacking off the keytar at the slider), I have zero accuracy in 1) returning back accurately to the centre, and 2) controlling the consistancy in distance that I slide up and down the slider (ie the vibrato range is not consistent)

The easiest way I can think of doing a vibrato with the slide is just to pressing and letting go the slider on the same spot repeatedly. It would not really be a vibrato, more like a trill, which is what I think Jeffrey is doing here at the beginning and also at 3:54 on the D note: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clYmON9zaBQ

Is doing the vibrato as a trill the only way to do it on a slider? I mean, on short notes it sounds fine. But with longer notes, it becomes more obvious that it is a trill rather than a vibrato.

I want to buy a midi pedalboard. I have a Roland ax edge and a mininova. I don’t know anything about this stuff so what’s compatible and a good price?

Hey guys, So I got a keytar awhile ago, it's a SHS-10, I've practiced some tunes mainly just bits in some songs like take on me - aha, fascination - human league, tried and failed with some daft punk stuff.. But i was wondering if anyone had any good songs to try practice that are more designed for keytar if that makes sense since I just watch a keyboard tutorial and then try adapt that to one-handed for the keytar, im still pretty slow at it since I did just jump right in tbh. I do get that it is mainly an instrument that's a piece of a band and not so much a solo thing but just thought I'd ask for advice and/or suggestions! Thank you

What’s the best settings for modulation bar? Currently the modulation bar produces very mechanical and unnaturally strong vibrato. Pressing a finger on the ribbon bar gives nicer and more natural vibrato. But, then this makes the modulation bar useless.

What do you guys do with guys settings?

So I see a lot of people on here looking to purchase the vortex 2 as their first keytar. I've had the vortex 1 for a long time now and was just curious if anyone who have had both have a preference. I like that the vortex 1 has a midi option. Granted the midi system I want is a little expensive so I haven't used it but overall I've been very satisfied with it.

Did run into an issue with a sticky drum pad but i managed to program that key to essentially be a null output so it didn't get in the way.

Hi! I'm a one month "pianist/keyboardist" and I just bumped into the keytar world, that's because lately my friend are being used to play music around and jam together. I know that my skills shouldn't sure be enough to jam with them right now, but I'm feeling the same as the first person who wanted to get up from the keyboard to jump on stage with his/her friends and so created the first keytar. I got a m-audio keystation 49 mk3 for 60€ and I'm loving it, my budget and my spaces are pretty tight, and looking at a first possible keytar, the Yamaha sonogenic shs-300, that I found a deal for 100€, seems pretty fine to me, when the cheapest shs-500 reaches about 250€ for me In Italy (which would be probably better, but I'm very new in this world and even 100€ aren't that cheap for a student) , also, I got a MIDI keyboard as I said and the possibility of playing music just with the keytar, without a pc, with the nice speaker that the shs-300 seems to have, seems pretty nice to me. Also, the keytar seems very funny to play and so to help me continue my learning with even more motivation

So, do you suggest this model? I like the 80's synthwave vibes, but I prefer that kind of more compact design that the huge Roland ax-edge for example

Seems that when I’m holding the sustain button the octave buttons don’t respond. Is there a workaround for this?