I have a Pentium II PC running Windows XP with PCI slots.  I also have
a Korg PA-60 Professional Arranger synthesizer.  I want to connect my
synthesizer to my PC such that it becomes the MIDI input and output
device for my various music software.

I believe the solution is to purchase and install some sort of "MIDI
in/out PCI card" for my PC.  My question is, what kind of card do I
need?  What is a good cheap specific one to get?  Are there any
options or characteristics that need to be considered when purchasing
one of these cards, or are they all basically the same (like network
cards)?

Please note, first and foremost I am after the suggestion of a
*specific* card (manufacturer, model, product web page) to purchase
that will solve the problem.

tomazos...

I have a setup like you've described, with my Kurzweil K2500
being hooked to the joystick port of my soundcard, and acting
as the midi device for my computer. I've done this with two
soundcards, so far, and will recommend to you the one I plan
to obtain eventually. I've used this setup with the earlier
SoundBlaster AWE64, and it worked fine. I now have a cheap
C-Media card, and it also works just fine.

My former neighbor was a professional musician with a killer
home studio - the best of everything. When I asked him what
sound card he recommended, he quickly suggested Turtle Beach.

Turtle Beach's latest card is the Santa Cruz:

"Santa Cruz combines cutting-edge technology, audiophile
 sonic-quality and an unprecedented array of features to
 deliver PC audio performance normally reserved for the
 finest home audio equipment. Advanced design features
 such as multi-channel outputs, wide-bandwidth, low-noise
 amplifiers and high-resolution converters, accurately
 deliver the highest fidelity for playing digital music,
 CDs, DVDs and interactive multi-channel games."
http://www.turtlebeach.com/site/products/santacruz/producthome.asp

A detailed look at the Santa Cruz is here:
http://www.turtlebeach.com/site/products/santacruz/indetail.asp

You'll also need the PC MIDI Adapter Cable (Male or Female,
depending on your soundcard's midi connector (you piggyback
the midi connector and your joystick into the joystick input
of your sound card).  This lets you hook into your synth's
midi-in and midi-out with the 5-pin DIN connectors. You can
see those on this page:
http://www.turtlebeach.com/site/products/accessories/producthome.asp


If you want another option, Creative's latest SoundBlaster
card is quite sophisticated (and expensive) - the Audigy 2:

"Sound Blaster Audigy 2 lets you make rich 24-bit recordings
 to your PC with an unprecedented 24-bit/96kHz recording
 capability, while ASIO support allows compatible music
 creation software to link directly to ASIO compliant
 hardware, allowing multi-channel recording simultaneously
 at 16-bit/48khz at ultra low latency of <=2ms."
http://www.soundblaster.com/products/audigy2/

All of these are 24-bit cards:
Audigy 2 Platinum eX - $249.99
Audigy 2 Platinum    - $199.99
Audigy 2             - $129.99
Audigy MP3           - $ 79.99
http://www.americas.creative.com/shop/shopcategory.asp?Category=239

Both of these are exceptional products and will serve you well.


If you already have a sound card, you can test its performance
first, using one of the cables above (or you can probably get
one at Radio Shack), and hooking it into the joystick port of
your current card.

Please do not rate this answer until you are satisfied that
the answer cannot be improved upon by means of a dialog
established through the "Request for Clarification" process.

sublime1-ga


Searches done, via Google:

Turtle Beach
://www.google.com/search?q=Turtle+Beach

Creative Labs
://www.google.com/search?q=Creative+Labs

Hi tomazos,

In addition to the fine answer provided by sublime1, you may find the
following links helpful.

This article from Turtle Beach tells you how to connect your
synthesizer to your PC.  It describes the different types of cables,
how to connect the cables to your synthesizer and soundcard, and how
to set up your software in Windows.  This information would be useful
even if you buy a non-Turtle Beach soundcard.
http://www.turtlebeach.com/site/kb_ftp/8903005.asp

This article, written by Gerry Tschetter of Yamaha, also tells you how
to connect your synthesizer to your PC.  While not as illustrative as
the Turtle Beach article, it does provide a lot of information on how
to troubleshoot any soundcard or synthesizer/PC connection problems
you may have.
http://www.graveline.com/nav/miditrouble.html


Search strategy:
keywords: (connect OR connecting) synthesizer pc


Regards,
sldreamer