Looking for 88key Piano action controller /w aftertouch

[Curois]

I am a pianoplayer who owns a receptor. I'm looking to buy a midi controller to hook up to the Receptor. Being a piano player, I'd like to have a pianostyle action keybed. But I also use a lot of plugins that make use of aftertouch, so I'd like the controller to have aftertouch as well if possible.

That greatly narrows down my options. So far I found the Keystation pro88 from M-Audio which doesn't have aftertouch, but does have lots and lots of controller knobs and sliders, which is a plus. Reading the forums here I came to the conclusion that it can also send midi to the receptor over USB, which is great. Do all the controller knobs from the keystation function on the receptor?

The other option is a CME UF8. It has piano action, aftertouch and quite a few knobs, albeit it less than the keystation. Is it possible to have it send MIDI to the receptor over USB? Or does it need dedicated drivers that will rule out that possibility for the receptor?
If it works over USB, can you still use all the controller knobs?

I'd be very happy if anyone could answer my questions. Other alternatives are welcome as well of course.

Daan

[Opax]

You might want to check out the CME VX8.

[WoJ]

i have a Studiologic/Fatar VMK 88, it has aftertouch but the keys are only lightly weighted. Loads of faders/buttons though. Might be worth checking out the higher-end Studiologic stuff.

[Kermit Jagger]

I find the key action on the M-Audio not very good, but it is a useful keyboard.

I had a Fatar 900 that was very nice to use, but had very little controllers.

At the moment, CME seem to have the balance right if you're looking at the bottom end of the market.

Money no object, I'd go for a Kawai MP8. The action is fantastic, sounds are great, etc. But it's very heavy (problem is you move it a lot) and it's at the top end of the market.

I'm thinking of reverting to the Fatar 900 for its action, and add a novation remote SL on top to get controllers.

[looneytunes]

While this is slightly more electronics than you are asking for, I like the combination of my Yamaha S90 (used as a controller) with Receptor. It has a great piano feel, and the latencies seem pretty acceptable.

Kevin L

[Curois]

Thanks for the advice so far! Nobody has any experience with using the CME stuff through USB? And the M-Audio stuff, although it seems to work through USB with Receptor, does it retain all it's functions, ie knobs faders etc?

The Kawai has sounds so it's not really what I'm looking for. I am looking for a pure controller. Same goes for the S90.

[c3boy]

I have the CME UF7, why is it so important to you to use it through USB Curios? If it is'nt I would say the CME UF8 is your best all round buy, weighted,afttertouch and plenty of control surfaces. If aftertouch isn't that important to you as much as weighted keybed, well I went for the Casio Privia 88 note digital piano PX310 (all same keybed in the PX range though no matter what model) It works great for piano and Scarbee stuff. Thats my compromise, bought a great controller for piano (very cheap and better action than Roland and other high end boards IMO) and use a CME UF7 for all the non piano stuff that need controllers.

[Curois]

So the CME UF series can't control receptor over USB? Maybe it isn't that important as long as it can be powered by it.

[Curois]

And I also ask this because I'd want to use all of the UF8's controller functions/knobs and I don't know if this is possible over plain MIDI.

[Basjoe]

Martin Walker wrote a good review of the CME UF8 in Sound on Sound back in August 2005, and the article can be read online here :-
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug05/a ... cmeuf8.htm

Your curiosity about USB functionality may be clarified in this review. You could also go along to the SOS PC Music forum and ask Martin yourself. He bought one after the review.

Basjoe

[Basjoe]

Incidentally, I am going to buy one of these myself after christmas. My internet research has revealed that there is a question mark over quality control (made in China), so my advice would be NOT to buy from a boxshifter. The £30-40 you save may be quickly eaten up by return postage charges. Go to your local dealer and get your hands on one.

Basjoe

[c3boy]

Incidentally, I am going to buy one of these myself after christmas. My internet research has revealed that there is a question mark over quality control (made in China), so my advice would be NOT to buy from a boxshifter. The £30-40 you save may be quickly eaten up by return postage charges. Go to your local dealer and get your hands on one.

Basjoe

Well, I can understand that. My CME UF7 has a noisy key and slightly sticking. Its the B on the second octave. Ironically this was also the EXACT same problem on another one i bought after i sent the other one back, however i decided to take a reduction in price and just live with it. It doesnt stop you using it, but it is a bit noisy.

Apart from that, the case is solid apart from the end cheeks which i suspect would crack if it was hit.

Studiologic have got a new one out supposedly, although it's taking for ever to be released VMK76. Think they do an 88 version too.

It's hard finding a 88note weighted board with control surfaces. It's like if your a piano player you don't need them. I wish companies would get a grip and stop releasing keyboards aimed at synth and piano players seperately, and start releasing decent multipurpose controllers. Credit to CME for trying to do this though.

[JayVee]

As an alternative, I pose this angle:
Why are you so determined to use a dedicated 'cotroller'? Are you really in need of a dozen dedicated knobs and sliders to achieve filter and panning effects? If you're serious about a weighted controller, pick a MIDI piano-weighted keyboard you love the feel of... and use it! Is it a problem if it happens to include an on-board sequencer, sampler and a 1000 of it's own sounds? If it feels right, and you're not interested in it's internal sounds, then don't hook up it's output.

[jahfume]

The new Stdiologic weigted controler that b3boy mentioned is not the VMK 88 but is called VMK188-plus and VMK176-plus.
There is a review on line from Keyboard mag which had it paired with Ivory and the weighting (its action is also graded)and feel was highly rated. It has 30 memory locations but dose not do splits/layers and assumes these would be taken care of by the software youre using.
Corect me if im wrong but the CME dose not have any memory locations.
Definately also checkout the Kawai MP4 it
is a bit of a bargain.

[c3boy]

Yeah you can't save any patches on CME boards, unless that's changed with the new motorised fader boards they have released. Not a problem for me though as any splits etc i do with the receptor not the actual board. I agree with Jayvee in buying a controller that feels right. To me this is a casio privia which i and others think is a great scaled weighted action for piano. it has sounds and rhythms and two track sequencer, but as Jayvee points out, you don't have to use them. If your playing more than piano sounds, I reckon it's best to have two keyboards with Receptor. One for piano (weighted) and another for synth, strings etc. There is a multitude of boards for that purpose. I chose a 76 note board just purely for the number of keys point of view and controllers. If your not planning on doing large splits, a 4 or 5 octave keyboard would suffice. But i tend to have moog, strings, on the UF7 split.

I just got myself a Kurzweil SP76 which has a nice feel and although not fully weighted, has loads of parameters for editing and is a great midi controller, with pitch and mod ribbons. Great for the Scarbee Rhodes,Wurlitzer and Clavinet libraries i find.