The Studiologic VMK188plus is the best keyboard I've ever owned, over a 26 year period. That says a lot, but everyone's touch is different. I need to be able to do fast-repetition notes for certain jazz andd latin styles, and the only other keybed that has fast enough escapement besides the VMK is the CME series, which I owned prior but sold due to such a poor MIDI implementation (including bugs and run-time power cycles and other things that I could not live with at a gig as reliability comes first).
This series is available as a weighted keyboard in four sizes, down to 49 keys (though that one is hard to find). It is very well constructed but not terribly heavy. I don't like joysticks either, but everything else makes up for it. A heavier action than most, but it has good response overall (better than anything in the controller market currently), and textures white and black keys that prevent slippage and make for a confident touch.
The aftertouch on the CME series is arguably slightly more usable, as far as that goes with a weighted keybed (aftertouch is tricky with heavier keys). The Studiologic is much quieter to play, with no sideways key motion or clickage. It seems better constructed overall, and is simpler.
Its one drawback is that it doesn't allow for multiple MIDI zones. Thus, you need to set up your target sounds to deal with keyboard splits, etc. This is my preferred way of working anyway, as I find it too confusing to master everything from one keyboard. I also find it to be a more modular setup, to already have the target sounds setup for splits, so that I can use different keyboards depending on the size of a gig.
For studio use, none of these concerns would be likely to matter. The reliability factor and the more complete MIDI spec of the Studiologic series, as well as its more natural velocity curves, are likely to benefit you immensely when using Vienna Instruments.
