tl;dr I want 49 keys. anyone have experience with Arturia Keylab Essential vs non-essential? Keylab MkI is cheaper than Essential, but MkII is quite a bit pricier. How is the keybed on the Mk1 vs the Essential? I think that’s my main question.
So I’ve had an out of order MS2000 acting as my MIDI keyboard for quite some time. I decided to get the thing fixed to the tune of upwards of $250 and a month of waiting so that I can actually sell it.
My initial idea was to sell it and instead of buying a MIDI keyboard, getting an actual analog synth (I was leaning toward Analog Keys) which would also act as a MIDI keyboard. But when all is said and done, I’d have to put up more cash than I had originally hoped so it seems buying a MIDI keyboard for $200-$300 seems like a perfectly fine option. And, if I’m being 100% honest with myself, 90% of synth stuff I do is in the box anyway–it’s more that I like the idea of having my first (and only) hardware analog synth…But I’m not so convinced I will put it to good, frequent use. That all being said, if you guys know of a really awesome analog synth upwards of $400 that’s at least 49 keys I’m all ears. The impression I get is there aren’t very many, as synths in that price range tend to be mono synths, which means the number of keys also tends to be limited.
I’m open to any suggestions on keyboards–I just narrowed it down to Arturia because they have good reviews and I also happen to use the Arturia V stuff a lot. Apparently the keybed on the MkII models is the same as the Matrixbrute/Minibrute so if anyone has experience with those let me know. Also I think both MkI and MkII models have aftertouch, but the Essential model does not. Keep in mind I’m coming from an MS2000 keybed which honestly wasn’t all that great, so I guess I’m not as picky as I thought.
49 keys and an analog synth ? makes me think of just really expensive stuff.
but you can get really good keys (if you are not very picky) for dirt cheap.
bought an edirol pc-50 for 60 euros years ago.
it´s pretty much the same like the roland version.
doesnt´t look nice and makes acoustic noise when playing, but that thing is rock solid and you could play
glissandos all day long on it.
also quick and easy adjustments for midi channels and velocity curves.
not what you asked for, but i think you have to spend a lot of money to get a analog synth with such a quality keyboard.
For keyboards I would recommend against the Arturia keylab series, at least the mk1’s. I had one for a bit and though the heaviness gave it a facade of quality, I didn’t like the Keybed and the knobs and faders were very laggy with the software. This was like 3 years ago so it might have improved. I like used novation sl mkii’s for cheap good fatar keybeds.
A used deep mind 6 might be around 400 with 37 keys, and if you get lucky a used deep mind 12 might be in the budget with 49 keys. Synths seem to retain their value a bit better than midi keyboards, so if you have more money a year or two from now you could trade in the deep mind for an analog keys if that’s what you really want (they’re great).
If you’re after an analog synth that doubles as a MIDI controller, Behringer (aforementioned Deep Mind, or that OBX clone if they ever get around to finishing it?) is probably your only option in that price range. The next thing I can think of would be a Mopho x4 which is currently at $620 used.
Ive been on the lookout for a simple, compact(ish), good quality 49+ key midi keyboard for a long time. A 49 key keystep with slightly larger and heavier keys would be ideal for me. I find it so frustrating that all keyboards in that size range get completely plastered with a thousand crappy knobs sliders and pads that I will never use… but it obviously helps them sell. For now ill just stick with my keystep.
I use a lot of soft synths and like mapping stuff to the knobs and sliders. I also like using the knobs and sliders to control automation of other parameters instead of drawing in, say, panning or filter sweeping.
That being said I think I agree with you. I’d rather pay 300 bucks for a really good feeling keybed and forego some extra bells and whistles. Again, if anyone on this forum has suggestions I’m all ears.
All I can say about the mk2 is that when I tried it out, in store, I noticed the aftertouch didn’t work on one key. So I tested every key for aftertouch and found it wasn’t uniform at all.
The staff said they would get me a better one, but I declined.
I was really keen on getting it, and replacing all my keyboards with modules, but I use aftertouch a lot and I’d regret it forever if I got the mk2. (By the way mk1 doesn’t have aftertouch).
