Griffinator Posted February 16, 2011 Posted February 16, 2011 Yes, I know, it's pretty far down there in the "cheapo" category - but I need a controller to run VST instruments off my rack puter for a very limited (i.e. 4-5 songs per night) selection of tunes where I'm handling those chores instead of guitar, and I don't really want to drop $500+ on a controller with all the extras like weighted keys and aftertouch and all that. I mean, I'd love to take my Beckwith to a show, but that'd be a hell of a lot of lugging, and a pretty irreplacable instrument, not to mention pretty limited in sound options... So, anyone tried one out? Any thoughts to offer? (Bracing myself for a verbal beating from Sven and other purists...) A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends.
mate stubb Posted February 16, 2011 Posted February 16, 2011 Have not met an M-Audio yet that didn't cause me to yank my hand from the keyboard after plunking a couple of notes. I don't know their models, so I am not sure if I have ever played this one. Moe ---
mcgoo Posted February 16, 2011 Posted February 16, 2011 I use 3 of the Keystations, all the KS-Pro 88 (one at the studio, one at church & one for gigging), and I live to testify that they have totally earned whatever nasty reputation they have. Here's the short list of positives: lots of programmable knobs lots of programmable faders lots of programmable buttons great for controlling VSTs (esp Virtual Analog synths & B4 organ, not including the keyboard itself of course) programmable via software I can program setups in one location & take the file to dump into a kbd at another location. inexpensive Here are a few of many negatives: Kbd feels like crap poor build quality enigma software never got updated with templates for new instruments programming via front panel is cumbersome heavy that feeling of shame when a kbd playing peer sees you playing it Custom Music, Audio Post Production, Location Audio www.gmma.biz https://www.facebook.com/gmmamusic/
Sven Golly Posted February 16, 2011 Posted February 16, 2011 Try a Novation Nocturn 49. Sven will concur. I definitely concur with the Novation, but not in Griff's situation; too pricey for what he needs. I love mine, though. If you want cheap, without being puke-inducing, look at the M-Audio Oxygen, or their KeyRig 49. Also worth a look is the Korg MicroKey, if you can get by with the smaller keys, it's pretty cool. (Yeah, I'm a purist, but Griff's a guitar player, so the same rules don't apply. )
Griffinator Posted February 16, 2011 Author Posted February 16, 2011 Well, I was a piano player long before I was a guitar player - just that circumstances led to me spending a lot more time on a 6-string versus a 176-string. A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends.
Griffinator Posted February 16, 2011 Author Posted February 16, 2011 And wow - the Oxygen is just about the same price point as the Keystation - can you give me some insight into what improves versus what gets worse between the two? A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends.
Griffinator Posted February 16, 2011 Author Posted February 16, 2011 that feeling of shame when a kbd playing peer sees you playing it Ehhhh that's pretty much true of any keyboard in the price range I'm shopping right now. I mean, how can playing an M-Audio be anything but less shameful than playing a Casio (with light-up keys and the gay built-in "music staff" sheet music stand)... A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends.
Sven Golly Posted February 16, 2011 Posted February 16, 2011 And wow - the Oxygen is just about the same price point as the Keystation - can you give me some insight into what improves versus what gets worse between the two? This is going on my recollection of the Keystation (much like the guys above... just atrociously unplayable to me; loose, sloppy actions, etc), but the newest generation of the Oxygens seem tighter and more consistent. Still nothing to write home about, but they seem more playable to me, if only because of the consistency across the range.
Dana. Posted February 16, 2011 Posted February 16, 2011 I concur about the microKEY. Shockingly good velocity response on those minikeys.
Joe P Posted February 16, 2011 Posted February 16, 2011 Griff, I gigged a KS Pro 88 for about 6 years (moderate, like 20 gigs a year) running a JV-1080. It was a good board for me to get back into playing out, bang for buck-wise. The controls are over the top, the knobs, wheels, sliders and buttons are good quality - solid. The chassis not so much. Wall wart power and it weighed in at 47 pounds. The manual was next to useless, and it was cumbersome to program. When I first got it I thought everybody here complaining about the action were a bunch of snobs. But after a while it got to me - long "throw" and loose and sloppy. Difficult to play anything intricate (this coming from a mediocre-at-best player). Once it is programmed it is actually a pretty good performance instrument, except for the action. If you are not going to play anything intricate and just lay pads and chords and stuff, you won't have any problems, but then you really don't need a weighted 88. Still, you can make a ton of program change presets with the buttons - over 20 I think. Here is an example of the action: on the KS Pro 88 I had trouble playing the triplets in Whiskey Rock-a-Roller even though I can do them fine on an acoustic. On my current board (RD700 that I love bought from Brother KSoper - hi Ken ) it's no problem. Good luck, Griff. Regards, Joe
Steve Nathan Posted February 16, 2011 Posted February 16, 2011 Although I don't know their product line very well, I did recently buy what I was told is the "new" Axiom. It is very lightweight, has 61 keys, faders (for drawbars) and a semiweighted action. So far I really like this thing. The action seems like the perfect compromise. Enough resistance to manage piano/Rhodes/Wurly, but not enough to hamper strings/organ/synth playing. I wish like hell they made a 76 or 88 key version with this action. Oh yeah, almost forgot....it's cheap (inexpensive)! Don't rush me. I'm playing as slowly as I can! http://www.stevenathanmusic.com/stevenathanmusic.com/HOME.html https://apple.co/2EGpYXK
Sven Golly Posted February 16, 2011 Posted February 16, 2011 Steve, that sounds like their mid-level product line (if it's the dark grey/black Axiom). That falls mid-way between the Oxygen line (cheapest) and their white-coloured Axiom Pro (most expensive) line. Another good choice, if Griff's able to cough up a few more greenbacks.
Steve Nathan Posted February 16, 2011 Posted February 16, 2011 Steve, that sounds like their mid-level product line (if it's the dark grey/black Axiom). That falls mid-way between the Oxygen line (cheapest) and their white-coloured Axiom Pro (most expensive) line. Another good choice, if Griff's able to cough up a few more greenbacks. thu Yeah, it's black or dark gray. The white ones as I recall did not have the 9 faders, and I wanted something I could throw under one arm and control soft instrument including VB3. It works great for that, though I still wish it had at least 76 keys for pianos. I should ask CME for one of their 76 key semiweighted boards to try. Don't rush me. I'm playing as slowly as I can! http://www.stevenathanmusic.com/stevenathanmusic.com/HOME.html https://apple.co/2EGpYXK
Griffinator Posted February 16, 2011 Author Posted February 16, 2011 Steve, that sounds like their mid-level product line (if it's the dark grey/black Axiom). That falls mid-way between the Oxygen line (cheapest) and their white-coloured Axiom Pro (most expensive) line. Another good choice, if Griff's able to cough up a few more greenbacks. For that price, I could do a CME UF-88, which I imagine would be a significant step up (and it would be a full 88)... My thought process is I need something that's going to get me through the first couple dozen gigs, doing no more complex stuff than the pads and piano from "Epic" and those weird (distorted vibe? someone help me out here?) patches on "In the Meantime" (along with some sample triggering). As we get more sophisticated with our setlist (and I shake the rust off my chops), I figure I can look into an upgrade a few months down the road when the material really demands it. At first I was thinking of getting a used ROMpler, figuring I could do better for my money going the used route - but then I remembered that used keyboards don't tend to hold up as well as used guitars... A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends.
Dana. Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 Griff, you know Roddy used Keystation Pro 88 for all of the reunion shows, right? It bummed me out to see that, but I guess it held up for him. Weird patches on "In The Meantime"? The Helmet song??
Griffinator Posted February 17, 2011 Author Posted February 17, 2011 Griff, you know Roddy used Keystation Pro 88 for all of the reunion shows, right? It bummed me out to see that, but I guess it held up for him. Weird patches on "In The Meantime"? The Helmet song?? Nope - Spacehog: [video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9AWGc0d8ik A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends.
Dana. Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 I was gonna say... the only sample on that album is a snare!
yannis D Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 When my electro died, in the middle of a weekly gig, i bought an Axiom 61 and run Mainstage. Mainly rhodes, organs and some synths/pads - no acoustic piano. I have to say that the Axiom was super reliable and easy to play (in a singer-songwriter pop context, nothing too fancy) - and i believe the Keystation is not far, as far as keys action. (Besides this, i still use my M Audio Ozone since 2004 mainly for pads/synths and fly gigs - also very reliable). If you need superb piano action, you should check elsewhere. But the M Audio is a good controller for its value. Be grateful for what you've got - a Nord, a laptop and two hands
therealvicz Posted February 18, 2011 Posted February 18, 2011 I notice that nearly new Mk1 Novation Remote SL61 are going on fleabay for about £150 (mine cost nearly £400 new a couple of years ago). Whether you love of hate Automap - and I like it - they have a great keybed made by Fatar, with full size keys and aftertouch. I prefer it to my M3 for example. "Just a tad more attack on the filter, Grandad!"
keyman27 Posted February 19, 2011 Posted February 19, 2011 About those Novation SL61's... I heard complaints that the velocity did funny things. Can anyone confirm this, or remember what the brouhaha was about?
JohnH Posted February 19, 2011 Posted February 19, 2011 Have had a keystation 88 es for a year, got it used on Craig's for 130. No problems so far. I just use it to trigger splits on my Motif Rack XS. Sure I would like something better, but it weighs next to nothing and it gets the job done. Instead of the rhodes piano bass, I set the Keystation on top of my Gibson organ for Doors gigs. The keybed is ok and not horrible or uncomfortable to play. Unfortunately I don't think there's a way to do more than what I'm doing with this, so things like going to the next split are done by reaching over to the rack and turning the dial.
Bridog6996 Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 I've got a Novation SL. Love it. Never had any velocity issues. My YouTube Channel
Sven Golly Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 About those Novation SL61's... I heard complaints that the velocity did funny things. Can anyone confirm this, or remember what the brouhaha was about? This is what we refer to as FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt), spread by people as rumours. I've never experienced, nor heard of, any such issues with any Novation products. After a quick Google search, the only thing I found was someone on GearSlutz complaining about the velocity response of his SL61, but he also states that he 'slips' off the accidental keys, so is this really an opinion that we can give much credibility too?
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