With computer horse power rising by the second, the decision to keep your musical instruments in the physical realm versus the virtual has never been harder to determine, especially for the keyboard users of the world. With so many new options and variables that come into play with each new innovation in the industry, it has become much more difficult to decide which choice may be best for you. From determining which route is most cost effective and just how expandable each can be, to understanding the technical aspects that can be quite jarring to the first time buyer. In this article I will help you figure out if purchasing an all in one keyboard workstation or just a simple midi controller with a module or software is a better choice for your budget and needs.

Musical instruments over the years have slowly been adapted to the digital format but none so prominently as the piano which became the keyboard. The first major innovation came in the 60's when Bob Moog unveiled his Moog series of keyboards. While still analog, these advancements set the stage for the digital revolution to begin. Today the choice to setup a keyboard workstation using a computer and software is much debated just as the analog versus digital audiophiles have squabbled about for decades now.

So that leaves us with the current set of choices that seem to be most prevalent among new keyboard purchasers. Do you buy the all in one workstation which would be considered the more traditional route or do you go the newer computer/software road. There are many things to consider before making your choice and hopefully I will be able to shed some new light on which one is right for you. First things first lets see what makes up each keyboard setup. For the workstation its simply the keyboard along with any accessories you would want to include, but for the most part everything you need is built into the synthesizer. Things are a bit more difficult for using software. Your brains of the operation will be a computer so if you want this to be portable then you will have to use a laptop.

After the computer, a sound card will be needed in order process the digital signal. You can try using what is already built in to your computer but the latency will probably to much to overcome. There are many way to go when purchasing a sound card but buying an external card will save in setup costs unless you are comfortable with installing it yourself. We will also need a midi keyboard controller and the software package that you prefer. Once you have that then you have a solid software setup ready for use.

If you haven't noticed by now the computer setup is much more difficult to get going then the plug and play workstation. Should I even consider this as an option for me? The answer is yes! While it is more of a headache to get started, the quality of sounds and options can't be beat. Add to that the ability to add-on as much or as little as you want and this now becomes a strong candidate. The audio-card also enables recording on your computer as well. If you were to purchase an M-box audio-card then that would come with the Pro-Tools software that could be used to record or for live shows as well.

In the end you have to decide whether or not ease of setup and portability is more important than quality of sounds and endless extensibility. Not to mention that going this route sets you up with a mini home recording studio as well. A lot of workstations may allow some basic recording functionality but this will allow for recording any instruments you want and make for a very conducive writing environment for band situations.

Some great soft synths to start out on would be anything by Native Instruments. Another favorite of many are the libraries made by East West. They will record in various concert halls, using the best microphones available and create small wav files from popular string or woodwind instruments. With a simple midi keyboard you can control each sound and build an entire orchestral piece that would be impossible to do with just a workstation.

Now to the main concern of most, what will each cost me? If portability is a must then a laptop is a must as well. If you do not have one then your overall price of a software setup will go way up. You will probably spend between 1 to 4 thousand dollars on a quality workstation so if a laptop is not needed then it is probably cheaper to go with a software setup.

If you add up software, controller and sound-card, it could be under a grand depending on how much software you buy but keep in mind that some of the really good software from East West and others can add up quick, although they have dropped their prices tremendously over the last few years. Hopefully you have gained a better sense of what each product variations could benefit you best and also help demystify the world of software based keyboard solutions.