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Electronic and Computer Music Frequently-Asked Questions (FAQ) |
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Archive-name: music/netjam-faq
Last-modified: 1994/10/17
Version: 5.5
***
This is an electronic and computer music frequently-asked
questions (FAQ) document, distributed by NetJam. It is probably of
interest to readers of the USENET newsgroups:
ucb.becmug
rec.music.makers
rec.music.makers.synth
rec.music.synth
rec.music.compose
comp.music
and anyone else interested in the applications of computers to music
(and vice-versa).
It is posted fortnightly to the above-mentioned groups, as
well as news.answers. It is also available as
ftp://XCF.Berkeley.EDU/pub/misc/netjam/doc/FAQ/ECMFAQ. Finally, it can be
obtained by emailing NetJam-request@XCF with the subject line "request
for ECM FAQ". The machine XCF.Berkeley.EDU has IP address
128.32.138.1.
You may do anything you like with this document, except sell
it.
Please send contributions and comments to
NetJam@XCF.Berkeley.EDU.
For general info about NetJam, email
NetJam-request@XCF.Berkeley.EDU, with the phrase "request for info" in
the subject line.
Thanks,
-C
***
---
New items are marked with a '+'. Modified existing items are
marked with a '*'.
Short contents:
0.0) [Meta-issues]
1.0) [Newcomer questions]
2.0) [Connectivity issues]
2.1.0) [Groups]
2.2.0) [Archives]
2.3.0) [Making CDs]
3.0) [Software]
3.1.0) [Software by role]
3.1.1.0) ["Environments"]
3.1.1.3.0) [Max]
3.1.2.0) [Notation software]
3.1.3.0) [Composition software]
3.1.3.1.0) [CSound]
3.1.4.0) [Recorded music]
3.1.5.0) [Conversion software]
3.1.6.0) [Editing and mixing software]
3.1.7.0) [Sound synthesis software]
3.2.0) [Software by platform]
3.2.3.0) [NeXT software]
3.2.4.0) [DOS/Windows software]
4.0) [Hardware]
4.1.0) [Multi-platform hardware]
4.2.0) [UNIX hardware]
4.3.0) [NeXT hardware]
4.4.0) [DOS/Windows hardware]
4.5.0) [Macintosh hardware]
5.0) [Reference material]
Long contents:
0.0) [Meta issues]
0.1) How can I browse ftp sites and their data without
using my own disk space (unless I want to keep
data), and locate files on ftp sites, given
pathname fragments?
0.2) What other FAQs might be of interest?
0.3) How do I ask for advice on a topic of interest from
the Net?
0.4) What are the future plans for your FAQs?
1.0) [Newcomer questions]
1.1) What keyboard should I buy?
1.2) Where can I get patches for my keyboard?
1.3) What is MIDI?
1.4) What are definitions for the following things?
1.5) Where can I get price lists?
1.6) Where can I get a USA music store list?
2.0) [Connectivity issues]
2.1.0) [Groups]
2.1.1) What is Netjam?
2.1.2) How do I subscribe to EMUSIC-D and EMUSIC-L,
and what other BITNET lists are of
interest?
2.1.3) What are some other emailing lists relating to
electronic and computer music?
2.1.4) How do I contact the editorial staff of
Electronic Musician magazine?
2.1.5) Is there a group for Roland U20 and U220
synthesizer users?
2.1.6) What Yamaha synthesizer groups are there?
2.2.0) [Archives]
2.2.1) What are some other midi-file/software
archives on the Internet?
2.2.2) Is there a archive for the K2000 synthesizer?
2.3.0) [Making CDs]
2.3.1) What constitutes a CD master?
2.3.2) Who and how much?
2.4) How do I transfer patches, data files, MFF files from
a Mac to a PC and back?
3.0) [Software]
3.1.0) [Software by role]
3.1.1.0) ["Environments"]
3.1.1.1) What is Smallmusic? What is the MODE?
3.1.1.3.0) [Max]
3.1.1.3.1) What is Max?
3.1.1.3.2) Which glove interfaces with
the Max 'glove'
object?
3.1.1.4) What is DMIX and how can I get it?
3.1.2.0) [Notation software]
3.1.2.1) Is there PostScript code available for
generating guitar scales?
3.1.2.2) Where can I get online guitar tablature?
3.1.2.3) What is MusicTeX, and how can I get it?
3.1.2.4) What is Finale? How can I get a demo?
3.1.2.5) What is Lime and how can I get it?
3.1.2.6) What is cmn and how can I get it?
3.1.2.7) What is Nutation and... well, you know.
3.1.3.0) [Composition software]
3.1.3.1.0) [CSound]
3.1.3.1.1) What is CSound?
3.1.3.1.2) What are the requirements of CSound?
3.1.3.1.3) Is there a tutorial on CSound?
3.1.3.2) What is Deluxe Music Construction Set
(DMCS)?
3.1.4.0) [Recorded music]
3.1.4.1) Where can I get recordings of
electronic music?
3.1.5.0) [Conversion software]
3.1.5.1) Are there programs to convert back and
forth between
human/filter-readable text and
MIDI files? How do I get them?
3.1.5.2) What is Midi2TeX, and how can I get it?
3.1.5.3) What is Hyperupic, and how can I get it?
3.1.5.4) What is SoundHack and how can I get it?
3.1.5.5) What is the Copyist Companion, and how
can I get it?
3.1.6.0) [Editing software]
3.1.6.1) What are tclm and xdrum, and how can I
get them?
3.1.6.2) What is MixView, and how can I get it?
3.1.6.3) What is DU, and how can I get it?
3.1.6.4) What is RT, and how can I get it?
3.1.6.5) What is RTLisp, and how can I get it?
3.1.6.6) What is Cmix and how can I get it?
3.1.7.0) [Sound synthesis software]
3.1.7.1) What are Patchmix and StochGran and
how can I get them?
3.2.0) [Software by platform]
3.2.1) Which software packages in section
3.1.0 [Software by role] and its
children work on multiple platforms?
3.2.2) Which software packages in section
3.1.0 [Software by role] and its
children work on UNIX platforms?
3.2.3.0) [NeXT software]
3.2.3.1) What are some currently available
sound editors for the NeXT?
3.2.3.2) Which software packages in section
3.1.0 [Software by role] and
its children work on NeXT
platforms?
3.2.3.3) Where can I find information about the
NeXT MIDI driver?
3.3.3.4) What is the status of the Music Kit on
NeXT machines?
3.2.3.5) What ear-training software is there
for the NeXT?
3.2.4.0) [DOS/Windows software]
3.2.4.1) Which software packages in section
3.1.0 [Software by role] and its
children work on DOS/Windows platforms?
3.2.4.2) What are some public-domain (or nearly so)
sample-editing programs for IBM-PC
compatibles?
3.2.5) Which software packages in section
3.1.0 [Software by role] and its
children work on Macintosh platforms?
3.2.6) Which software packages in section
3.1.0 [Software by role] and its
children work on Amiga platforms?
4.0) [Hardware]
4.1.0) [Multi-platform hardware]
4.1.1) What are some good things with which to whack
MIDI drum triggers?
4.1.2) How do I get MIDI working with my analog
synth?
4.2.0) [UNIX hardware]
4.2.1) What are some MIDI interfaces for 386 UNIX boxes?
4.3.0) [NeXT hardware]
4.4.0) [DOS/Windows hardware]
4.4.1)* How do I do MIDI with my laptop PC? What is
the Key Electronics Midiator?
4.4.2) I'm just starting on MIDI and want to know how
to send MIDI from my SCO UNIX box (and
who do I buy a card from? Are there
device drivers available?)
4.4.3) How can I adapt my IBM-PC parallel port to be
a MIDI interface?
4.5.0) [Macintosh hardware]
4.5.1) What's all this about problems with
Macintosh Powerbooks and MIDI?
4.5.2) How can I build my own MIDI interface for the
Macintosh?
5.0) [Reference Material]
5.1) Is an overview of "General MIDI" available?
5.2) What are the names and address of various gear manufacturers?
5.3) Where may I find an electronic music bibliography?
5.4) Where can I find out all about MIDI?
5.5) What are the details behind current sound formats?
---
0.0) [Meta issues]
---
0.1) How can I browse ftp sites and their data without
using my own disk space (unless I want to keep
data), and locate files on ftp sites, given
pathname fragments?
Answer:
There is a set of Emacs-Lisp ("elisp") code, called
"ange-ftp.el", which makes 'ftp' use transparent within GNU Emacs (GNU
Emacs is available via anonymous ftp from prep.ai.mit.EDU). This
package attempts to make accessing files and directories using FTP
from within GNU Emacs as simple and transparent as possible. A subset
of the common file-handling routines are extended to interact with
FTP. Using these routines, I can read remote files as I would any
local file, without having to write it locally to disk. This is is
especially useful since the document is dynamic (hopefully
increasingly so).
The routines are available via anonymous ftp (naturally!) as
tut.cis.ohio-state.EDU:/gnu/emacs/elisp-archive/as-is/ange-ftp.el.tar.Z,
(incidentally, if you already had "ange-ftp.el", you could paste the
above line in response to Emacs' 'copy-file', stick "/anonyous@" in
front of it, and copy the file.) My current version is dated 22
October 1991.
Another useful bit of elisp is "context.el". It saves the
Emacs buffer list and window configuration between editing sessions.
So, one can have several buffers, with several files open (as I
usually do), quit and restart Emacs, and have the state preserved,
cursor locations and windows included. Happily, it works well with
"ange-ftp.el", so that even remote files are restored (after possibly
having to prompt for passwords). "context.el" is also available via
anonymous ftp from tut.cis.ohio-state.EDU, as
/gnu/emacs/elisp-archive/as-is/context.el.Z. Also look for
"tree-dired.el" which provides for hierarchical directory editing.
Incidentally, it was very easy to produce references for the
above tools, thanks to another tool called "archie", developed at
McGill University. Dubbed a "resource discovery tool" by its authors,
it comes in very handy when one knows what tools are needed but not
their availability. Archie consists of a server for this information
(basically from a database of directory trees from "all known"
anonymous ftp sites, updated once per month), and a client, which may
be run via 'telnet' from the server machine itself (frowned upon...),
or from a standalone client available from that machine (...highly
encouraged, for the considerable host load win). Some clients even
perform ftp tasks based on user response to search results. There are
clients available for dumb and X terminals, and, of course, Emacs.
Poke around archie.mcgill.ca for a client and documentation.
---
0.2) What other FAQs might be of interest?
Answer:
You can get nearly every FAQ known to USENETkind from the
newsgroup news.answers.
I also edit two other FAQs which may be of interest:
If you are interested in composing music, you may want to look
at the music composition FAQ. It is posted fortnightly to the
above-mentioned group, as well as to news.answers. It is also
available via ftp as
anonymous@XCF.Berkeley.EDU:misc/netjam/doc/FAQ/composition/\
compositionFAQ.entire, and in pieces as .../split/*. Finally, it can
be obtained by emailing netjam-request@XCF with the subject line
"request for composition FAQ". The machine XCF.Berkeley.EDU has IP
address 128.32.138.1.
If you are interested in Smalltalk programming, you may want
to look at the Smalltalk FAQ, which is posted fortnightly to
comp.lang.smalltalk. It is also available via ftp as
anoymous@xcf.berkeley.edu:misc/smalltalk/FAQ/SmalltalkFAQ.entire.
---
0.3) How do I ask for advice on a topic of interest from
others on the Net?
Answer:
[see also the many fine recurring articles in
news.announce.newusers --crl]
From: Karl Haberl (khaberl@bbn.com)
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 92
"The Beginner's Guide to Asking the Net Gods for [Musical] Advice"
The net can be a powerful resource for information and advice, as
well as being a lively and sometimes fun-filled forum for the exchange
of views. One of the most common mistakes beginners make when asking
for advice is that they do not put enough information in their posts
to allow a more experienced "net veteran" to provide a concise,
focused reply to their request. Questions like "Which keyboard is best
X or Y ?" can only really be answered in the context of knowing
something about the individual who is asking the question.
Below are some suggestions for info that would be helpful to
include in any articles requesting advice on various topics. By
including this info in your post, you will be accomplishing two
important things: (1) you will be explicitly demonstrating to the net
community that you are not lazy, and that you have taken some time
yourself to think about the subject and identify the precise areas
where you need help, and (2) you will be providing essential
background info that will help focus and tailor any responses to your
particular problem. Here, then are the categories (feel free to
augment these with any other information that you think might be
appropriate):
(1) EXPERIENCE LEVEL -
Indicate how much experience you have that is appropriate for
the subject.
This will help focus advice at the right level of detail.
"I've played classical piano for twelve years, never touched a synth."
"I've been using Vision for two years now, and while I would not call
myself a power user, I think I am quite competent with basic
operations."
(2) INFORMATION SOURCES ALREADY EXPLORED -
Asking basic questions without indicating what kind of reading
or other investigations you may have already done yourself is likely
to cause one of two things to happen: either the reader will skip over
your message completely, or will fire off a response like "pick up
Keyboard and Electronic Musician, and get a copy of Mix Bookshelf."
Tell the net what sources of info you have tried - this gives a
baseline for giving advice and/or suggesting further sources of info.
"I read the Buyer's Guide issue of Keyboard."
"I have Anderton's recording book, but I still don't understand
reverb."
"I've only talked to my local salesman about this, he says ..."
(3) CURRENT EQUIPMENT CONFIGURATION -
With equipment-related questions, it is helpful for the
respondent to know how any suggested new equipment will complement an
existing setup.
"I own two rusty cans and 100 yds of twine."
"I own a JX-3P, M1, and D70 for synths, and a Tascam PortaPotty
4-track."
(4) WHAT YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH -
Defining what your particular goals are is *critical* for any
respondent to give personalized advice. Besides, goal-definition also
happens to be the most critical activity that *you* can do to focus
your search through the the maze of information and equipment that is
out there.
"I want to just have fun in my basement studio, writing pop tunes
for my own enjoyment and distributing them to my friends."
"I want to write soundtracks for local TV productions."
"I want to produce demo tapes of my band and send them to record
companies."
"I want to optimize my rig for live performance of industrial music."
(5) BUDGET -
For most of the people on this planet, budget is a key
constraint. If you have a precise figure in mind, give it. If you're
trying to get a more general sense of what things cost versus their
capabilities, that's O.K. too, but you should still be able to
provide a *range* of $$ figures that you would be willing to consider.
Obviously, defining your budget goal will help respondents restrict
the range of products considered and discussed. And if you're close
to a boundary, they will often say "of course, with just $X more you
could step up to a ..."
"I have between $300-500 bucks to spend on a reverb unit."
"I am willing to spend up to $2000 on a new keyboard if it will
allow me to do X,Y, and Z; but I'd prefer to keep it under
$1500."
---
0.4) What are the future plans for your FAQs?
Answer:
I'm working on a FAQ generator in Smalltalk which manages
hierarchical groups of questions and answers, and generates FAQs in
flat text (like this one) and hypertext (e.g., HTML). Volunteers
welcome.
---
1.0) [Newcomer questions]
---
1.1) What keyboard should I buy?
Answer:
From: xrjdm@calvin.gsfc.nasa.gov (Joseph D. McMahon)
Subject: Re: That zany FAQ thing
Date: Mon, 10 Aug 92 11:01:10 EDT
The most frequently asked question on EMUSIC-L and on rec.music.synth is
probably "What keyboard should I buy?"
Before you do anything else, indulge in some self-analysis of what you want
to do, how committed you are to doing it, and how much money you have to
spend on it. If you plan just to play your keyboard every once in a while for
fun, you will have a different set of requirements from someone who is looking
for the first piece of equipment along the road to establishing a professional
set of gear as the nucleus of a studio. Persons who are going to be performing
contemporary popular music or who wish to imitate traditional instruments will
probably find any number of keyboards which will fit their needs.
Experimentalists, or persons wishing to do sonic exploration, with the sound
being the primary concern, will have a harder time. In general, keyboard which
feature extensive modulation sources and routings (such as the Oberheim
Xpander, Kurzweil K2000, or Ensoniq SD-1) will be more useful for synthesis
than less complex machines.
Set your musical priorities: must-have, highly-desirable, nice, don't care,
etc. Acoustic sounds? Synth sounds? Multi-timbral? Built-in sequencer?
Built-in effects (reverb, etc)? After-touch? # of keys? You'll probably need
to get more familiar with the terminology before you can make any decisions
here. A few terms for those new to this:
a) Multi-timbrality means that the keyboard can produce more
than one sound at a time. For most people who will be
purchasing only one synth the first time out, this is
very important. A monotimbral (one-sound-at-a-time)
machine will require the use of multi-track tape to
simulate multi-timbrality. Commonly available used
synths which are mono-timbral are the Yamaha DX7 and the
Roland D50. You will not be able to make these keyboards
sound like more than one thing at once.
b) A built-in sequencer (on modern machines) means
that the keyboard has the equivalent of a built-in
multi-track tape machine; it records the events that
occur and allows you to play them back. It is *not* an
audio device; it simply records the actions you take to
produce a piece of music and then plays them back again,
like a player-piano. If you have a computer, you may
want to purchase a MIDI (see below) interface and a
software sequencer instead.
d) Most synthetic sounds are more pleasing with at least a little
bit of effects (echo, reverberation, etc.). Some keyboards
have built-in effects; others require external ones. Note that
built-in effects usually require that all voices go through the
same effect; if there is an alternative, it is usually "no effects".
This means that is you have a distorted guitar, an organ with a
rotating speaker effect, and a lead with just a touch of reverb,
you are going to have to choose which two of the three effects
you are going to be able to live without, because only one will
be available at a time.
e) After-touch is a means of controlling the sound after you've
pressed the key. For most keyboards, pressing on any one
key while holding a chord will cause all of the sounding
notes to act as if they too had been pressed harder; this
is called "channel aftertouch". Other let you control this
individually for each key; this is called "key aftertouch
and is not seen as often.
f) The number of keys varies. In general, most have 61 keys
(5 octaves), but others have more, all the way up to a full 88.
People who already play the piano will probably be more
comfortable on a larger keyboard. The feel also varies,
from weighted actions which feel very piano-like, through
mushy, unweighted ones are more common.
f) MIDI is short for "musical instrument digital interface". It
is an international standard, and almost all machines built
after the Yamaha DX7 have it. (Nit-picky note: some built
before to,, but the DX7 is a good reference point.) You can
buy a MIDI interface for your home computer and run software
to control your keyboards from there. MIDI is often used to
build a studio in much the same way that you can build a
stereo system: by choosing individual components and combining
them into a whole.
A good basic checklist for "pro-quality" keyboards:
- Sound quality. If it sounds lousy at the store, it'll sound
bad at home. If you're having trouble hearing because of the
57 guitar heroes flailing Strats nearby, see if you can take
it "on approval". Most dealers are willing to work with you
on such things. If all else fails, rent one. Spending $40 to find
out that the $2500 you were going to spend would have been
a waste is a good investment.
- Usability. If the interface confuses you, if you don't like
the layout of the modulators, if you really hate that joystick
and want a wheel instead, or you think the operating system
really sucks, don't commit to such a keyboard unless you're
willing to deal with this. Small dissatisfactions can turn what
you thought was "okay" into "unusable" after repeated fighting
with them. Software that locks up or crashes falls into this
category.
- Feel. If you're already a keyboard player, you probably
have an ideal "good keyboard" feel in your "muscle memory".
Try playing something you already know on the keyboard to
see if it suits you. Keyboard feel ranges from organ-like,
mushier feels to weighted, piano-like actions. If the keyboard
has aftertouch, try it out and see if it's intuitive enough
for you. Try out the modulation controllers (joystick,
mod wheel, pedals, what have you) and see if they feel
sturdy enough to stand up to some abuse. Try the buttons
and sliders (and knobs and switches, if the keyboard has
them) to make sure that they feel solid and dependable.
If you're buying a used keyboard, check buttons to make
sure they all work, and check sliders and knobs to make
sure they track evenly through their full range.
- Price. I waited to mention this here because if you hate the way
it sounds, or can't stand to use it, it doesn't matter how much
how much you saved. Don't talk yourself into a keyboard that
doesn't satisfy you purely on monetary grounds. If you have to,
wait.
- Quality of manuals. Be sure to inquire if there are
third-party books on programming or using the keyboard.
You may want to buy a copy of the keyboard's documentation
to review at home before making your final decision.
- Number of voices and multitimbrality. This is essentially
the number of simultaneous noises that your keyboard can
make. In the case of a keyboard, polyphony (as interpreted by
the marketing department) means "the number of different waveforms
which can be produced at once". This is an important distinction
to remember; many current keyboards will actually use more than
one waveform simultaneously to produce the sound (usually called
a "patch", referring to how older synthesizers were programmed
with "patch cords"), which you hear when a single key is struck.
For instance, if a keyboard has 32-voice polyphony and uses four
simultaneous waveforms to produce a single note, the effective
polyphony (in the first sense, "more than one note at once") is
now only eight (eight notes * 4 waveforms/voice = 32 waveforms).
This problem can be even worse for a multitimbral keyboard; these
are commonly touted as being a complete composing and performing
solution in a single box. However, attempting to produce an entire
arrangement of a piece at once may very well exceed the effective
polyphony very quickly. Multitimbral synths may be able to play
several patches at once, but each note being played on a patch
reduces the number of waveforms left to produce another note on
any of the patches. For example, a standard drum track will
typically use at least four (and possibly more) waveforms at
some point: bass drum, snare, hi-hat, and ride cymbal. Remember
that even if they all only come together at one sixteenth note,
all of the voices will be required at once. Add in piano and
several other voices, and you will be getting close to or
exceeding the effective polyphony very quickly.
When you exceed the number of waveforms that can be produced
simultaneously, the keyboard will do one of two things: old
(already-sounding) voices will have to be silenced to get
waveforms for the new ones (this is called "voice stealing"),
or the new notes simply won't sound until the old ones are
released (this is less common). Some keyboards allow you to
assign "priorities" to voices to determine which ones
can be stolen from first. Others simply take the oldest voice
and give its waveforms to the new note.
You will have to determine the effective polyphony to decide
whether a given keyboard has enough voices for you. This can be
somewhat difficult. It is essential that you check this out
hands-on. Play the sounds available in the store with as many
fingers on the keys as you will use in normal playing for those
sounds. If you like fat two-handed minor 11ths, you'll need a lot
more polyphony than players who only play one or two notes at a time.
If your playing isn't quite up to the challenge, try choosing a
patch and paying a number of notes with the sustain pedal held
down. See how the keyboard handles it when the polyphony is
exceeded. Another good test is to hit a high note and then see
how many low notes you can play before the high note disappears.
- Many newer synths include built-in effects processing.
See if it's possible to turn this off, or to route the
signals so that they aren't processed. You may want to be
able to process the sounds differently at a later date, so
being able to not process them internally is useful. Try out
the different effects and see if you like what they do. Again,
remember that multitimbral keyboards will usually force you
to choose a single effect (or none at all) for all of the
voices.
- Built-in sequencer. If you don't have a computer at home,
or you'd prefer to spend more money on the keyboard and
less on other things, consider a keyboard with a built-in
sequencer. You should sit down and actually try to use it
before springing for a keyboard on this basis; some are
very difficult to use and fairly limited in function.
- Availability of additional sounds. This may or may not be
important to you. If you want to make your own sounds, look
into the keyboard's voice architecture and programming. Get
the salesperson to demonstrate if possible. If you find it
confusing, you may find it difficult to program. If you want
to purchase third-party sounds, talk to the dealer about what's
available, and check out the ads in Keyboard magazine.
You should never buy any keyboard without trying it. Ways to do this:
talk to friends who own keyboards and get them to let you try them.
Ask as many questions as you can think of. If a local junior or
community college has a music lab, see what they've got and take some
classes. Or go to a local dealer. It's better to at least see a
keyboard once before asking about it on the discussion groups (SYNTH-L
or rec.music.synth), simply because there are a lot of personal
decisions to get out of the way first.
Certainly, the music store is a good place to at least try keyboards.
Try to hit the store when fewer people are likely to be there, like late
afternoon around dinnertime, or early in the morning. A good salesperson
won't be afraid to tell you that they don't have what you need, and won't
push something on you as "really hot" without justification. He or she
will also spend time talking to you about what you want to do and help
steer you toward features on different machines that will be useful
to you.
Never let yourself be stampeded into buying X as soon as you walk in.
If it's a legitimate deal, you will be able to come back later after
you check with the competition. For this reason, it's usually not a
good idea to buy a synth at a clearance sale or a "one-day-only"
special unless you're already sure that it's what you want.
Don't buy what it'll do "real soon now". Manufacturers are famous for
advertising upgrades, new patches, and lots of other things that you
can get right now that will "make it the most powerful synth available".
Always treat any keyboard purchase as if the company were going to
vanish tomorrow. You can only count on getting what you bought today
(Metlay's Law). Sometimes you can't even count on that (Rothwell's
Observation on Metlay's Law).
There are lots of variations on the "promise", some more subtle than others.
"Famous person X uses this," implying that you'll sound like X. Another one
is the inflated specs game: "16-bit sounds!" "32-voice polyphony!". None of
this makes the slightest bit of difference. If the sounds (or the potential)
of this keyboard right here, right now, don't make you want to sit down and
start writing music, the keyboard is worthless for you.
If your committment to keyboard playing is low, you may want to either
get a used keyboard, or to get a "consumer" multi-feature keyboard with
built-in accompaniment, etc. If you're unsure as to whether you'll want
to keep playing or not, you might want to consider purchasing a keyboard
which has been on the market for a year or so, but which is still very
popular. This will give you the chance to unload it used without taking
a complete bath on the money you spent.
If you are highly committed and motivated, and are planning to build a
studio over a period of time, you should carefully review *all* of the
synths available before making a choice. You may decide that a keyboard
which you can't currently afford would be a better long-term choice than
a different keyboard which doesn't meet your needs as well. Don't be
afraid to wait and save up some money; if for no other reason than the
heavy dependence on the music industry on them, electronic keyboards
are not likely to suddenly disappear like video games did in the '80's.
Once you've done the basic groundwork, and have narrowed the field a bit,
post a message to one of the discussion groups and ask for experiences,
and read reviews in Keyboard or Electronic Musician. Keyboard's reviews
tend to gloss over problems less. In many cases, you will get conflicting
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