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  2. General & Hardware
  3. best of the best weighted keyboard controller?
  • I
    I
    The older Kurzweil action was good but didn't last well, not with repeated hammering anyway. I know as I've played on a few theatre tours (8 shows a week), and the old actions were always breaking. To be honest though, few keyboards are ever subjected to those extremes of performance anyway, but merely imparting my experiences... As far as I know, the new actions are longer-lasting, so the PC1X may suit you. My old PC88 regularly needed repair, but it was the older style of action.

    You really need to find something that suits you. I like the Kurzweil action, although my favourite was the Roland A90. The Korg Triton 88's use the Fatar action, as far as I know.
  • F
    F
    I'm in the market for a nice weighted 76 keyboard controller but it seems as though no one makes them anymore. Pity since I would like an extended keyboard for keyswitches and such but something that fits on my Yorkville workstation. An 88 note hangs over much too much (I tried a CME UF8 but found the action to be...well, pretty crappy). I know CME are coming out with the ZCS line which do come in 76 keys but I am leary about their quality. I know Kurzweil's are pretty decent and have worked on a PC1X before so I know it's good quality.

    Does anyone know anything about the PC1SE or has anyone worked with one?

    -David
  • M
    M
    I'll put in a vote for the Roland A90. Don't know if they even make this model anymore, but I love the action on it. It is a very heavy keyboard however.

    Mahlon
  • N
    N
    Most of the controllers mentioned here are not as good as the K2600X, which uses a Fatar action and really isn't all that bad. And to me there's no point in buying a 76-key controller when the extra octave is so useful for keyswitches - if a weighted 76-key controller even exists.

    You might take a look at the Doepfler keyboards, which felt very good to me when I fondled them at Musikmesse. They use Fatar actions too, but apparently it's a custom one that's better than the K2500/2600X. But first you might try tweaking the response of your 2600X in its software, because the hardware is perfectly good.

    My favorite-feeling keyboard controller is still the Kurzweil K250, but as irvind says, they require constant adjustment (and the units now require constant repair). I have two broken retired K250s in my garage.
  • J
    J
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    @Nick Batzdorf said:

    You might take a look at the Doepfler keyboards, which felt very good to me when I fondled them at Musikmesse.


    Doepfer are the best [:D] I have a LMK4+ and it's built like the proverbial brick (expletive!).

    Expensive but like so much else, you gets what you pay for.
  • F
    F
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    @Nick Batzdorf said:

    Most of the controllers mentioned here are not as good as the K2600X, which uses a Fatar action and really isn't all that bad. And to me there's no point in buying a 76-key controller when the extra octave is so useful for keyswitches - if a weighted 76-key controller even exists.
    .


    Hey Nick. Kurzweil just released the PC1SE not too long ago. It does have an octave shift but more importantly it won't hang over the edges of my keyboard workstation. It's fully weighted too. Built tough! This way I can retire my Korg K61P which is nice but needs a larger range.
  • W
    W
    If anyone is interested, I have a Yamaha GranTouch GT2 digital piano for sale that is considered by many to have the best action of any digital piano. It actually has a wooden action taken from one of Yamaha's 9 foot Grands.The piano is polished ebony and in mint condition, and in a Grand cabinet. I paid $8,000 for it in 1999, and I'm selling it for $4,000. This piano only has one sound-a very good piano sound.

    If you're interested, please email me at :wolfetho@mail.msu.edu. I can send you some pics.

    Thanks,

    Tom

    P.S.- if this is over your budget check out the Yamaha P140, CP300, or the Kawai
    MP8.All of these are very good.
  • N
    N
    Well David, that proves once again that one should never listen to me. [:)]

    But you know, the moral of the story is one I learned very slowly, only after getting kicked repeatedly: avoid studio furniture that's not generic; you will replace a piece of equipment that renders it useless way before its time.
  • F
    F
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    @Nick Batzdorf said:

    Well David, that proves once again that one should never listen to me. [[:)]]

    But you know, the moral of the story is one I learned very slowly, only after getting kicked repeatedly: avoid studio furniture that's not generic; you will replace a piece of equipment that renders it useless way before its time.


    Actually I was hoping to get your input Nick because you do use Kurzweil products. [[:)]]

    For the next year or so, I have to consider the ergonomics of my production desk because I'm moving into my fiance's home and there isn't much space. however, once we move to a bigger place, I'll dedicate ample space (or a room) for my studio, then look at a set-up like Klaus Badelt or Michael Giacchino or James Newton Howard have- which is a desk that slides over the master controller for computer keyboard, mouse, manuscript.
  • C
    C
    I got the M-audio Pro88 and it works great if your pamper it. As a piano player I don't notice the lower black keys.

    What I do notice is the action is slowly becomming more uneven (looking at the velocity levels in Logics transport) so unfortunately I would say avoid this thing. Great for the price, though. I got this as a gift when it first came out.

    If I could choose anything now for any price it would be a P80 for the action (my fave--much better than the PC88 IMHO) with a small Oxygen or something for the sliders and Mod wheel.

    $.02

    Clark
  • T
    T
    is your K2600X still for sale? would you ship to Israel? do you have a case? or maybe a sustain pedal or a footswitch or headphones? what would the price be? thank you, Hillel Medini
  • G
    G
    And I am using a Fatar SL 880 pro which works perfectly for me (not near a pro, me) including the wheels (and a Novation 25 for the knobs, mounted in a steep inclination on top of it in a custom made stand). Gerard
  • N
    N

    I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Studiologic VMK188 Plus.  I tried about 10 different keyboards (including the Rolands and Yamahas) but none of them come close to this keyboard.

    Studiologic is Fatar's midi controller company.  The VMK188 Plus is a graded hammer action (so its more like a real piano feeling heavier at the bottom and lighter at the top).  It has 9 assignable sliders and 8 assignable knobs.  While the action is a bit heavier than a Steinway D, it is still the best I can find.  Plays beautifully.  Its also a great deal selling at around $650 US.

    My only downside is that the modwheel/pitch bend is a fairly useless module.  But I just reassigned a slider for each of those controls.

    I couldn't be more happy with mine and would recommend it any day over any other keyboard.

    -ea
  • O
    O
    VMK-188 here...works great...nice action...only downside is no breath controller input, but I preferred better action over the CME stuff that had breath controller, because it was more important to me. OL
  • M
    M

    I'm interested in the keyboard, too. What are the velocity response curves like on this keyboard. Are they adjustable and do you feel they do a good job when playing non piano techniques.

    Thanks,
    Mahlon
  • G
    G
    The velocity response of the Fatar Studio Logic 880 can be selected to be well comparable to the real piano I use (but a real piano has of course much higher dynamic range than the electronics and loudspeakers have). I don't use the SL880 for other any other instruments so I cannot compare. Gerard
  • D
    D

    OK well I too have an old K250 whose weighted action I like but is very noisy and prone to sticking notes with some channels failing, and is way too large to take to gigs anymore.  Although I still have the K250 at home, for gigs I replaced it with a Roland RD-300SX 88-Weighted Key Digital Piano.  The action and sound of this beast suits me fine.  The keyboard is a litttle heavy to lug around, but works well.

    Only other drawbacks I have discovered are that it doesn't remember settings like Local Control Off, or the Expression Pedal which revert to the defaults after you power the machine down and then back up.  The expression pedal setting is particularly irksome because it doesn't default to Volume controller 7 as one would of course expect, instead varying 'expression' - almost imperceptible on many of the built in sounds.  Also, the power supply is a non-standard Roland built device, so if you lose it, you're screwed and will need to wait for the factory part to be delivered (which they do fast, but at considerable cost).

    This sort of thing has been typical of Roland for as long as I can remember - doing things their own sweet, non-standard way.  I don't know if you remember its 'all-notes-off' command that would be sent every time all the keys stopped being played, thus rendering it useless as a MIDI input device unless you do as a friend of mine once did, sticky-tape down the bottom key so as to never have 'all-notes-off'.

    I realise the above comments don't sound like I am barracking for the instrument, and I don't know whether a firmware upgrade is around to fix up these minor annoyances, however in every other way I have found the keyboard to be great.
  • J
    J

    I gig about once a week with a jazz trio, and I use a Kawai MP8-II Professional Stage Piano.  The internal sounds are pretty much garbage, but I bring my laptop along, using the Synthogy Ivory's sampled Steinway Grand (sorry VSL!).  The action is very good for jazz -- the piano has great sensitivity, especially for soft sections.  If you are doing repeated notes, typical of classical music, the piano doesn't respond as well.  I also use the keyboard for recording purposes in Logic Pro, and I always notice a wide range in velocity values without being saturated on one end or another.  One drawback -- the piano is very heavy if you gig with it as often as I do!
  • A
    A

    I use a Korg Trinity Pro X from back in the day, which is fantastic.  When i switched recently from m-audio back to the Korg it made a real difference to the expression within my recordings.

    Incidently are there any real/midi piano hybrids out there?  i.e. a real piano that can also output midi? is that even possible?
  • S
    S

     Kurzweil PC3x the best choice for me especially as a midi controller..

    Shakuman.