Weighted controller keyboard

[stevesound]

Hi,

I'm looking for recommendations. I need a good quality weighted key master keyboard. I'll be using it with Ivory on Protools. There's so many on the market that I thought I'd see if anyone could narrow it down for me!!

Cheers,
Steve

[hackenslash]

Budget?

I have a Roland RD300SX and it's fantastic. I tried quite a few dummy boards, but they all felt cheap. The Roland has a proper graduated weight, so it feels like a piano. Great piano sounds, too.

[Recording David]

I have an Oberheim MC-3000 and it's a very good piece of kit.

[stevesound]

I guess I'm willing to spend around €1500. It needs to feel as close to a real piano as possible!
the oberheim looks interesting. as does the roland, how are the other sounds besides the piano?

[Recording David]

The Oberheim has no sounds at all! It's just for controlling other devices. Sorry, I thought that's what you meant.

[stevesound]

Originally Posted by Recording David

The Oberheim has no sounds at all! It's just for controlling other devices. Sorry, I thought that's what you meant.

It is what I meant!! Sorry, just went off topic, since the roland has a decent piano sound and is weighted I thought I'd ask how the other sounds measure up.
Ultimately though, I'd probably never record the roland sounds, just us them for jamming etc.
How's the oberheim for playability?

[Recording David]

Yeah, it's great. Very playable and nicely weighted keys. I don't use it to anywhere near its potential, but if you need it to it has major MIDI programming functions and 8 MIDI outs. I just use it for controlling other synths. I wouldn't have bought it but I saw it very cheap second hand and snapped it up. By chance the seller was one of the guys from Groove Armada! I think they come in at about £900 new (maybe they've come down a bit, I don't know), but I paid £250 for mine, and you often see them going at good prices.

[dubrichie]

well, i'm no pianist, but i have been looking into buying a good hammer-action MIDI master keyboard.

i wouldn't need sounds for my setup, just the best "feel" i can get for clients / production partners to play with.

i have never played one and wouldn't know what to look for in "feel" if i did (since i'm not a pianist!) but i am intrigued by the Doepfer LMK series.

check them out. they look pretty damn serious, albeit stripped-down and somewhat industrial in styling... which appeals to me to be honest. made in Germany is rarely a bad thing too.

for less than €1500 you could get the top-of-the-range LMK4 from thomann.de.

if you do buy one please let me know as i would love to check it out, with a pianist in tow!

[Lerxst]

I've had an MC3000 in the studio for about six years or so, and it has been very slutty purchase. I think I paid around 700 US for it new. I will say that it is a fairly complex beasty but with that comes a very good bit of flexibility. The company that makes it is called Viscount out of Italy, although I am not sure who retails this board - you could easily email them. The manual is posted on their website, and is a long read if I remember correctly

The key action on the MC3000 has a great feel IMO however, feel, is fairly subjective and a personal preference that should probably not be taken alone by one persons opinion - mine included. Having said that, I did buy the controller sight unseen for the features and price alone and was pleasantly surprised by the action and feel. Personally I think I would have paid $1500 to $2000 for this without blinking - I like it that much.

Here is the link to their website, and the picture attached is the one I have in the studio.

Viscount

Cheers,

~Lerxst

[AB3]

I like the new Yamaha Keyboard (though it is very heavy) - Yamaha cp300. I have Roland 88 keys as well. BUT the Yamaha is more like a real piano, if that is what you are looking for IMHO.

[colinmiller]

Originally Posted by stevesound

I guess I'm willing to spend around €1500. It needs to feel as close to a real piano as possible!
the oberheim looks interesting. as does the roland, how are the other sounds besides the piano?

To me the Roland RD700 series is one of the best. Very realistic right down to the upper keys getting lighter than the lower ones like a real piano. I think it's above your budget though.

[MYAMS]

All CME midi controllers are geared toward film composers who need fully weighted keyboards for realistic programming. It would be your best bet with ivory...

[MYAMS]

Their flagship model runs 1000 U.S. dollars btw

[sparker]

Fatar have been working on a completely new controller keyboard that will be unveiled at Frankfurt. We were over in Italy with a few other distributors and the designer back in December to test out the feel and software - apart from having one of the best actions available, the design will sit very nicely in your studio or on stage..

check it at Frankfurt and it'll ship soon after - we're currently testing an early 'mule' at the moment.

[Beastie]

[top]CME ZSC88

Weighted Hammer Action MIDI Keyboard


check this out

a great controller keyboard

peace

[sparker]

ZSC88 will be good when it arrives (we expect it in June/July), but the Fatar will be on a different level to it and most other controllers in terms of feel and action - Fatar will not try and compete with other companies on konb count etc but will offer the best action together with a very slick case design..

By the way, I distribute both CME and Fatar in the UK

Cheers

[Beastie]

which model fatar is best - im interested to compare?

peace

but i prefer less keys and weighted!

peace

[sparker]

Hi mate - best at the moment in terms of action is the VMK188+ but the new keyboard is another step up in terms of action.

if you need less keys Fatar offer a similar action with the 161 and 176 versions, but there aren't too many of these around..

cheers

[Beastie]

so its a VMK 161?

thats what i would want...

coz i dont have space for 88 but i love weighted!

peace

[hackenslash]

I didn't need the Roland sounds either, but the piano sound is better than any of my sample sets. I use it all the time. It also has some excellent EPs and organs. It's basically a stage piano and the RD700's little brother. Every pianist that's been to my place loves it.

[vixapphire]

Originally Posted by sparker

ZSC88 will be good when it arrives (we expect it in June/July), but the Fatar will be on a different level to it and most other controllers in terms of feel and action - Fatar will not try and compete with other companies on konb count etc but will offer the best action together with a very slick case design..

By the way, I distribute both CME and Fatar in the UK

Cheers

does this mean the new fartar won't be littered with knobs and faders like many of the CME's and others? i'm looking for something to put under/in front of my mackie control rig. the zsc is looking good, as would a used kx88 or midiboard (if i could find one).

if the fatar will be available in a zsc=like form factor, i'll be very interested. any chance you can divulge this much prior to frankfurt? else, my money will likely go elsewhere in the interim. thanks!

vic

[T9c]

I have a Yami S90. That or an S08 would be a good choice. The piano sounds are killer.
Rick

[bcslaam]

I've had a bad experience with Fatar.

I bought a new vmk88 semi-weighted from music123.com.

They were made faulty from the beginning!

ie the continuous foot controller input has glitches. Thats the most annoying. The brain is ULTRA slow. ie 5secs to switch presets!! You cant edit any controller parameter and use it at the same time. You have to save and return back to live mode. Each step takes 5sec to respond. No velocity response settings. The keys make this hollow banging sound. Lots of stuck notes. Especially if you have aftertouch on cause its processor cant handle it.

SERVICE SUCKS BIGTIME
I rang music123.com they said they wouldn't support me because I'm an international customer (watch out for them!) I rang EVERY fatar distributor and they all literally ignored me. I even called Fatar in Italy. Three times when I said I was an english speaking customer they literally HUNG UP!!

I eventually found an italian shop that seemed to be connected to Fatar and they seem to get some headway but eventually Fatar techs didn't do what they promised. ie to send an updated chip to at least solve the foot pedal prob. The shop owner eventually got frustrated and couldnt help me.

What drew me in was the weight, footprint and number of foot pedal inputs. I wish I had gone for the Doepfer or Oberhiem. Or the M-Audio/CME for that matter.

So I dont think this is a case of one off bad luck surely. I rang everywhere. They have shocking support. You are basically on your own. I know this sounds a bit negative but beware of Fatar.

[Lerxst]

Originally Posted by bcslaam

I've had a bad experience with Fatar.

I bought a new vmk88 semi-weighted from music123.com.

They were made faulty from the beginning!

ie the continuous foot controller input has glitches. Thats the most annoying. The brain is ULTRA slow. ie 5secs to switch presets!! You cant edit any controller parameter and use it at the same time. You have to save and return back to live mode. Each step takes 5sec to respond. No velocity response settings. The keys make this hollow banging sound. Lots of stuck notes. Especially if you have aftertouch on cause its processor cant handle it.

SERVICE SUCKS BIGTIME
.com they said they wouldn't support me because I'm an international customer (watch out for them!) I rang EVERY fatar distributor and they all literally ignored me. I even called Fatar in Italy. Three times when I said I was an english speaking customer they literally HUNG UP!!

I eventually found an italian shop that seemed to be connected to Fatar and they seem to get some headway but eventually Fatar techs didn't do what they promised. ie to send an updated chip to at least solve the foot pedal prob. The shop owner eventually got frustrated and couldnt help me.

What drew me in was the weight, footprint and number of foot pedal inputs. I wish I had gone for the Doepfer or Oberhiem. Or the M-Audio/CME for that matter.

So I dont think this is a case of one off bad luck surely. I rang everywhere. They have shocking support. You are basically on your own. I know this sounds a bit negative but beware of Fatar.

Yep. I had a couple of Fate-tars die on me in a time of need - I will never go back(croaked right before a show on tour).

~Lerxst

[dip]

FATARs, A80, KX88, Doepfer LMKs all are great, very well build compared with chinese plasticky cheap kinda feel controllers we have today! actually theres an MC3000 on ebay right now OBERHEIM MC3000 MASTER CONTROL KEYBOARD - eBay (item 320383454468 end time Jun-19-09 18:33:47 PDT)

[euphoria89]

A friend of mine uses a Roland A80. Keys weight a ton! You get a beautiful response from virtual instruments though!

Next time i see him i'll get a video onto youtube or something

[dip]

anyone know if Oberheim Viscount MCs have the same keys with Fatar 880/ Studio 900&1100 and with Doepfer LMKs? i know keybed is different with Oberheim having a lighter action than Fatar, but i wonder:is the keys quality material the same on all three?

[99zulu]

If you're on a budget check out the Privia PX-320. I tried out several sub-$1000 boards and this had the most solid feel to me. Only negative is no aftertouch but this is a digital piano, not a synth controller, I have my ReMOTE SL for that other stuff.

It doesn't play extremely fast but I liked the velocity curve out of the box and the graduated weight. If you're already using Ivory the built in sounds aren't important anyway (and aren't anything to write home about). Hard to beat for the price.

I use mine with Steinberg's "The Grand". It feels great.

[tony smyth]

Nobody has mentioned the Yamaha KX-8. Its very good (no sounds though) and its price has fallen a lot in the last year. Its the one I'm about to get. Yamaha have always made quality keys from the DX-7 on.

[digiman]

I was in the same predicament myself and was able to find a Yamaha KX88(not KX8) at a steal. Haven't found anything close to the touch and feel of this unit. If you can find one you wont be dissappointed.