The truth is they haven’t gotten much better in the last 20 years. Due to the requirement that at least one cycle is necessary to detect pitch, the lower strings in particular suffer from noticeable latency, and even if your playing is extremely precise you end up getting misfired notes all over the place. For live playing, I consider this a non-starter, but even editing MIDI data entered this way afterward is a big pain in the ass. My solution to this (as someone whose brain works better using a guitar, my first instrument) was to find an isomorphic layout MIDI controller which imitates a guitar’s fingerboard. Mine is a custom mechanical keyboard, but these days there are quite a few affordable controllers that support this kind of layout. Answer from soon_come on reddit.com
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Guitar Center
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MIDI Keyboard Controllers | Guitar Center
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Guitar Center
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Keyboards & MIDI | Guitar Center
Enjoy the lowest prices and best selection of Keyboards & MIDI at Guitar Center. Most orders are eligible for free shipping.
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Amazon
amazon.com › Guitar-MIDI › s
Amazon.com: Guitar MIDI
AEROBAND Black Full-Size Guitar-Shaped MIDI Controller, MIDI Guitar, Music Creation (With Bag) · USB Charging Smart Acoustic Electric Pocket Travel Chord Practice Portable Guitar Neck for Beginner AI LCD (BLACK) · AeroBand Guitar Smart Guitar With Silicone Strings, Travel Silent Guitar With ...
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Gearank
gearank.com › home › best budget midi keyboard for music on the move
Best Budget MIDI Keyboard Controllers - Under $100
August 7, 2025 - While the mini keys and built-in thumbstick may not appeal to all users, the Akai MPK Mini MK III remains a versatile and budget-friendly MIDI controller with impressive features.
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Producer Hive
producerhive.com › home › buyer guides › midi controllers › we tried 7 midi guitar controllers (here are the best)
We Tried 7 MIDI Guitar Controllers (Here Are The Best)
April 8, 2025 - Unlike most options on this list, the Jamstik Studio is modeled exactly like a standard headless, 24-fret electric guitar. While not 100% perfect, the MIDI responsiveness is one of the best we’ve tried and champions both feel and performance ...
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Guitar Center
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Used MIDI Keyboard Controllers | Guitar Center
Save money on Used MIDI Keyboard Controllers at Guitar Center. All pre-owned items are rated and scored. Buy online or at your local store today!
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/midi › midi keyboard and electric guitar setup
r/midi on Reddit: Midi keyboard and electric guitar setup
February 25, 2023 -

I am new to the whole digital instruments environment and learning every day.

Currently I am about to order some gear to get started, but with all the available information out there its sometimes quite hard to see what is actually needed. Therefore reaching out to this community!

At the moment I own a pc, wireless headphone and an electric guitar. What I want to start with is getting the electric guitar to work with the PC. For this reason (I think) an audio interface is needed.

But I also am interested in getting a Arturia Keylab 49 MIDI controller. Now I am not really sure if I need an audio interface to connect the Keylab to the PC or if I can or should connect it directly. Or perhaps both are possible?

Once known I can decide to get the interface for 2 inputs instead of 1 (for the electric guitar).

Hope some of you can help a new comer out!

Top answer
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Ok shirt simple way Ficusrite scarlet solo. Cheap entry level and gen 2s are cheap on 2nd hand so you can pop ya cherry. Download reaper a DAW that is commercial grade but nag ware so you buy it when you make money with it sorta idea. YouTube reaper mania who is basically your tutor for basics of everything’s. You plug guitar into scarlet and a stage mic with XLR connections. Turn the 48v button on on the mic as you need power to feed mics. You can also use things like pedals before the focusrite just set the gain so it does not clip. You also have VSTs These are like DAWs version of a guitar pedal or so to speak with everything from eq compressors to loopers and even instruments. There are a slew of free things with reaper to the point you can see sliders for everything and even write your own if you want. After that it’s pretty much record into reaper. The things you will need to understand that ain’t obvious is automation. This is like fade in fade out channels or changing settings like reverb. You can even trigger midi pedals like Axfx kemper helix some amps synths etc you have a backing track with individual instruments so if a bass guy gets laid or drummer isn’t coming to a rehearsal you can mute etc. then you can play live with it even with lights video etc. or use it as a recording system with takes and punching out etc like all the protools things You should be able to do everything you need to make a good recording for Spotify etc with just the focusrite and reaper if you spend a little time with reaper mania YouTube tutorials. It’s a journey but as someone who has been doing it since the 90s the entry point for home studios is now almost zero. Just an interface and a Mac or pc and your have all the hardware required
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I use an Alesis Multimix 4 as my usb interface. It has 1 stereo channel and 2 mono, one with a preamp so you can plug your guitar directly into it. It also has xlr inputs. I recently purchased an Arturia KeyStep with 32 keys and it came with a free download for Ableton Live Lite. I'm not much into DAWs, but it has a bunch of instruments that the KeyStep will play and seems like it'll be a lot of fun to experiment with. My setup is much more complex than this, but that info is superfluous to this question.
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Guitar Center
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Used Keyboards & MIDI Controllers
Save money on Used Keyboards & MIDI at Guitar Center. All pre-owned items are rated and scored. Buy online or at your local store today!
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Guitar Center
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49 Key MIDI Keyboard Controllers | Guitar Center
Enjoy the lowest prices and best selection of 49 Key MIDI Keyboard Controllers at Guitar Center. Most orders are eligible for free shipping.
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Starr Labs
starrlabs.com › home › ztar midi guitar controllers
Ztar MIDI Guitar Controllers | Starr Labs
Ztar Midi Guitar Controllers · $2,995.00 · $995.00 · $2,995.00 · Sale! $2,195.00 Original price was: $2,195.00. $1,756.00Current price is: $1,756.00. $2,495.00 · $3,495.00 · $3,995.00 · Sale!
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MusicRadar
musicradar.com › tech › midi controllers
Best MIDI keyboards 2025: Find the perfect match for your studio workflow
November 18, 2025 - My expert guide to the best MIDI keyboards of all sizes and budgets to integrate with your home studio · When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. ... If you're looking for the best MIDI keyboard that fits the way you make music, then you're in the right place.
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Gear4music
gear4music.com › blog › best-budget-midi-keyboards
The 12 Best Budget MIDI Keyboards - Our Favourites Under £100
October 14, 2025 - With 25 velocity-sensitive keys, its size is manageable for learning and offers enough octaves to play a wide range of music. The keyboard also offers easy integration with software, and it’s within a budget price range. The main difference between cheap and expensive MIDI keyboards lies in build quality, features, and key action.
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Guitar Center
guitarcenter.com › home › keyboards & midi › midi › midi controllers › midi keyboard controllers › 25 key midi keyboard controllers
25 Key MIDI Keyboard Controllers | Guitar Center
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Guitar Center
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61 Key MIDI Keyboard Controllers | Guitar Center
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Guitar Center
guitarcenter.com › MIDI-Controllers.gc
MIDI Controllers | Guitar Center
Enjoy the lowest prices and best selection of MIDI Controllers at Guitar Center. Most orders are eligible for free shipping.
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MusicRadar
musicradar.com › tech › midi controllers
Best cheap MIDI keyboards 2025: Inexpensive MIDI controllers starting at just £39/$49
February 5, 2025 - Start making music for less with our selection of affordable MIDI keyboards from Arturia, Akai, Nektar, Novation, and more · When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. ... Of all the reasons we tell ourselves we can't record our own music, not having enough budget for the right gear definitely comes up quite often. In reality however, making music has never been more accessible, and armed with just a computer and one of the best cheap MIDI keyboards you can start creating songs for relatively little outlay.
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Traveling Guitarist
travelingguitarist.com › guitar-as-midi-controller-tutorial
How to Use Your Guitar As A MIDI Controller [Full Guide] – Traveling Guitarist
MiGiC is an audio-to-MIDI conversion software similar to Jam Origin’s MIDI Guitar 2. Its interface is sleek and easy to use, and the tracking works well. It’s a somewhat cheaper option that still works decently well.
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Starr Labs
starrlabs.com › home
Custom MIDI Controllers | Starr Labs |
August 28, 2025 - Shop custom MIDI guitar controllers designed for musicians and producers. Enhance your creativity with innovative, versatile, and responsive MIDI controllers built for seamless music production and live performance.