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  • Best weighted key midi controller?

    What is out there made just as a controller with good piano-feel keys? I have a Yamaha S70-XS but I don't need the onboard sounds anymore. I like the feel but I don't need the bulky machine that it is.

  • http://kawaivpc.com


  • That is amazing! I'd love to known how much is one of these?


  • US street price is about $1850.


  • I am very, very happy with my Doepfer LMK2+. 


  • And if you're on a budget, try the yamaha p35 piano (could be a nice midi controller)!


  • Oh one last thing... DON'T go for M-Audio 88 keyboards. And CME can be nice and affordable, but has baaaaad customer service.



  • /Dietz - Vienna Symphonic Library
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    @Carsten Altena said:

    Oh one last thing... DON'T go for M-Audio 88 keyboards. And CME can be nice and affordable, but has baaaaad customer service.

    Hi, I use the M-Audio Keystation-88. I'm not saying that I'm the happiest person in the world with it, but I'd like to know what you feel is bad about M-Audio keyboards.


  • I have the CME UF 5. And yes, there are better Keys outthere. But this Keyboard has everything you need (including Breathcontroller and an audiointerface) and for the price it is fine. And remember that it is not really possible just to "play" most vienna Instruments to get good results. For realistic orchestral results everything has to be edited afterwards. So for Vienna Imperial, the Rieger Orgel or the Harmonium it makes Sense to buy the best Keys. But not for Brass, Wood and so on ...


  • +1 for not buying CME! I had the UF8, which was absolutely awful. The action was a bit like playing an ironing board, and the driver was simply garbage. Windows constantly lost sight of the keyboard, and only a complete restart would make it see it again. Although hundreds of users had the same issue CME claimed there was no issue, and got very snotty about it on their support forum. Then they simply moved on to the next generation of products without ever attempting to address the problem. I don't imagine their approach has changed.

    I replaced the CME with an AKAI MPK88 Pro, and so far I'm really happy. The action is great for a mid-range keyboard, and it has aftertouch. I did think I'd miss the breath contoller input from the CME, but along came the TEC USB-breath-controller, and life is perfect.


  • I was wondering about this same question myself.  I did not want a bad plastic controller like m-audio, nor a big Korg keyboard with additional things I wasn't going to use.

    So I started thinking about digital pianos - they give you a controller, but also a basic sound in case you want to work out some music without complicated computer setups.   Also, they tend to have better piano touch and are more heavy duty since they have to stand up to stage use. 

    So I recently got the Yamaha cp4 stage piano, which has a really fine piano sound built in.   You don't need all the excessive knobs and dials that most empty controllers have.  This has pitch wheel and mod, but mainly a very fine hammer action and wooden keys with felt pads, so it feels like a good piano.  Actually sounds better than most real pianos I've played.


  • My 14 years old Roland digital piano keyboard still easily surpasses anything since in terms of keyboard action. As I recently found out and was explained by a piano teacher, the keyboards of digital pianos have become better in recent years and although I opted for Roland at that time (it was the only sound that somewhat classified as piano), it is currently actually Yamaha that stands out for its keyboard. 


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    @MWE said:

    My 14 years old Roland digital piano keyboard still easily surpasses anything since in terms of keyboard action. As I recently found out and was explained by a piano teacher, the keyboards of digital pianos have become better in recent years and although I opted for Roland at that time (it was the only sound that somewhat classified as piano), it is currently actually Yamaha that stands out for its keyboard. 

    Definitely the way to go if you can afford. I have a Roland electric piano that's 25 years old (got it for my 18th birthday) and still has a nicer action than any controller keyboard I've tried. Sadly it's on it's way out (they used to have a system with two rubber sensors under each key - one higher than the other - and the time differential between the key hitting them was how velocity was measured. My sensors are all flat, which means there is no differential, and the piano thinks every note has been hit with infinite velocity) and I can't afford another piano, but I would ditch my AKAI keyboard in a second if I could.

    If you do go with an electric piano just make sure it has the option to turn off local control - a few of them seem to make the assumption that you would never want to use the keyboard without the built in sounds.


  • I recently bought a Kawai VPC1 and absolutely love it. Better than any other MIDI keyboard I've ever played. 


    Large Vienna Library all on SSD, Protools/Carbon on M1 MacBook Pro, OSX Monterey 12.7, Steinway D, Rhodes Mk8-FX, Osmose, Moog One, Trigon 6-DT, OB-X8, Prophet 10 rev4, OB-6-DT, Kawai VPC-1
  • +1 on digital pianos. I have a Roland FP 7F, and it's keybed is MUCH more piano-like than any midicontroller I had under my hands. The Roland A 88 could be interesting for you. It has the same keybed as their FP 4F (a digitalpiano), but it has controller functions too and is quite affordable.