RobertLauriston Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 I got an M-Audio Keystation 88 to use while my Akai MPK88 was out for repair and found I like the action a lot, so I got a Keystation 49, but it has a different action and feels unresponsive. Can anyone recommend a 49-key controller with action similar to the Keystation 88's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DulceLabs.com Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 I got an M-Audio Keystation 88 to use while my Akai MPK88 was out for repair and found I like the action a lot, so I got a Keystation 49, but it has a different action and feels unresponsive. Can anyone recommend a 49-key controller with action similar to the Keystation 88's? May be tricky.. the Keystation 88 has semi-weighted keys.. most of the 49 key controllers I have seen have synth action keyboards. There are a few billed as having semi-weighted (Alesis V49, Novation Impulse, Samson Graphite 49).. how those actually compare to the KS88 I don't know. Do you have a GC or Sam Ash near you? They tend to be crawling with MIDI controllers these days.. Either that or find someone online with a liberal return policy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 No. Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delaware Dave Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 No. this ... 57 Hammond B3; 69 Hammond L100P; 68 Leslie 122; Kurzweil Forte7 & PC3; M-Audio Code 61; Voce V5+; Neo Vent; EV ELX112P; GSI Gemini & Burn Delaware Dave Exit93band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Nord Lead ? "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherScott Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Can anyone recommend a 49-key controller with action similar to the Keystation 88's? You could try contacting M-Audio and ask which of their smaller keyboards use the same action as their Keystation 88. By the look and specs, I would expect the Axiom 49 might use the same action. (The Keystation 49 keys are clearly different.) Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesG Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Closest thing in a small keyboard with a non-sucky action I have ever seen is the Roland RD-64. Although I find Roland's synthetic ivory to be a bit...I dunno. Wacky. Hammond: L111, M100, M3, BC, CV, Franken CV, A100, D152, C3, B3 Leslie: 710, 760, 51C, 147, 145, 122, 22H, 31H Yamaha: CP4, DGX-620, DX7II-FD-E!, PF85, DX9 Roland: VR-09, RD-800 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleomenesII Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 These things always looked quite interesting to me http://www.soundsliveshop.com/p/StudioLogic_VMK-149_Plus_Midi_Controller_Keyboard/FTR-VMK149PLUS I don't think they are made anymore, but they might be for sale somewhere...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherScott Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Some of these are recommendations for weighted actions, while it looks like the OP is looking for a semi-weighted. I guess the subject is a bit misleading... his goal is not so much a 49 with a "good" action as one with an action similar to the Keystation 88. Which, if it's like other M-Audio SW, isn't something I personally would call good, but to each his own... Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DulceLabs.com Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Can anyone recommend a 49-key controller with action similar to the Keystation 88's? You could try contacting M-Audio and ask which of their smaller keyboards use the same action as their Keystation 88. By the look and specs, I would expect the Axiom 49 might use the same action. (The Keystation 49 keys are clearly different.) Yup: Piano style keys rather than the diving board keys most 49 controllers have. Worth checking out: http://static.bhphoto.com/images/images500x500/903692.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian_uk Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 I have a 61 M-Audio Axiom and can't recommend the keybed at all. It might claim to have some weighting in the keys, but I can't get much control while playing other than on/off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 I have only played the 61 which is only $50 more. The 61 played very well. This is only a guess that the 49 plays the same. http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SLmk2-49 "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 M-Audio is plastic junk, and feels like plastic junk. It's almost as if they are trying to make the feel bizarre. I can't count the times I have gone into GC and played every cheap controller in the place, yearning for a good action to break free and soar, soar little action! Fly! Fly! Let my fingers fly! Sorry, lost it there for a second. Only Arturia and Novation have produced something that didn't make me barf. Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonysounds Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Listen...I think these little controllers are shit. BUT, I have had my eye on this AKAI. They have it at the local store here, and it is honestly one of the best feeling KEYBEDS I've played. Maybe best SYNTH action ever. Its build is that of a real instrument, not $.025 worth of plastic and workmanship. AND ITS RED http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad216/tonysounds/AKAI.png Hitting "Play" does NOT constitute live performance. -Me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Thanks! "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DulceLabs.com Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Put the Arturia Keylab 49 on your list if you haven't already tried it. It is a nice, solid build and has controllers up the wazoo. Also comes with a nice bundle of soft synths. http://www.sweetwater.com/images/items/750/KeyLab49-large.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed A. Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 If you can still find one: http://gsfanatic.com/aas_hirdetes_temp/pic/659542_emuxboard49.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KontrolFreak Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 I agree about the feel on the Akai MAX 49, but it's hugely expensive iirc. I think you might buy a Yamaha mx49 for that money. The Keylab 49's keys felt lousy to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rou Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 May be tricky.. the Keystation 88 has semi-weighted keys.. most of the 49 key controllers I have seen have synth action keyboards. There are a few billed as having semi-weighted (Alesis V49, Novation Impulse, Samson Graphite 49).. how those actually compare to the KS88 I don't know. Do you have a GC or Sam Ash near you? They tend to be crawling with MIDI controllers these days.. Either that or find someone online with a liberal return policy. Well I have the Samson Graphite 49 paired with a laptop (for virtual instrument/plug-in) since early Q2 of 2013 which I've been bringing to rehearsals with the church band and for practices with another band for company/corporate events (company anniversaries/product launch etc.). Two months after the one-year warranty of my Graphite 49 had expired, I noticed that there was something "rolling" inside the chassis whenever I tilted it one side to carry it (as if a screw or an object came loose inside). So I opened it up and saw the innards of the Graphite 49. On opening, I saw a small screw that had come off. I didn't know where it originally came from so I had to unscrew the keyboard plate-mechanism-assembly (its one whole plate of 49 keys). After careful inspection of the innards, I found where the screw had come from. It was actually from one of the PCB board area near the central LCD display. Luckily it wasn't a case of loose thread and re-screwing it in did the trick (I don't think I'd have any replacement screw that small lying around, if ever). Anyways, the "semi-weighted"-ness of the Graphite 49 keys actually comes from a thin metal plate/sheet that's "factory-glued" to the undersurface of each synth key (I still recall these are placed underneath the white keys). This I actually saw when I opened the Graphite 49. Also, probably similar to other synth-key mechanisms, there are springs installed towards the opposite end of each key which obviously enables the keys to return to its original position after being pressed. I wish I had taken photos at that time but I was so preoccupied in getting it back together so I could use it for the church band practice (I figured I'd rather wear out a cheap controller's keys for practices than my FA-06). If I'm not mistaken the Graphite 49 uses Fatar-action keys though I seriously doubt if Samson uses the more expensive Fatar synth actions on this particular controller. The key/synth-action is a little more substantial than the M-Audio Axioms (Pro or non-pro) that I've tried and offers just enough/"acceptable" resistance than the "soft" (and even fragile-feel) action of the Axioms when you press on the keys. Graphite 49 key-action do become a little noisy overtime after some usage (sounds like those coiled springs are the culprit). FWIW, the Graphite 49 weighs a wee bit more than the keystation 49es or keystation 49 at 10 lbs. It largely appears to be due to Fatar's key mechanisms for the 49-keys plus the added weight of thin metal sheet/plate found under each key of the Graphite 49. And it does has a seemingly sturdy chassis despite being plastic. There's also a simple software-editor where you can setup knob/fader/button assignments if you don't want to bother setting these up from the controller itself. I should also mention that the pads are rather stiff. I swear you'd need some force (of nature) to press those pads Sonar X3e Dimension Pro EWQL-SO Gold Pianoteq 5.3+Bluthner PX-5S FA-06 SLMKII Graphite 49 AAS LL EP4 GS-2 Forte 4 Audiohub2x4 ASUS ROG G751(Live) Scarlett 6i6 1010LT TS110A Minimix 8 EMU XMidi 2x2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana. Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Listen...I think these little controllers are shit. BUT, I have had my eye on this AKAI. They have it at the local store here, and it is honestly one of the best feeling KEYBEDS I've played. Maybe best SYNTH action ever. Its build is that of a real instrument, not $.025 worth of plastic and workmanship. AND ITS RED http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad216/tonysounds/AKAI.png As I recall, the black keys on this are as overly stiff as the first gen MPK series. FWIW, this has been remedied with the MPK2 series (and presumably the forthcoming Advance series). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana. Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 If I'm not mistaken the Graphite 49 uses Fatar-action keys though I seriously doubt if Samson uses the more expensive Fatar synth actions on this particular controller. I haven't been able to find proof of this. I know that Arturia, Dave Smith, and Novation have all used this same action (i.e., KeyLab, Prophet 12, Pro 2, Remote SL Compact). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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