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 Forum index » Instruments and Equipment » General Discussion
Researching My Next MIDI Keyboard Controller
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deckard



Joined: Jun 12, 2007
Posts: 3
Location: Ohio

PostPosted: Tue Jun 12, 2007 2:07 pm    Post subject:  Researching My Next MIDI Keyboard Controller
Subject description: MIDI Keyboard Controller Selections
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Well it finally happened. The Ensoniq Mirage that I used to use as my main instrument in the 80s and then a MIDI controller (with Soundprocess OS) throughout the 90s and early 00s finally died last Thursday. 21 glorious years. Heh... works out to about $8 a month. So I'm in the market for a real MIDI controller and I'm looking for some suggestions.

I've been looking around and it's been a long time since I've bought real hardware based gear since I've been working with softsynths since 2001. So I was surprised to see that a few companies have exited the business altogether, other new ones have come up and a few old standbys are there, but are no less expensive than they used to be. One of the big changes for me also is that I now have a kid, so I can't be as free with my spending as I used to be. (ie. I'm on a tight budget now)

Although I haven't ruled out buying a synth or workstation, they're all a bit more than I'd like to spend. And since the 90s I've fantasized about having an 88 key controller. I've also moved to the Linux platform (don't ask, I like it, end of story) so I need something that's pretty basic in terms of communication. Some USB stuff will work, but I really just need MIDI, I think...

What I've found is that the ones I can probably easily afford (Fatar/Soundlogic and M-Audio Prokeys) seem to have a lot of complaints about velocity sensitivity. This concerns me as I really like the dynamics I used to get out of my Mirage keyboard and really don't want to miss out on that. The CME UF8 sounds promising, but even there I've heard that people don't like them some times. Someone suggested the Kurzweil PCX1 which seems OK, but it's over $1000 which is too much for me at the moment. One line of thinking is telling me to go with a cheap one for now and then in a year's time move up to something more akin to what I really want.

I've looked around on Ebay for old Ensoniq Mirage keyboards to see if I could get replacement parts, but as far as I'm concerned it's a dead horse that needs no more beating. I've also considered looking for the well regarded controllers of the 90s (Yamaha KXnn series for example), but seeing that I've been out of the loop for a while, I'm not sure that's the answer either. My reason for wanting the full 88 keys is that I've always liked the freedom of just playing naturally rather than having to play a part, record it, transpose and then play the missing bits.

I've also wondered about the "hammer action". I've lived with the Mirage's "mushy" keys for over two decades, so it's not that important to me, but it would be nice. However, how much does it really affect playing drum parts for example. I've heard some people say that the slower action makes it hard to play drums. I have a Roland R-70 drum machine (also on it's last legs audio-wise) which I figured I could use as a trigger pad for Qsampler (the Linux Gigasampler clone). So... with all that said, here's kind of what I'm thinking in terms of features:

-88 keys
-Good velocity tracking
-Polyphonic aftertouch would be nice but it's not a show stopper
-Pitch and Mod Wheel
-A good set of MIDI mappable sliders, buttons and knobs
-USB would be nice but so far it seems that only the M-Audio devices have been made to work in Linux
-Record transport buttons to control my MIDI sequencer or DAW (Rosegarden and Ardour respectively)
-A good feel whether that's "synth action" or "hammer action"

If I go with hammer action, then it's likely I might wind up just buying another pad controller later for drum parts if I can't play them as easily on the keyboard.

So far, I'm still thinking the CME UF8 based on what I've listed above. Finally, any good places to buy? I'm in the U.S. and I've dealt with Sweetwater sound online in the past as well as Guitar Center locally. Any other places I should be looking? Any brands other than Yamaha, Roland, Edirol, CME, Fatar/Soundlogic, M-Audio, Kurzweil that I should consider?
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seraph
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Joined: Jun 21, 2003
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 12, 2007 2:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Hi deckard
welcome to electro-music.com Very Happy
(you enjoy to "retire" replicants, don't you? Wink )
You seem to have thoroughly researched the matter of MIDI keyboard controller. So let us know what was your choice Exclamation

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Antimon



Joined: Jan 18, 2005
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I found a second hand KX88 a couple of years ago, which works great for me, albeit confusing to configure if you want to send MIDI commands with the sliders.

/Stefan

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deckard



Joined: Jun 12, 2007
Posts: 3
Location: Ohio

PostPosted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 4:37 am    Post subject: Welly Welly Well... Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

With any luck. I may be going to a local shop to take a look at their demo room to try out a few controllers. I'm not holding out for much though since the last time I was in a musician's shop just looking around (maybe 2000), the keyboard display was dwarfed by the guitar display. If I discover anything new for myself, I'll post it here hoping it might help someone else out. But yeah... I think picking out a controller is a pretty personal choice since everyone plays differently.
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deckard



Joined: Jun 12, 2007
Posts: 3
Location: Ohio

PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 12:53 pm    Post subject: The Search Continues... Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

So yesterday I went to a local music equipment store to check out the controllers I've been thinking about and it's still inconclusive. The M-Audio controllers look very chintzy. The bodies are completely made out of plastic and have that silver 80s "boom box" coloring. The one with the "hammer action" feels only somewhat like a piano but more like a MIDI keyboard with stuck keys. I can't see it lasting (which matches what I've heard online). The big pluses are that it has usb class support which means it will work with Linux (ALSA more specifically) which is good for me since that's my chosen audio/music production OS.

The problem at the store is that since these things are powered via USB, they don't have any set up for demo beyond just touching them in a powered off state. The guy was going to try and hook it up to a sound module until I reminded him that they need a special power adapter which is sold separately or a USB connection. So no dice... He tried to steer me towards the E-mu stuff (I thought they were dead but they're barely around) which looked and felt only slightly better than the M-Audio and were more expensive (but still in the under $500 price range). Unfortunately none of those were hooked up for demo either. So I have no idea about velocity sensitivity at all. Which means... I won't be buying them until I've tried them first.

I found a digital stage piano that I really liked from Roland. It had a great feel, 88 keys, and decent piano sounds although with virtual instruments I don't really think that's a selling point these days. It was also $1395. So that puts it out of reach for me for at least a year. I didn't like the Yamaha stuff at all. And pretty much everything else was out of my price range. I REALLY want an 88 key controller, but if I'm stuck buying cheap and low quality stuff like the M-Audio or E-mu stuff, then I'm probably going to buy a 61 key controller and save up for something like the Roland next year. I still have yet to see a CME UF8. But supposedly it works with ALSA's snd-usb-midi driver (Linux stuff) just like the M-Audio. It just seems that more people talk about the M-Audio in the Linux world. I'm really going to have to go out and see if any other stores have the CME controllers on display.
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