any M-audio Keystation Pro88 users yet?

[peppy197]

I am waiting to get my M-audio Keystation Pro88 next week, and before paying for it in full and then finding out things, can I ask any users their opinions?

I anticipate working with XPraze with it because of its four zones compatible with XPhraze's 4 midi channels/ouputs.



Allen

[1-2-Many]

Hey Peppy, I'm interested in the Pro-88 too. If you get no responses here, why don't you give us all your own review once it arrives, and you've had a chance to fiddle with it.

[peppy197]

, why don't you give us all your own review once it arrives

I will be paid for this? Of course...



Pre-review of M-Audio's Keystation Pro 88:



M-Audios Swan song before acquisition by Pro-Tools' Degidesign is an awesome temptation for many home studio hobbyists. At 500-US you get an 88 key "hammer action" (not called weighed action) controller with about 60 knobs, sliders, and buttons. And it looks sexy too.

What it does is cause the "waiting-in-line" buyer (I got to the music store and found out the last one was gone) is ANXIETY and dread (and poor spelling). Why dread? At 500-US something will be cheap. So I put 100-US deposit on it and can buy it or not. But I have first choice when it arrives Tuesday. I need a new keyboard for my home studio project anyway.

Some real heavy hammering pianists, some who play in orchestra pits and play heavy handedly, found the keybed to be lacking. I am only interested in having a piano feel to a synth-like instrument to play XPhrase with, not Chopin. And to be honest, since the Beatles came out on our black and white TV one Sunday evening I do not play "academically" Bach Inventions and such any longer. So it may be ideal for someone who likes the "feal" of a real piano but found real pianos too bothersome to record live, and who wants to play the synths, this may be a great buy, as long as you do not hammer the keys, cause it has been reported elsewhere that they will weaken and maybe loose there return springiness, lack of a better term.

i will try to remember that I have a post here on Tuesday and report my findings.

Especially concerning QUALITY CONTROL issues which should be kept in focus with this machine

allen

[zebastian21]

I've had pro 88 for over 1 month.....I love it!!!...its keys are great,. I havent really had time to program it yet , but I'm not really crazy about enigma , i couldnt figure it out . anyway , I used to have remote 25 and wasnt really happy with it , I found myself wanting more keys and pro 88 for $500 was a great deal compared to my former remote 25 which i had paid 400!! .....I saw other controllers like fatar which are more expensive and its construction is really cheap . pro 88's quality doesnt even looks like m-audio's controller (no offense) .

[kevvvvv]

Just ordered an M-Audio MK-461c.

61 note, 34 assignable knobs and sliders, and 10 preset memories.

Obviously not a pianist's keyboard, but looks pretty good for £200.

[jdg]

there is a big long thread somewhere already when it first was released.

i have had mine since june.. i got it really early.

its OK. for the price, you cannot beat it.. but it is not _that_ great.

the keys are OK far better then 'synth' keys.. but no aftertouch, and kinda 'slow' some of my keys stick a bit and others are lighter than some. it is no highend digital piano for sure.

it is buggy... the transport buttons don't work right all the time.

my buddy who bought one at the same time, some of his dials don't send midi consistantly...

but for the money.. you cannot get anywhere near it. it is what it is... and it is what it costs.

[asseca]

kevvvvv,

I have the MK-461C for 1 month, works perfect as an organ / MIDI controller. This is a product from Evolution. Evolution was taken over by M-Audio some months ago.

[peppy197]

pro 88's quality doesnt even looks like m-audio's controller (no offense) .

hmmmm....

I wonder if I should ask you to be clearer, without prejudice of course.


But I am glad to hear you love it

thanks


allen

[peppy197]

there is a big long thread somewhere already when it first was released.

It is under this forum as: Topic =
M Audio Keystation Pro 88....Anyone got one yet?

Thanks

allen

[peppy197]

I've had pro 88 for over 1 month.....I love it!!!...its keys are great,.

I did read in another forum at another site that the velocity response, for any if not all of the 9 presets, had a tendency to jump to 127 too soon.
(i.e. should be 100 and is already 127 on the linear velocity curve)

Has this been your impression?


thanks


allen

[abernathy]

I just played with a Pro 88 at Guitar Center and I didn't like the keyboard feel at all - it felt very inconsistent and spongy to me. M-Audio really lacks innovation to me - if KORG would put the microKONTROL technology into a full-size controller, they would blow everyone out of the water - which is why I use a nice-feeling barebones keyboard with a microKONTROL above it for knobs and sliders.

[peppy197]

- which is why I use a nice-feeling barebones keyboard with a microKONTROL above it for knobs and sliders.

You know, that is exactly what I had in mind when I went into the music store, but the clecrk started mentioning how he actually just sold an M-Audio pro 88, and etc... etc...

Also I had a midi drum pad in mind "secondarily"(?).

Should cancel the pro 88 (maybe). I am reading here and elsewhere from users of about 50% great, 50% not-so as to evaluations...
Yeah, and I did hear about the sponginess. Guess Ill try it on site first.




allen

[peppy197]

OK So I bought it Tuesday and returned it Wednesday.

Why? Although it is impressive and a great piece of equipment for the price, it weighs so much (57 lbs in the box) it has to be a permanent piece of studio-room furniture. Not good for me, I may be moving far a few times in the next few months.

So I'm considering the 61es,cheaper and more appropriate for me. I dont need all those knobs and sliders that I am not used to using anyway.

One subjective negative point: The black keys had less resistence than the white. After a test, I found that if I was careless, all black keys came thru at 110 velocity whereas the white were 80, same pressure applied, or so I thought. With a little concsious effort you can get them evened out but I am the type that does not like "conscious efforts" LOL. This could also be due to my playing synth keys for the past 14 years, and never a real piano in sight.



allen

[DevonB]

OK So I bought it Tuesday and returned it Wednesday.

Why? Although it is impressive and a great piece of equipment for the price, it weighs so much (57 lbs in the box) it has to be a permanent piece of studio-room furniture. Not good for me, I may be moving far a few times in the next few months.

Correction - the board weights 47 pounds (60 pounds in the box). If you wanted light, then go for a VMK88 which is 14 pounds or TMK88 which is 13.6 pounds. Now THAT is truely portable.

Devon

[CynicalSmile]

For what it's worth, I love mine. I had, or have used as a controller: an 88 key Kurzweill digital piano, a Casio cheapy, and a Roland A-37.

The build quality is all around excellent. I owned an evolution UC-33 (gave away to friend after I got the Keystation) and the knobs and sliders are MUCH better feeling.

The keys feel good to me, though a slightly inconsistant feel from one key to another (random) key. The different key velocity settings are great, and if you're having any difficulty adjusting to the "heavier than synth weighted" keys, there's a velocity response for you. There's even one that seems to be constant 127, which I find usefull for drums (sometimes).



I love the large lcd display, and the fact that it updates the current knob, slider, or pitch and mod wheel positions (as in you will see numbers from 0-127, and constantly updating).

All in all, I love it to death, and barring a catastrophic failure I don't see myself ever replacing it.