Great Keyboard Sound on a Budget

It all boils down to quality, flexibility, and ease of use.

If you want all of these elements, then you are going to shell out some cash. Fortunately for us keyboard players, there are a lot of options out there.

If you want to have the exact patches and sounds that they use on Hillsong, Jesus Culture, Bethel, and other albums, then you are going to have to invest. This means having a ‘host’ like MainStage 3, Pro Tools, or Logic. It also means having Virtual Instruments like Omnisphere, Trillian, Native Instruments Komplete, or Ivory. These can run anywhere from $200-$500.

You'll also need a good computer, and external hard drives along with a keyboard. So what do you do if you don’t have thousands of dollars to spend on gear and software?

MainStage

Apple’s MainStage 3 program is a great host software and it's not only a host, it’s a great synth in its own right. The best part is that it’s only $30! You can’t beat this price for the features. The only downside (if you're a PC person) is that it is Mac only.

MultiTracks.com now sells patches and sounds made by top keyboard producers for artists like Hillsong, Jesus Culture, and more. Best of all, they are making these patches for MainStage by itself for those who don’t have all the software toys. Simply create an account with MultiTracks and you can purchase sounds on the cheap.

If you want a really good sounding acoustic piano, Mellow Pianos by Peter James is the way to go. You simply need to download a free Steinway Sample Library and purchase the Mellow Pianos pack for about $25, and you’re golden! 

If you already have a good computer and a nice keyboard, you can get into the software world for under $100 and have really good sounds. This would be the first place I would start if I were just getting into it, especially on a budget.