I just got the Digitone keys so I’m probably in the honeymoon phase, but it’s really nice. I definitely ‘drift off’ while playing. Which is way different to the regular Digitone, sort of, being limited to those 16 trig keys and flicking octaves up and down. 37 keys is definitely a nice place to be, granted I don’t have a sustain pedal or anything but there is a lot of modulation built in. I personally don’t have this feeling of not being connected. To me actually what tends to come through is my style whether it’s guitar or keys or piano, I tend to approach these things in ‘my way’ and to me that is the connective tissue rather than the actual specific instrument. But I can see how acoustic or electric physical instruments may seem to have an immediacy that may not be as 1:1 on electronics, but then again, I don’t know if I really agree with that. What could be more connected than turning a frequency on an oscillator and feeling that change in real time? The electricity is just as immediate as a string or pipe or membrane. But like any instrument things take time to learn. It’s easy to perhaps dismiss electronic instruments as they do offer immediacy, but putting in the years to really get in tune with it is probably what will get u there… over switching instruments etc.
I got lost in the sub37
I said it elsewhere on this forum that the interface just begs to be touched and interacted with…
But i will say after a few years now the pallet is limited.
I agree with @darenager this is one area synth manufacturers need to focus on…
#brother 
From a percussion standpoint, I’d have to say the Nord Drum 3P.
It has a very in depth, yet immediate synthesis engine, which responds really nicely to velocity. You can get some really expressive stuff out of it, and I’ve got lost playing it many a time.
Besides all my electronic instruments, I still have my electric bass guitar, that’s enough for me.
I can’t really play instruments welk but wanted something with which I could connect better. I got the Polyend Medusa and it’s great. 8x8 grid which can be set to scales and other stuff, sequencer, 3analog/3digital voices, mpe midi out, and just all around really cool.
Man I feel this.
I was raised drumming. The AR pads are not that and seriously considering a MIDI pad/drumset.
What happened to the Matriarch idea? I think that would be incredible to shred a modular. I have an Alpha Juno which is nice but not CV. Also not portable, for which I’m thinking a keystep might be in order…
Yeah the Medusa looks really awesome… the grid arena like a real integral part of the synth and not just after thought…
Im still a bit hesitant towards pads based on my Experience with Hydrasynth and Mono station
Matriarch is definetly still there… but when it comes to gear acquisition I am all over the place and it changes from day to day… I’m a bit of a mess in that sense
…invest in THIS…timeless…
…and feel connected to ANYTHING, but with truu classic vibe…
ALSO FEEL THAT.
No pressure. You’ll figure it out.
Guitar and an extensive pedal board is probably the most expressive and versatile instrument. You can do so much with it. Sadly I don’t play guitar, if only I had the time and energy to learn.
The pads on this are great. For reference, my pad experience is the original launchpad, notation remote series, analog rytm, midikat, and sp404.
I’m going to join the recommend what you’ve got brigade, but why don’t you buy an old DX7?
cheap as chips, wonderful keybed, can pe played very expressively and, although it’s a bit of a pig to program, loading in patches is pretty easy and there’s millions of patches available for free online.
My wife is a piano player, and she loves playing the DX.
I’m aware that this is a bullshit recommendation, but there it is…
Not really a va recommendation because it fits in the playing keys aspect… theres not alot of DX7 that pop up at these parts of the world…
But a nord lead 2 popped up for roughly $400 and Im thinking that I could buythis to see if it is the actual keyboard I’m after…
I’ve been gassing for a nord rack 2x for a month now. At 650 it’s a bit much for my budget right now, but it seems like a really nice VA synth.
Not an answer but I understand the question.
I’ll always get lost with my acoustic guitar. It’s really all I need to calm the day away and bring the good vibes. Nothing comes close due to its simplistic nature and mobility. I’ve quit trying to replicate that experience and finally realized I just need to expand upon it.
Good luck!
I feel connected to Instruments that have nice and comfortable knobs like the Moog Sirin, the PERfourMER, the Typhon, …. When you can feel the Sound moving with the motion of a knob, that’s when I feel connected. Playing an Instrument with only your fingertips or with endless Encoders, like on all Elektron boxes, is not really satisfying for me.
I get lost in the Reface CP. Actually it was a surprise to me, as I do not like minikeys. But the way they designed that little keyboard, I feel very much in “musician mode.” Also the FX implementation is really fine tuned and always sounds good so it really keeps creativity going. I pair it with the Ventris reverb on its swell setting — which to my experience is a very musical swell effect. Meaning I feel I can “play” the swell rather than fight it. Once I paired these together I probably get lost in it more than any other gear, outside of playing a proper piano.
I won’t make specific suggestions per se, but more to suggest directions.
Since you like the piano, have you considered the Augmented Piano ? There is a world of possibility there and many great musicians have “lost” themselves in that exploration.
Look through the possibilities in the Alternative Keyboard thread. There are lots of possibilities there. Try to imagine each of these in your hands. Note things about these that might appeal to you and why they do. For instance how about the Fluid Piano ?
Andrew McPherson does some amazing work in this area, and he is primarily piano focused. I’m not so much thinking about his TouchKeys stuff, though that is in contention with the Osmose in expressivity. I’m thinking more of his Magnetic Resonator Piano. Take a look through any of these videos from a YouTube search i’ve prepared:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=andrew+mcpherson+magnetic+resonator+piano
McPherson is also very much in line with people doing their own piano augmentation / exploration.
This has long been an interest of mine, so i might have other ideas, outside this “piano” realm. ( I’m a wind player too. ) I’m certainly interested in how you explore this.