midi sound card

[boi]

i'm very much a beginner in the audio world.
right now all i want to be able to do is plug a keyboard into my computer and be able to compose music (using finale or a similar sort of program).
what's a cheap sound card that accepts midi input that will work on my mac?
what's a cheap keyboard that will work with this soundcard? i don't even need any effects (i can apply those with software, right?).

thanks in advance.

[Rhino_G3]

actualy, most MIDI is done through an interface such as USB or serial rather than the sound card. MIDI is just a digital representation of the music you're wanting to play. It doesn't actualy store sound, it stores data that your MIDI "instrument" plays.
Unfortunately I'm not sure where to find a good MIDI USB adapter that would be OS X compatable.

To answer your last question, most of your effects are applied within software, although if you're sticking with strictly MIDI files you're fairly limited to the effects that you can use. If you're looking to export to AIFF or WAV you can then go crazy with your effects.

[dlloyd]

Try the Edirol site.
I use their UM-4 interface , and it works fine for me. I don't know if they make this model any more, but like I said, I'm not sure.
For what you are trying to do, the UM-2, UM-1 UM-1S would work fine. All of these are USB, and execpt for the UM-1, all need MIDI Cables to connect to other MIDI devices.
If you are looking for an internal card, then I'm afraid I can't help...Try the Edirol site.
I use their UM-4 interface , and it works fine for me. I don't know if they make this model any more, but like I said, I'm not sure.
For what you are trying to do, the UM-2, UM-1 UM-1S would work fine. All of these are USB, and execpt for the UM-1, all need MIDI Cables to connect to other MIDI devices.

I don't remember if this is OS X compatible, but I think it is.

If you are looking for an internal card, then I'm afraid I can't help...

[boi]

sweet. the edirol stuff is right in my budget. thanks for the information.

[arri]

or this:
http://www.midiman.com/products/midiman/usbmidi.php

i only know the 1x1, which is good

arri

[dlloyd]

I am sorry that I didn't post a link, I wrote that a while back for someone else, and I just copied and pasted it over.
Now I just checked, and Edirol claims that all their MIDI interfaces are Mac OSX compatable. I just tried to test this, but for some strange reason, Encore keeps crashing on me, so I'll just have to take their word for it.
Now, this brings me to my second point: you will also need some sort of program to capture the input. I use Encore (http://www.gvox.com/), but only because that is what I have the legal version to.
There are also others. GVox also makes a cheaper notation program called MusicTime, which is probably more of what you are looking for.
Sibelius (http://www.sibelius.com/products/sibelius/) is the most powerful, or at least the most expensive.
There are also several made by Coda Music Technology (http://www.codamusic.com/), the best known of which is Finale. Finale Notepad, made by them, is a free download, but does not allow you to play the keyboard and have the program automatically write out what you are playing.
The last one I know about is Notehead's Igor Engraver (http://www.noteheads.com/igor/igor.html). This used to be free, but it has developed into what looks like a really nice piece of software, so it is now $265.
These are the only ones that I know about, and it is unfortunate that they are all so expensive. If you have a student ID, then some of them are cheaper, but you will need one of these programs to use your MIDI device properly.
I think, assuming you do not yet have a program, that I would start off with GVox's MusicTime, because this has most of the features of the others, for about half the price of the next one up.

Anyway, good luck!