Midi Keyboard and General Hardware Advice

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Interested in a 25 key keyboard. Am pretty set on a 25 due to portability and I have no musical background or piano playing experience so I think I can learn a lot and and make the most out of a 25.

Plan on making 140 style trance, psy trance, techno, and progressive

Want to use the keyboard to plan out musical elements, playing, experimenting, and setting certain parameters to knobs/pads from software synths. I think it will feel a lot better than the piano roll.

So for trance, is synth style keys or semi weighted better? I am leaning heavily towards semi weighted.

I have narrowed down my top 3options to:

M Audio Axiom 25
Korg Taktile 25
Alesis VI25

Other possibilities:
NI S25
Novaton SL MK 25

Also do is aftertouch recommended especially for trance production? Or would I benefit more from more faders, buttons?

Also for studio monitors, would it be better to buy a cheaper pair of JBL3s/Rokits/ErisE5 or save up and go for some dynaudio bm5s?

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For what you're doing, you really don't need semi-weighted keys. That's mostly a thing for piano emulations and people who have been trained on piano. I actually don't like weighted keys; I learned on synth and light, unweighted keys feel better to me.

I personally like aftertouch because it's a parameter that you can control without needing another hand.

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Very happy with my ReMote 25SL. More knobs than I need, and aftertouch. Semi-weighted keys feel nice. XY pad is cool. Plus you get automap if you need it (I use the "remote" mapping in Live). The drum pads aren't the best, but I tend to use the keys anyway ...

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cornutt wrote:For what you're doing, you really don't need semi-weighted keys. That's mostly a thing for piano emulations and people who have been trained on piano. I actually don't like weighted keys; I learned on synth and light, unweighted keys feel better to me.

I personally like aftertouch because it's a parameter that you can control without needing another hand.
So for trance is aftertouch ideal? I have no piano playing experience, but from what I have read is semi weighted and aftertouch is always better. Is that the case, especially for trance when there may be perhaps more complicated melodies and chords than simpler grooves in other dance music?

I have again narrowed down my choices

Alesis VI25
Roland Aira System 1
M Audio Axiom 25
NI S25

Alesis VI25 seems to be the best keyboard for me imo, but there doesn't seem to be an exact release date.

The Roland system 1 has caught my interest because it can be used as a future tool for other roland synth hardware and acts as a synth as well as a keyboard. My concerns with the system 1 are the synth action keys with no aftertouch and the increased price.

NIS25 looks sweet but is expensive and apparently only certain arp effects/features are only available in Kontrol.

Axiom 25 looks good too but I have heard mixed things about the quality of M audio products. Alesis VI25 just trumps the axiom 25 in all categories imo.

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The system one seems nice because it ahs lots of knobs to control virtual synths, but the keys don't transmit velocity or at.

If youa re already in that price range I would pick an ultranova wich would be also usefull for trance.
dedication to flying

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rod_zero wrote:The system one seems nice because it ahs lots of knobs to control virtual synths, but the keys don't transmit velocity or at.

If youa re already in that price range I would pick an ultranova wich would be also usefull for trance.
I am simply considering the Roland. I think I probably have my hands full with learning softsynths first and mapping with a midi keyboard.

I am still leaning heavily towards the Alesis VI25. I want a simple portal high quality feeling keyboard that I can create chords/melodies with some modulation. Nothing crazy.

My ideal set up down the road would be:
MBP
Apogee AI
Dynaudio BMK5III
25 key midi keyboard
Acoustic treatment
Dj/Studio headphones

Would that set up suffice? I would be mostly working with soft synths. I am assuming I should get the keyboard first before studio monitors since I have dj/studio headphones already.

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I would rather save on the keyboard for dynaudios instead

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IMHO learning synthesis is more fun with a knoby synth, the system one does that. Just for that I would consider it too.
dedication to flying

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Going with just a midi keyboard. Anyone know when the Alesis VI25 will be coming out?

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Seems any keyboard action that is not a full weighted piano-like action, gets called "semi-weighted". Not just a new trend. Anything not weighted was called "semi-weighted" even at the dawn of midi.

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im putting in another vote for the novation remote 25sl mkii.

for what it sounds like you want it for...youll want a lot of control over your synths. you will almost never use the xy pad...but its nice to have. the pads arent great, but again...for what you want to do you probably wont use them.

what it does have is all the knobs and sliders youll ever need, plus it has automap. automap can be a pain to set up initially...but once you have it going its f'ing fantastic.

i absolutely love my novation. i cant recommend it highly enough. i started out with a crappy m-audio oxygen 8. i mean i know its an entry level controller...but it always felt like a kids toy to me. i had it for maybe 2 years before it was unplayable due to constant ghost midi sends.

the novation is built like a tank (but still very portable).

again...ridiculous amounts of knobs and sliders...and automap is almost worth the price of admission on its own.
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Any user reviews on the Alesis VI25?

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I'd skip the 25 keys.. you will possibly want something on which you can play chords.. with both hands.


I'd recommend 61 keys... but 49 minimum.


Key feel is very personal, I like synth action for EDM/Trance.

I have a Yamaha 25 key controller, cheap 61 keys, and a Kurzweil with 76 semi weighted keys. 61 is really the sweet spot for me for EDM. I could probably survive on 49 though.

25 is farrr too limited for me. I never really use it as a result. Sure, it is portable.. but not super functional if you are fleshing out chord progressions on the keyboard. If you just want single note leads or basses though 25 would be fine.

Optionally, get 25 now and see if it works for you. But ah I think you might feel too limited.

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+1 for sl 25 mkii

I regret selling mine. Well, not really because I have a 49 now. But given the choices, there are more options with plenty of physical controls available for the bigger keyboard sizes. But for 25 keys, there is only the 25 sl, arturia keylab, and roland a-300 pro that I know of. Factor in automap and the better keys, and I think this is the best choice out of the 3. Korg taktile seems to have missed an opportunity here, as the format seems similar to the larger keyboards and they could've fitted the knobs in there too, if they really wanted.

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The original Novation Remote 25 was also amqzing feeling. By far the best keybed of any 25 key keybed ive ever used. Most 25 key keybeds are spongy low end junk out there. Like i love my Korg MicroX but its keybed is absolute bottom barrel in terms of quality. Highly recommend playing whatever you plan on buying before you buy it, especially 25 key keybeds.

Devon
Simple music philosophy - Those who can, make music. Those who can't, make excuses.
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