OK.

I recently have been considering getting rid of my MPD18 and Roland A-300 Pro and replacing them with a synth. My main reason is for build quality and durability.

Unfortunately, apart from the classics, my knowledge of synths is somewhat limited. I am looking to at a budget of about 500 quid and the more keys the merrier. My current controller has 32 and I was considering buying a 49 key Midi Keyboard but all of the main names on the market seem to be under a lot of criticism on the forums I visit.

Can anyone give me advice on the ease of using a synth as a midi controller in Logic and any synth recommendations? I dont mind buying used synths.

Any advice is appreciated.

Maybe pick up a second-hand X-Station or XioSynth. I used an X-Station as a midi controller before I got my ReMote SL ... it came loaded with templates for various DAW, and worked great in Live.

You can use any analog synth you want to control MIDI in logic as long as you can send MIDI out of it, which nearly every single one will be able to do. Make sure your audio interface can take MIDI input, and you're in business. You can even setup Logic to control patch changes for the synth, so you can sequence entirely from Logic.

A regular keyboard controller will work fine, too, if you're just going to do Virtual instruments.

The options are near limitless with MIDI.

I agree that synths seem to be built with better keybeds.

My favourite is Roland D50, but of the current Roland synths I don't know really.

I got a PCR800 now(midi only, no synth), but is not fully satisfied with keys. Too long motion and spring-like feel to it.

I'm not fond of joystick combined pitch/modwheel though.

So I'm also hoping for cool (at least 61 key) synths as replies here.

Thanks for the feedback.

Are there any particular synths that people would recommend that I look out for?

Looks like my beloved Fender Strat is going on sale to help finance this.

...build quality, durability and 61 keys = Access Virus KC [or save for a 1st gen TI]. Plus, you get an awesome DSP synth thrown in for free. The only keybed I like as much as the Virus's is the Yamaha Motif XS/XF, although the Roland V-Synth's is lovely but a little short throw.

You could also track down an XP80 on ebay for about £500. Awesome 76 note keyboard there.

I think you are asking several questions in one here. Midi keyboards and Analog Synths are completely different things. Actually, I have a couple of Analog Keyboards but I use my midi controller to play them because the keys on those things suck.

If I read between the lines, what I think you are saying is that you're tempted to enter the world of Analog, but at the same time, you need to upgrade your current midi keyboard. For my two cents, you won't be able to kill two birds with the one stone. I don't know of an analog synth with an inbuilt midi keyboard that would do all the stuff you'd like to do with a Roland A-300 Pro for example. I could be wrong though.

A rule of thumb is that if you want an Analog Synth, base your decision on what it sounds like rather than its midi features (older analog synths don't even have midi). If you want a midi keyboard, base your decision on how well it integrates in to your DAW. I would have thought that your current keyboard would be perfect for Logic or any other DAW.

What you might want to try is a modern desktop/rack mountable analog synth like the Moog Slim Phatty, or a Dave Smith Instruments Mopho or something like that. These units have no keyboard, but you can play them with your midi keyboard. If you want a vintage sounding synth, check out:

http://www.vintagesynth.com/

These older analog synths will usually have something called CV in which allows you to put a converter between your computer from Midi->CV in order to play the synth with your midi keyboard or sequence it with your DAW.

Yeah. Cant disagree with this. At first I was looking at upgrading to a 49 midi keyboard with a sturdier build, the feel of the A-300 is something I havent got to grips with. Then after looking at the costs of Novation, Akai etc I realised I could pay a bit more money and get a sturdier, used synth and was led to believe that using it as a midi controller was fairly straight forward.

Buying a used midi controller is not something I am looking to do as my first midi keyboard was second hand and within a few months was totally knackered. I am fairly happy with my soft synths, with Zebra, Diva and Trilian there isnt much I cant do. So, really I am just looking at build quality, but if I can get a few more great sounds out of an affordable used synth then I would be chuffed.

In all honesty, an m-audio axiom 61 is just fine for me... but that's me.

Well, there may be one or two modern analog synths out there with a great, sturdy midi keyboard built in - but these would be the exception - not the rule. If you want a sturdy midi keyboard, you are best off getting a straight up midi keyboard for a few different reasons. For me, I find most of them sturdy enough, but they are also quite cheap and if you destroy one after a year, just buy another one. If you destroy an analog synth, you are going to be very annoyed because you'll have not only destroyed your interface with your DAW, you will have destroyed part of your sound.

I use an M-Audio Axiom 25. The build is very sturdy, but M-Audio's support is woeful.

If you're really on a tight budget, considering an older synth can help. Since you are using it as a MIDI controller, look at it's MIDI capabilities, playability, and it's ability to help your system as a whole. For my live system, I'm using my old Ensoniq ASR-10 sampling workstation primarily as my master keyboard. I hardly use it as a sampler anymore, since I can only pull sounds off of a snail's pace floppy disk! BUT, I do have the ability to easily assign the 8 instrument buttons to separate MIDI channels. Not only can each MIDI channel be selected quickly, but I can also layer and stack them together just as easily. In addition, I can sequence each MIDI channel as it's own recording track. I'm not sure about their specs, but the earlier versions of the Ensoniq samplers, the EPS and EPS-16+, are based on the same architecture, and might be able to do the same MIDI functions at at a far lower price. In addition to this, the ASR has a great keyboard response, and I can use the stereo audio input as an effects processor. It's got same processor as the Ensoniq DP-2 effects unit, and some beautiful reverbs, so I use it as my master reverb for my whole mix. So whatever board you choose, that's some of the things to think about... Veritile MIDI use, keyboard response, and perhaps the icing on the cake is its own sounds.

Novation ultranova sometimes is at sale, or second hand

Maybe save a couple of hundred more and get a nord lead second hand.

Cheap MIDI keyboards are pretty much disposable. After a year or two, pots, mod/pitch wheels etc. fail and the keyboard feel is often quite poor.

I did demo an M-Audio Axiom at the local music store and it has the same problem that you can see in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V5407d6HFA
I went with an Akai MPK61 instead and apart from the unusable drum pads on it, it's actually very good, better than the Novation and M-Audio stuff I've used before.

For synths with good keyboards, maybe check out the Blofeld Keyboard. It doesn't have that many knobs for controlling software, but the feel of the keyboard is supposed to be really good from what I've heard (never tried it myself) and it has aftertouch.

It's going to be very hard to find an analog synth with a good 49-key keyboard for £500 or less. The Little Phatty is €1300 or so. Older synths are going to be a bit worn out so even if they did feel good at some point, they might suffer for loose springs or the occasional stuck key.

Quick update.

Managed to get a used Mopho and Access Virus KB. Both will be here soon.

Looks like I will be using the Access Virus KB as my controller and selling my A-300 Pro.