Ultimate Keyboard Controller?

[McLilith]

I'm curious to know what features everyone would like to see in an Ultimate MIDI Keyboard Controller. I know some people will probably concentrate on the "feel" of the key action, but what else would you like to see in a master keyboard, if price were no object? Feel free to talk about what materials to use for the construction, whether you want waterfall keys or otherwise, whether you want one, two, or even more keyboards in the unit, what sort of continuous controllers you want implemented, what sort of preset selection and management features you would like, whether you want 61, 88, or even 128 keys (the total number of possible MIDI notes), etc, etc, etc.

It just seems to me that many people dislike every keyboard ever made, and I'm wondering if some sort of ultimate superset of features could be put together that would make most people happy. In my opinion, it doesn't seem that the manufacturers have found the right combination of features yet.


thanks,
McLilith

[aMUSEd]

I like weighted keys but prefer semi-weighted to fully weighted as my hand isn't strong enough for more. If I got another controller it would have to have an XY pad like the Novation ones' do - that looks really essential for a lot of modern synths. Minimum would be 66 keys as well - small ones are no good to me. What else...

Aftertouch?
Sliders as well as knobs - especially as I love to play Hammond emulations.
Joysticks are also useful instead of standard mod/pitch wheels.
Lots of built in presets for different VSTi-s and hosts.
Pads like on the Korg mini controller.

[nuffink]

A couple of things I resent having to leave the kb to access:-

Some kind of patch change.
A record button.

[McLilith]

Some kind of patch change.
A record button.

I'd personally want keypad access to patches, with either the number or an assigned name for the current patch displayed. For me, a numeric LED display for patch number would be enough. Unlike LCDs, LEDs should last a lifetime, and I don't really have to give every preset combination an alphanumeric name. I really don't like systems where you have to use the music keyboard as some sort of parameter entry system, instead of having a dedicated numeric keypad (or whatever) for the job.

I'd also like to see some up/down buttons to increment or decrement through the available presets.

I hadn't thought of it before you brought it up, but you are certainly right, dedicated transport controls should absolutely be included as well. (Remember, none of that hidden-function crap like "hit a special shift key, then hit A#3 to start the sequencer. Hit the shift key, and then hit D2 to pause the sequencer." )

I'd also like a generous amount of jacks on the backside of the unit, to connect a plethora of pedals, footswitchs, and other controllers (breath controller, for example), if I wanted.

Also, unlike most companies who decided that all footswitches will be normally open switches, or normally closed switches, I think the ultimate master keyboard should be able to work with either style. This would make it easier to recycle old footswitches from other manufacturers. I bet several people have a stray footswitch sitting around that is wired backwards from their current controller keyboard, and would like to use it but can't because of the incompatibility issue.

The master keyboard should be able to save all its internal options via MIDI sysex, a non-MIDI USB connection, or perhaps to a standard compact flash card.

It should have standard MIDI outputs, and probably also USB for connecting to a computer. I would like to see a MIDI input on the keyboard, the MIDI stream coming into this input should be routable in such a way that you could filter and merge it into the keyboard's main MIDI output. This would allow the connecting and merging of external MIDI controllers from other companies, just incase you wanted to add a few more knobs or whatever to your control surface.

So, what else? ...

[pygmallion13]

The M-Audio Keystation 88pro does cover a lot of these needs... except for an X/Y controller, Breath Contl and Aftertouch.
It does include both USB and Midi connections.
A nice big blue backlit LCD which gives good feedback to what is going on. Enigma software which allows easier editing of patchs from a computer.

It does have assignable transport controls directly above the mod/pitch wheel, which is very nice.
If you haven't checked it out, do so.
I have heard that the feel is a nice weighted keyboard(not too heavy though and easy to play).

-pygmallion