# Yet another Keyboard controller discussion/ advice welcome



## pderbidge (Jan 12, 2019)

Let me first admit that I am not a great, or even a good Piano player. I grew up with a real piano and ever since have always had a real Piano in my home but all I do is bang out chords and mess around a bit so on one hand you might wonder why I even care about how the keybed feels, but let's just say that a better feeling keybed makes me "feel" like I'm a better player than I am. Of course, I'm asking for a lot because I really don't want to spend over $300 (I know, I know) So here we go --

I used to have a Roland XP-30 and that had a nearly perfect feeling keybed as an all around keyboard for anything from Piano to Synth to Orchestral. I should have never sold it but trying to change simple things like Midi channel was a little more cumbersome than I wanted to deal with but in hindsight it would've been worth dealing with. I'm not all that concerned with Pitch and Mod wheel since I can use a phone app or even my mini keyboard above my main keyboard for that. I'm mostly just looking for a keybed that feels decent.

I currently have an Axiom 61 (first gen) that I recently spilled soda on and now some of the lower keys have lost their velocity. I actually never cared for the feel of that one though. It felt sluggish, but that could have also been my playing.

I'm toying with the Idea of going 88 keys, which also narrows the field a bit but if I find a 61 key that feels better than I would go with that. I'm not really looking for a weighted keybed since none of them seem to feel like a real piano anyways plus, with one exception (the Williams Allegro) I feel like most weighted keyboards will feel sluggish for anything but piano playing. The Feel of keys is so personal so I'm not necessarily looking for advice on that but rather I'm looking to see who might have had experience with the Keyboards I mention here that could attest to their reliability.

If I were going to go with something weighted, I think the only one I found that I liked and didn't feel too slow was The Williams Allegro 2. I like the feel of it better than a lot of the really expensive ones by Roland and Yamaha etc... I found a review on Youtube of a performer who quite liked it and performs with it regularly and controls it with his Korg Minipad to easily switch between patches from his computer. He says the built in sounds are crap though but since I'm not looking for built in sounds then it may be worth considering.

Ones that I've actually been able to try and liked the feel of are:

Alesis Vi series. Definitely a sleeper around here I think. I've never heard it mentioned on Vicontrol but the feel is something I think a lot of people here would like.
M Audio Keystation MK3 (no 88 key version at the moment)- Felt better than the MK2 to me and the es series just felt too spongy for me.
Arturia Keylab Essentials (The non essentials feels a little better. I originally didn't like this as it felt a bit like a toy but when I hooked it up the velocity response was actually pretty good and the keys still had enough bounce back for quick playing.

Ones I didn't like:
NI A and S series. Some of those Fatar keybeds just give too much push back in my opinion and these felt a bit like the newer Akai keybeds which have way too much push back. The NI did feel a little better than the Akai though and I could learn to live with it, plus it has the widest keys (being full sized) which I like but I haven't quite bought into the Kontrol universe yet or else I might be more willing.
M Audio Oxygen- Just too spongy feeling. Code series felt decent though but I still think the Alesis felt much better.

Ones I haven't tried but could be possibly best kept secrets.

Midiplus Dreamer (61 and 88 key versions)- Literally 1 review on amazon that really talks it up and compares it to the feel of some higher end keyboards.
Midiplus X61 pro - Also looks to be decent.
Swinssonic Controlkey 88- Some trusted folks around here that like it so perhaps a safer bet than the Midiplus.
Nektar impact- Get great reviews but a little worried about the uneven playing between white and black keys but at my level of playing I may not even notice it.
iCon iKeyboards- Very few reviews, some good some bad. Bad seems mostly due to some products arriving defective/broken, but that could be due to shipping etc...Also I don't like how much they extended the left side of the keyboard with all those buttons. I know they said it was from customer feedback but I don't think customers meant to go that far.
Acorn Masterkey- Not much info. Reviews are hit and miss but most of the bad reviews were due to items that showed up broken and not based on the feel or play ability of the feel of the keys.

Well, that's about it. I know I didn't mention the Novation (impulse series felt good but it's too big, depthwise) and the Launchkey keys felt a little too small for my fat fingers but otherwise felt ok, perhaps a little better feeling than the Arturia if they were just a tad wider.

If you made it through this, thank your for taking the time and hopefully you might have some experience good or bad with any of these? Especially those Midiplus keyboards. They seem pretty interesting.


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## whiskers (Jan 12, 2019)

LX88 by Nektar got pretty good reviews IIRC.

I wasn't a huge fan of the Allegro... Have you looked at Casio Privia?


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## pderbidge (Jan 13, 2019)

whiskers said:


> LX88 by Nektar got pretty good reviews IIRC.
> 
> I wasn't a huge fan of the Allegro... Have you looked at Casio Privia?


Was it just the feel of the Allegro you didn't like? I actually liked the feel of it more than the Casio but the Casio did feel good too.


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## whiskers (Jan 13, 2019)

pderbidge said:


> Was it just the feel of the Allegro you didn't like? I actually liked the feel of it more than the Casio but the Casio did feel good too.


yep, just didn't care for the action. But as you say, it's a very personal/individual thing.


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## Wunderhorn (Jan 13, 2019)

I am currently using a Nektar Impact LX 88+ (and another Nektar GX-49 for keyswitching). I am quite happy with it. Yes, I sometimes miss the piano action from my former Roland A90ex but especially for orchestral work the Nektar is almost better suited. It has a real mod-wheel and reacts nicely to MIDI CC learn from Kontakt.

Also, the Nektars are built in a compact kind of way that does not waste a lot of space which might be a bonus if you like to be economical with desk space. And BTW the price felt right. No regret.

I am thinking of maybe getting a real upright piano for improvising and developing ideas. I may not actually need the real piano action in conjunction with the computer then at all.


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## pderbidge (Jan 13, 2019)

Wunderhorn said:


> I am currently using a Nektar Impact LX 88+ (and another Nektar GX-49 for keyswitching). I am quite happy with it. Yes, I sometimes miss the piano action from my former Roland A90ex but especially for orchestral work the Nektar is almost better suited. It has a real mod-wheel and reacts nicely to MIDI CC learn from Kontakt.
> 
> Also, the Nektars are built in a compact kind of way that does not waste a lot of space which might be a bonus if you like to be economical with desk space. And BTW the price felt right. No regret.
> 
> I am thinking of maybe getting a real upright piano for improvising and developing ideas. I may not actually need the real piano action in conjunction with the computer then at all.


I have an upright piano and honestly can't imagine having something with that kind of action for synths and strings and brass and drums etc... so I think the action on the Nektar sounds great. Regarding the unevenness that I've read about between the black keys and white keys is probably not that big of a deal given my lack of good piano skills so I'll be doing a lot of midi editing anyways, plus there is a plugin for Reaper that allows you to even out the velocity response between the black and white keys so if by chance it bugs me I'm sure that could solve my issue.You also didn't mention that this was an issue with you so it may be something that is not as big of a deal as it's made out to be, unless you are very susceptible to noticing that sort of thing.
Good point on the space saving ergonomics. That is important to me, especially if I go with an 88 key version so that is plus one for the Nektar. It also seems the Nektar is a fairly safe bet due to the number of good reviews that I can't find for many of the others. There is however a pretty good review on here from Guy Rowland about the Swissonic, and I can get it a bit cheaper than the Nektar, however I've heard the pads and sliders aren't as good as on the Nektar but I won't be using those much anyways. I am leaning more and more toward the Nektar. I just wish I could test one out somewhere to seal the deal. I already I know I like the feel of the AlesisVi and M audio MK3 and the Arturia wasn't that bad either, once plugged in, plus it comes with Analog Lab, but I don't want a software package to sway me from my real purpose, which is the feel of the key bed. Thanks for your feedback on the Nektar.


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## Daniele Nasuti (Apr 16, 2019)

Hi, I'm also undecided between nektar gx61 and acorn 61. There is someone who tried both and can give me an advice??


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## bill5 (Apr 16, 2019)

whiskers said:


> LX88 by Nektar got pretty good reviews IIRC.
> 
> I wasn't a huge fan of the Allegro... Have you looked at Casio Privia?


Hearing lots of good things about both, although the Privias start around $500. Personally I dismissed Casio as every one I tried had a noticeable "thunking" sound to the keys.


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## whiskers (Apr 16, 2019)

bill5 said:


> Hearing lots of good things about both, although the Privias start around $500. Personally I dismissed Casio as every one I tried had a noticeable "thunking" sound to the keys.


That's fair enough. Though i think the thunking is pretty dang common at this price point. I enjoyed the Privia over the LX88 for the weighted action, and was impressed by the feel and action for the price point. That being said, i don't think you get pitch bend or mod wheel on the Privia PX series.


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## bill5 (Apr 16, 2019)

whiskers said:


> That's fair enough. Though i think the thunking is pretty dang common at this price point.


That's fair enough too, I think. At least for digital pianos. I don't think so for the MIDI controllers, but it's been awhile since I test drove. I don't recall it though.


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## chimuelo (Apr 16, 2019)

I’ve owned the Casio PX-3S and it’s a decent Controller, but the PX-5S has better sounds, and a true 4 zone controller. 
Loved the Size/weight and action.

Get one used for 650 bucks and if you perform this is a great Meat & Potatoes gigger too.


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## Dom (Apr 19, 2019)

Casio have now released a new digital piano, the PX S3000, which looks very promising, it's compact and will fit into a composer's desk. Personally I love having built in piano sounds as I can on occasion play latency free. I've ordered one and will report.


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