Roland:MrDuke wrote:I realize now this is what I should've done. Like, an old DX7, or something... The thing is, though - you can't get them in 49 keys, they're big and heavy, and lack any DAW control whatsoever. And you have to use a MIDI port with MIDI cables.bvc wrote:They're all crap. Get an older second-hand synth if you want something built with attention to quality and that handles like a real instrument and not a cheap toy.
What you said isn't entirely true though, I think the Roland/Cakewalk/Edirol keyboards are very solid. Or the new M-Audio Air line. But you will have to pay 400-500 for one, which is insane for a 49-key MIDI keyboard.
By the way - most people seemed to have responded to the OP, I actually revived this thread (see my post above) because I bought the Samson Graphite 49 and wanted to get other opinions on it...
I owned the Edirol PCR-800 for some time. It was solid, as you say. But the aftertouch couldn't be used without causing physical pain to engage. Users have been complaining about Roland's stiff, unresponsive aftertouch for almost 30 years, and it's fallen on deaf ears. For me, aftertouch is a main priority, and with the Roland controllers, you don't get it (though you still pay or it).
M-Audio:
I own an Axiom 61 (1st generation). Well, kind of own it. After 3 years of normal use and minimal transportation, it started going haywire. The pitch bend wheel has narrowed down to sending only values 35-100, and the mod wheel just outputs random data. They had to be switched off altogether. A lot of people have gotten the blue screen of death and can't use the controller at all.
Unfortunately, these aren't my only stories of owning MIDI keyboards that die after a few years. And when my 1988 DX11 is still performing like new, that is just unacceptable. Laughably pathetic, in fact.
