Use pc keyboard to input midi signals to DAW? Like on mac?

[eirikur]

Ok.. here's the deal.. If I have nothing but my keyboard and want to input midi signals/"play" midi signals by using my keyboard, how can I do that on pc?
I've seen quite a few mac users use their keyboard like this, it's got to be possible on pc as well?

Would be great to have this option when testing out new samples/vstis etc, or even programming simple click tracks.

Anyone done this on pc?

[manning1]

hitsquad.com
look in the midi software section.

[eirikur]

Thanks for your reply manning1.
I tried looking, but couldn't find a good way to search for an app that would do what I want, and there are soooo many midi utilities and midi controller apps there...

Could you point me in the right direction if you know something good?

Thanks!

[stag]

If you are using a host supporting VST, Axxeom Trollo.
You just have to disable Key commands on SX3 preferences.
Trollo should come with every laptop, is a lot of fun to use.

http://www.axxeom.fsnet.co.uk/trollo.htm

Bye.

[theblue1]

A lot of music apps used (some still do) to come with a 'map-to-MIDI' applet that could turn your computer keyboard into a very imprecise MIDI input device.

But the timing issues for such applets usually made them all but unusable for anything but fooling around. Perhaps as machines have gotten so much faster, it's taken up the slack on that kind of application.

But, heck, you can get a tiny, quite portable MIDI keyboard for not much more than the price of a good pc type-keyboard when I started out (ah... the days when a keyboard for your PC could cost a hundred bucks or more... don't miss 'em).