midi controllers + softsynth

[jon__]

hey guys, my band is looking into getting a softsynth setup going to fill out our sound. we're planning on buying a basic midi controller and maybe a floor controller and hooking it/them up to one of our laptops for looping lead lines and textural sounds/sound effects. we were looking at the microkorg but decided that it's a waste to spend so much on something we will definitely underutilize as we don't have a keyboard player.

what recommendations do you guys have for basic midi controllers? we're just looking for a very simple 37-key controller (we're using it as part of a looping setup so a wider octave range isn't necessary) with trigger pads for sampling noises and mod/pitch bend wheels, preferably in the 200-400 dollar range. for the floor controller, i was thinking of the korg pk-5 but i can't find it anywhere. is it discontinued/are there any other options?
also, what kind of software should we use? we just want basic synth functionality, mostly for pads/sine/square/sawtooth wave leads. we currently have cubase se and logic, how could we use those in conjunction with a softsynth setup? do we need to buy a midi interface like the m-audio midsport to get this all hooked up? and is it possible to do live looping without a looping pedal on the floor?

thanks in advance

 

[lowjk]

hey guys, my band is looking into getting a softsynth setup going to fill out our sound. we're planning on buying a basic midi controller and maybe a floor controller and hooking it/them up to one of our laptops for looping lead lines and textural sounds/sound effects. we were looking at the microkorg but decided that it's a waste to spend so much on something we will definitely underutilize as we don't have a keyboard player.

Why not consider the Akai MPD-16 if you are using it mainly to trigger loops and samples and not really playing back keys.

Can be had for USD$99 from most US online store. Get it shipped via Vpost. Most likely will cost you less than S$250.

 

[Cheez]

I believe you meant the Roland PK-5 not Korg. I would agree with lowjk - there are a number of sample loop triggers using pads instead of keys out there (Roland, Korg etc) that may suit your needs. But the Akai MPD 16 looks like a no frills cheap solution.

If you really want keys, one of the M-audio's controllers like Oxygen8 (25 keys). They are all USB so no need for extra midi interfaces. So is the Akai MPD16.

 

[The-Warlord]

Look at M-Audio's Oxygen 8's also.