Tusker Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 Looking for something that doesn’t need to be moved frequently but has a very pianistic action and also have studio friendly pedal-inputs, sliders and knobs. Ideally would have transport control too. Is there such a thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Havu Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 What's your budget? Also, how picky are you about the keybed itself? Three that come to mind right away would be: Arturia Keylab 88 MkII - $999 USD NI Komplete Kontrol S88 Mk2 - $999 USD M-Audio Hammer 88 Pro - $799 USD 1 Quote Hardware Yamaha DX7, PSR-530, MX61/Korg Karma/Ensoniq ESQ-1/Roland VR-760/Hydrasynth Deluxe/ Behringer DeepMind12, Model D, Odyssey, 2600/Arturia Keylab MKII 61 Software Studio One/V Collection 9/Korg Collection 5/Cherry Audio/UVI SonicPass/EW Composer Cloud/Omnisphere, Stylus RMX, Trilian/IK Total Studio 3.5 MAX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stokely Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 Keep in mind that if you find something with great action but lacking great controls, you can always get a separate controller unit. I have a korg nanokontrol and it's a bit small for my liking, but I'm sure there are others out there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherScott Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 Kind of combining the ideas in the two previous posts, the Studiologic SL88 Grand has a higher end Fatar action than the ones I believe are in the Arturi and NI, and while it doesn't have a control surface, they have the optional Mixface accessory which is designed to be easily placed and cosmetically matched on the SL. If you need more pedal control, you can also look into the audiofront adapters. Another possibility could be the Roland A-88 MKII. If you can keep the controls surface issue separate, by reputation, one of the best actions would be the Kawai VPC1. 3 Quote 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...
Tusker Posted November 21, 2022 Author Share Posted November 21, 2022 43 minutes ago, justin_havu said: What's your budget? Also, how picky are you about the keybed itself? Scanning at the 2-3k range and eyeing a Kawaii VPC. But wouldn’t it be great if it had a ton of controllers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stokely Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 For that price range, you might also consider getting a simpler great action weighted board and a smaller keyboard with controls Just putting it out there, because I noticed proaudiostar had a couple arturia keylab mark IIs on sale (less than 300 for the 49 key I believe.) Then you'd have something to play synths/organ on a bit easier. That's of course if you need that, and if you had space I happen to really like the tp-40 type actions that I think was mentioned by AnotherScott above--mainly because I used a Studiologic sl990pro for decades so I got very used to it. I'm not sure it's considered a "high end" action or not but I do like it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jose EB5AGV Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 8 minutes ago, Tusker said: Scanning at the 2-3k range and eyeing a Kawaii VPC. But wouldn’t it be great if it had a ton of controllers? I have a VPC1 and fully recommend it. My setup includes several items over it (the slightly curved surface is not a problem with some ingenuity, can elaborate if needed) and the good thing is that you can customize what you add to it and evolve over time (this is what I have done). If interested, can post some pictures. Jose 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveNathan Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 Arturia Keylab? Do folks here like that action? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drawback Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 1 minute ago, SteveNathan said: Arturia Keylab? Do folks here like that action? No! Quote ____________________________________ Rod Here for the gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 There isn’t any. You can roll the dice and hopefully find something clean and pristine like a Peavey DPM C8 for very little money. Most were studio pieces due to their weight. … if 8 zones are enough. Maybe a Roland A-80 but they have some maintenance issues. But the market for real controllers with proper pedal I/O is dead. 1 Quote "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...
SteveNathan Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 1 minute ago, CEB said: There isn’t any. You can roll the dice and hopefully find something clean and pristine like a Peavey DPM C8 for very little money. Most were studio pieces any due to their weight. I used Peaveys for years & loved the action at the time, but I didn’t have to lift them. I also had an Elka MKII that was awesome. Now I keep a CME UF80 in one space & use my Casio in the other. All except the Casio are hard to come by, but I’d recommend you get the best action you can & if you need more controllers, add a small second unit. I still keep a cheap M-Audio something or other above the CME, ‘cause sometimes it’s just easier to grab a knob or slider on it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherScott Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 If you can find one, a Viscount Physis K4 could be another option. Great MIDI controller capabilities, and one of the higher end Fatar actions. 1 Quote 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...
Justin Havu Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 I was thinking about all-in-one solutions, but I agree--the action in the Arturia is horrible. If it's a studio piece, than a VPC1 paired with a control surface might be the way to go. Or grab a Keylab 49 or 61 if you don't mind having an additional synth action keyboard with plenty of control options. 1 Quote Hardware Yamaha DX7, PSR-530, MX61/Korg Karma/Ensoniq ESQ-1/Roland VR-760/Hydrasynth Deluxe/ Behringer DeepMind12, Model D, Odyssey, 2600/Arturia Keylab MKII 61 Software Studio One/V Collection 9/Korg Collection 5/Cherry Audio/UVI SonicPass/EW Composer Cloud/Omnisphere, Stylus RMX, Trilian/IK Total Studio 3.5 MAX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Motif Max Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 Check out this old thread I had, if you haven’t already. Specifically this comment has some info on ways to get all sorts of controller capabilities when paired with virtually any keyboard, meaning you could use a VPC1 and still have all the capabilities you wanted. The only catch would be an expression pedal input if using the VPC, but there’s a midi expression box for that as well if that’s a need. Me personally, I might go with options 5 or 6 from the linked thread, if the piano-playing experience was a priority. However, like I said, the beauty of this is that you could use pretty much any base keyboard for this and use the listed accessories to get what you needed. 1 Quote Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000 Kurzweil: PC3-76| Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT, Kurzweil PC4 (88) Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoken6 Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 My suggestion: consider the action and the controllers separately. That filters away all the products designed for "bedroom DJs", and lets you focus on products for players. My first choice (based on @Al Quinn's recent post in another thread) is a Yamaha P515, with a separate control surface for sliders knobs and transport My second choice would be a Yamaha YC88 - do the drawbars and controllers transmit over MIDI? Cheers, Mike. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Woodward Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 I have seen the KORG D1 going used for as little as £200 and that's a full 88 RH3 keybed same as the Grandstage and Kronos. It's only got midi but adaptors are cheap enough. 1 Quote Korg Grandstage 73, Mac Mini M1, Logic Pro X (Pigments, Korg Legacy Collection, Wavestate LE, Sylenth), iPad Pro 12.9 M2 (6th gen), Scarlett 2i2, Presonus Eris E3.5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motif88 Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 Hello?…RD-2000 has a much better action and plenty of controls than most mentioned here. 1 Quote Using: Yamaha: Montage M8x| Spectrasonics: Omnisphere, Keyscape | uhe: Diva, Hive2, Zebra2| Roland: Cloud Pro | Arturia: V Collection | NI: Komplete 14 | VPS: Avenger | Cherry: GX80 | G-Force: OB-E | Korg: Triton, MS-20 Sold/Traded: Yamaha: Motif XS8, Motif ES8, Motif8, KX-88, TX7 | ASM: Hydrasynth Deluxe| Roland: RD-2000, D50, MKS-20| Korg: Kronos 88, T3, MS-20 | Oberheim: OB8, OBXa, Modular 8 Voice | Rhodes: Dyno-My-Piano| Crumar: T2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 Roland Fantom 8 is a great controller for MainStage and Logic. 2 Quote This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drawback Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 1 hour ago, Paul Woodward said: I have seen the KORG D1 going used for as little as £200 and that's a full 88 RH3 keybed same as the Grandstage and Kronos. It's only got midi but adaptors are cheap enough. Another (probably the only other 😆) fan of the Korg RH3. I think the D1 would make an excellent controller feel-wise, but too many workarounds are needed for full-featured. 2 Quote ____________________________________ Rod Here for the gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Woodward Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 I have a Grandstage and love the action 😃 3 Quote Korg Grandstage 73, Mac Mini M1, Logic Pro X (Pigments, Korg Legacy Collection, Wavestate LE, Sylenth), iPad Pro 12.9 M2 (6th gen), Scarlett 2i2, Presonus Eris E3.5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusker Posted November 22, 2022 Author Share Posted November 22, 2022 18 hours ago, CEB said: There isn’t any. You can roll the dice and hopefully find something clean and pristine like a Peavey DPM C8 for very little money. Most were studio pieces due to their weight. … if 8 zones are enough. Maybe a Roland A-80 but they have some maintenance issues. But the market for real controllers with proper pedal I/O is dead. Right. Good to have that settled. 👍 So now it's just a matter of finding an action I like. I'll need to add a Mackie/Logic compliant controller like the Mixface AnotherScott mentioned. I'd need to position Touche and a trackpad for midi control. I might need a new desk and chair to get the heights right. I am mostly trying to establish a rapid workflow, where with two hands I can play something then immediately lift my eyes to the screen and do some edits. Then play something more. Rinse repeat. Thanks guys. I'll look around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusker Posted November 22, 2022 Author Share Posted November 22, 2022 19 hours ago, EB5AGV said: I have a VPC1 and fully recommend it. My setup includes several items over it (the slightly curved surface is not a problem with some ingenuity, can elaborate if needed) and the good thing is that you can customize what you add to it and evolve over time (this is what I have done). I had wondered if this was a possibility and am so happy to hear you mention it. Would you please elaborate? 19 hours ago, EB5AGV said: If interested, can post some pictures. I would love to see the pictures. 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Burgess Posted November 22, 2022 Share Posted November 22, 2022 21 hours ago, SteveNathan said: Arturia Keylab? Do folks here like that action? No. I bought a 61 and an 88 a while ago. The 88 sees little playing! Just can’t get used to it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaJockey Posted November 22, 2022 Share Posted November 22, 2022 23 hours ago, drawback said: Another (probably the only other 😆) fan of the Korg RH3. I think the D1 would make an excellent controller feel-wise, but too many workarounds are needed for full-featured. I have a D1 as a kind of backup. I bought it for the action. The MIDI interface is not a work around for me, as I have no problem using the DIN's on my USB audio interface. Though it doesn't have mod wheels, (a stage PIANO in the true sense), I have a small external controller attached, so those external controllers again, not an issue for me. The only problem I have with the D1, is that it only has attack velocity, no release, and of course no AT. It is only 2 sensor, but IMHO Korg do a pretty good job of getting sensitive responses out of it's RH3. It is a dilemma trying to get a full controller with a really decent action. In my studio though, I use the MP11SE, as again, action is the priority over everything else. It has the ability to externalise it's pots to the DAW, but other than mod wheels, I tend to be an onscreen tweaker, so controllers are less of an issue for me. (I get overwhelmed when there are too many parallel choices for control)! Surprisingly to me, the MP11SE being my choice for piano, because of it's action, the response works really well for other sounds, normally needing a synth keybed. 2 Quote The companions I can't live without: Kawai Acoustic Grand, Yamaha MontageM8x, Studiologic Numa Piano X GT, Other important stuff: Novation Summit, NI Komplete Ultimate 14 CE, Omnisphere, EW Hollywood and Fantasy Orchestra, Spitfire Albion and Symphony, Pianoteq 8 Pro, Roland RD88. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skipeb3 Posted November 22, 2022 Share Posted November 22, 2022 You might do a YouTube search for John Mike. He's a player/producer that does very informative reviews of MIDI controllers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motif88 Posted November 23, 2022 Share Posted November 23, 2022 On 11/21/2022 at 4:32 PM, RABid said: Roland Fantom 8 is a great controller for MainStage and Logic. Agreed…I dropped the workstation format after many years for software and Logic. If I were to go back, the Fantom8 or 08 are at the top of the list 1 Quote Using: Yamaha: Montage M8x| Spectrasonics: Omnisphere, Keyscape | uhe: Diva, Hive2, Zebra2| Roland: Cloud Pro | Arturia: V Collection | NI: Komplete 14 | VPS: Avenger | Cherry: GX80 | G-Force: OB-E | Korg: Triton, MS-20 Sold/Traded: Yamaha: Motif XS8, Motif ES8, Motif8, KX-88, TX7 | ASM: Hydrasynth Deluxe| Roland: RD-2000, D50, MKS-20| Korg: Kronos 88, T3, MS-20 | Oberheim: OB8, OBXa, Modular 8 Voice | Rhodes: Dyno-My-Piano| Crumar: T2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motif88 Posted November 23, 2022 Share Posted November 23, 2022 need to update my sig to include - Using: Roland RD-2000, Mac Studio, Studio Display, Logic Pro, Arturia:V Collection 9/Cherry Audio:GX-80,Dreamsynth,Polymode,Quadra,Sines/MemoryMoon/G-Force: OB-E, Oddity3, SEM/VPS Avenger/Korg:MS20,Triton/Native Instruments:Komplete 14/Roland Cloud Pro/Spectrasonics:Keyscape,Omnisphere/uhe:Diva,Hive,Zebra2/UVIWorkstation Sold: Korg:Kronos 88,T3,MS20, Yamaha: Motif XS8, Motif ES8, Motif 8, KX88, TX802, Oberheim: Modular 8 Voice, OBXa, OB8, Prophet 5, Roland D50, Dyno-My-Rhodes, Crumar T2 Quote Using: Yamaha: Montage M8x| Spectrasonics: Omnisphere, Keyscape | uhe: Diva, Hive2, Zebra2| Roland: Cloud Pro | Arturia: V Collection | NI: Komplete 14 | VPS: Avenger | Cherry: GX80 | G-Force: OB-E | Korg: Triton, MS-20 Sold/Traded: Yamaha: Motif XS8, Motif ES8, Motif8, KX-88, TX7 | ASM: Hydrasynth Deluxe| Roland: RD-2000, D50, MKS-20| Korg: Kronos 88, T3, MS-20 | Oberheim: OB8, OBXa, Modular 8 Voice | Rhodes: Dyno-My-Piano| Crumar: T2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Gauss Posted November 23, 2022 Share Posted November 23, 2022 i bought a used yamaha k88 for 100 bucks at sam ash... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jose EB5AGV Posted November 24, 2022 Share Posted November 24, 2022 On 11/22/2022 at 11:57 AM, Tusker said: I had wondered if this was a possibility and am so happy to hear you mention it. Would you please elaborate? I would love to see the pictures. 👍 @TuskerSorry for delay, the daily work has taken all the time this week 😢 Here you can see a general view of my Kawai VPC1 setup as is now. I have modified it several times, but this one is OK for me right now (note the speakers setup is an A/B comparison one and will probably be modified soon, leaving only the Adam AX7😞 This is a detail of the left side items, an iCON PLATFORM-M and an Steinberg CC-121 (an sturdy Cubase specific controller): Then to the right an ElGato Stream Deck XL and a Mackie Big Knob Studio: As you can see, there is plenty of space over the VPC1. And these items have just added some extra rear rubber bumpers. I hope you can see one here: So, just adding some height on the rear side, using rubber bumpers, to any accessory you put over the VPC1, the curved surface is not a problem anymore. Just for completeness, this is the real aspect with the top lighting off, which is how I use to have that setup. The other pictures needed more light! Hope this helps! Jose 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Nathan Posted November 27, 2022 Share Posted November 27, 2022 Curious why no one seems to talk about the Studiologic SL88 Grand. I don't think it has much in the way of controllers either, but the Fatar action appears to have many fans. Am I missing something bad about it? Quote Don't rush me. I'm playing as slowly as I can! http://www.stevenathanmusic.com/stevenathanmusic.com/HOME.html https://apple.co/2EGpYXK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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