Question 1

I am new to midi controller. Could somebody tell me where I can get the information on how to use it to play the sound of piano, guitar, drums? I need to know this before buying the controller. Thks.

Accepted Answer

Basically the Midi controller  simply inputs the loudness/ softness of the tone..ie how hard you hit the keyboard and the speed of your articulation. The next step is to use an Apple or PC, you will get what are called " virtual instruments"..for example  I use Ivory 2/ Italian Grand, I select that, then input  in " Ivory 2 " what your Midi is or select it, select your sound output device( usually a sound card) and then the sound card will need to be connected to some speakers or a good pair of headphones, say Sennheisers for instance.For drums  you can use the keyboard, but it will be your fingers doing the drumming, if you don't like that idea, then consider getting some Virtual or Electronic drums with Midi  connectivity and  the VST instrument called " Addictive Drums" the best out there.For the best " Flamenco/ Spanish guitar" I would suggest East/West' s " Gypsy" collection..all of these v" virtual instruments have what are called " key switches" which allow you to input different articulations " while you are playing"  with Vienna Instruments you can now sequence then into the performance. the more you practice at it the better and more convincing the  sound.Lastly if you are doing this consider getting a reasonably powerful PC/ Apple,  the best sound card you can afford( RME/ Lynx ) if you not Professional, then Asus makes a very nice line with the Sonar Essence STX with its own headphone amp and jack, so you don't need a HiFi system. If you going Apple, you can use you iPad with the RME Babyface, they have an app that works very nicely with good latency.If you are new to computer recording, do your research. If you are going the PC route, remember  the Achilles Heel for PC is poor latency compared to Mac. Get teh best motherboard/cpu/ memory and soundcard you can afford that is " future proof".. You will need if you  use East West and some other VST instruments a minimum of 12 gigs of memory. Feel free to ask any more questions I'd be glad to answer

Question 2

Does the a88 have the exact same keybed/action as the fantom x8 or s88?

Accepted Answer

I am not familiar with those keyboards. I had the earliest incarnation of the Roland from the early  to mid 90's, it was made in Italy and the keys, key response and realism were excellent.  This one is made in China, however there seems to have been pressure either from Roland or the company that made them for Roland to come up with something very close. That is pretty good in my books.
Now I don't even think about it, in other words the product is good to the point that it is not always in my mind, like gee this is terrible or wow cheap, or can't wait to upgrade. This has never entered my mind.. and its been  what..8 years now.

Question 3

Does this keyboard has stand to place note books

Accepted Answer

No it does not. You will have to get your own music stand as well as a stand for the keyboard or placed on a table.

Question 4

Does this keyboard have a mod wheel? The pictures don't zoom in close enough . . .

Accepted Answer

It doesn't have a traditional mod wheel no, it has a joystick type that you can use for both pitch and bend, once side for pitch and one side for bend.  It's on the far left in the lower corner. You can see it better here: https://www.roland.com/us/products/a-88/ if you scroll down a little you will see it in close up in the video still. Please let us know if you have any other questions, this is an awesome keyboard for the feel alone. Thank you, The Midi Store Team

Item Weight	15.9 Kilograms
Product Dimensions	27.3 x 144.3 x 11.6 cm; 15.9 kg
Item model number	A-88
Compatible Devices	Laptop
Hardware Interface	USB
Musical Style	Electronic
Number of Keyboard Keys	88

RolandA-88 MIDI Keyboard Controller

Details

Description

Specifications

Have a Question? See What Others Asked

Common Questions