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Rethinking my keyboard controller - Recommendations? S61 mk2 or P6?

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Metal case!!!

Arturia 61 key out of stock.

But my local GC rocks and will let me buy this 49 key until the 61 comes in.

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Not sure if this helps but I recently got the Komplete Kontrol M32 to sit on my desktop above my behemoth sized Kurzweill PC88 and have been pleasantly surprised by using the two together. What I mean is I can do all the browsing and tweaking and Komplete Kontrol stuff but also play on the 88 weighted keys without having to shell out all the money for the fancy 88 key Native Instruments keyboard. They are both on Midi channel 1, Logic Pro X. I have also done the same thing with other medium sized M-Audio keyboards when moving location.

Just thought it might be useful to know that you can have Komplete Kontrol integration on the cheap and the flexibility of still playing different keyboards that are not Native Instruments made.
 
If you need something which works right now, out of the box: Nektars P and T series are having some auto-detect issues with Logic 10.4.5 at the moment. https://support.nektartech.com/s.nl/ctype.KB/it.I/id.14784/KB.746/.f


I went with Arturia.
 
I personally really like the S61 - great keys, great mod wheel, and easy to customize the little knobs (nice to have the screen to see what everything is assigned to immediately - and you can rename the text labels to whatever - like "PORT CTRL" or something). I don't use Komplete Kontrol so the light guide is useless to me right now, but if I was live keyswitching, it would be cool. I prefer to play everything in and then use Logic's articulations to edit the notes though. The DAW transport controls work nicely in Logic too, which is a cool bonus. If I were to get a new keyboard, I'd want one with faders (preferably with LCDs for easy info) but same width and depth as the S61 for my desk.
 
I went back and looked at my notes from a few months ago when I went to GuitarCenter to test myself. What I had down was that the feel of the S61 was the best, but the quietest keybed was the LX88+. The LX88+, for the money, has incredible features, 88 semi weighted keys and lots of extra pads and features. and its cheap honestly. But the other slightly weird thing about that keyboard is that the black keys are stiffer then the white keys. In comparison the S61 had a perfectly smooth and consistent high quality fatar keybed. It has limited controls, but if you use NI stuff, the integration is fabulous for that. And slightly noisier keybed then the LX88+, but not as loud as some others.

AKAI also has one that was a strong contender. Keybed quite decent in its own way with a lots of cool pads, knobs and sliders and VIP integration which is more open then NI KK. But I felt the keys were non-standard length or something. But that would be my third choice.

All the other keyboards I tried had cheap feeling keybeds or were noisy as F__ to play and I didn't even bother to investigate them further.
 
i thought the Arturia was as nice as the S61 and better than the Akai.

the overall feel of the Arturia is superb (keys, knobs, sliders).

the connectivity is fantastic (rear panel).

metal case and metal wheels are a nice touch too.

 
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Its a nice looking keyboard and I have no doubt its got great functionality. I haven't been able to play that one to know the keybed. In the past I have not been impressed with Arturia keybeds though.
 
In the past I have not been impressed with Arturia keybeds though.

me neither.

that's why i didn't consider them at the start of this thread.

the MK2 seems a different animal from previous models.

only a day in, we shall see in the next week or so until the 61 key model shows up.
 
second day in, liking this thing more by the hour.

the DAW integration is very nice.

the user area has 10 slots - perfect for setting up CCs for different VIs.

Analog Lab 3 looks good, i'm not registering the 49 since i will be returning it to trade for the 61. so, i haven't had a chance to mess with the included software.



MIDI Control Center works flawlessly.

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overall aesthetic and build quality is excellent.

tip o' the hat to my local Guitar Center (Redmond, WA) for letting me slobber over the 49 until the 61 ships.

the 49 mk2 form factor is an attractive option, though.

growing Arturia fanboy.
 
checked on my KEYLab 61 mk2 order through Guitar Center, they pushed the ship date from 7/3 to 7/23.

returned the KEYLab 49 mk2, cancelled the 61 mk2 order.

quickly ordered the 61 mk2 through B&H, delivery scheduled for Tuesday, 7/2.
 
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