Best 49-Key MIDI Keyboard???

[sporkles]

Does anyone have any experience with M-Audio's Keyrig 49 for plain, no-nonsense keys? My Axiom 61 is taking up too much
space, and I really don't need its knobs and sliders next to my BCR and BCF.

I wouldn't mind a 37 key board, but it seems that three octave boards aren't in demand.

@33tetragammon: I hope that means the Pro versions are better than the old Axioms, cause the knobs on those boards really
suck.

The Keyrig is my mobile board of choice till I get my lil Akai laptop keyboard (whatever they are calling it) The Keyrig series is ok....no where near good enough to be my main keyboard. My suggestion would be the Akai MPK49. The MPK series has amazing build quality, fantastic feeling keys and lots of buttons/knobs to twiddle with. For the price the MPK series rocks.

You'd better believe I've been ogling the MPK49, but all I need is the keys - and the space saved, so that I don't have to ruin my back in order to use my BCR.
Also, I'm not much of a player - I just need the keys to play simple sequences for later editing.

[3dot...]

everything Maudio make is cheap crap...
also Alesis...
Novation and Edirol(Roland) have the best controllers that I had an opportunity to try...
I think knobs/faders are important even if you're not gonna use them frequently...
if you're gonna contol synths with it...
they'll add versatility and expression...
(in case you won't wanna take your BCR with you..)
imho...
there's no place for 'knobless' (hehe) controllers in today's day and age...
just put a towel on them or sometin' if they bother you...
(btw...
I don't know what condition the SL you played ... but it's the best damn controller (and smartly designed)I've had the pleasure to use..
it's the KEYBOARD equivilent of the BCR
(it's build like a tank and packs some serious power)
the Akai keys I hadn't had the chance to try... but they look nice...
(like a crossbreed of an MPC and keyboard..
the SL25 pads kinda suck if you like to play aggressively.....)
..but ...I play the bass I'm not a keyboard player...
so what do I know ...

[citizenchris099]

nocturn keyboard seems to be FANTASTIC! .... for €240,00
you get a nocturn and 49 fatar (but not from the top series) keys.

About drumpads it is not only novation..
All suck!
Even a nanopad has better pads than ANY key controller imo.

ever used an MPK?

[Zygi]

cme-m key?

[sporkles]

The new Oxygen series looks pretty spiffy, and they're pretty compact, too. I might just have to consider this one.

[3dot...]

The new Oxygen series looks pretty spiffy, and they're pretty compact, too. I might just have to consider this one.

mine lasted 5 years.. but it was shit all the way...
right now it's squeaking when you play a note and the PB wheel don't work...
my 10 year old korg x5's keyboard is still in amazing shape.

[IP]

nocturn keyboard seems to be FANTASTIC! .... for €240,00
you get a nocturn and 49 fatar (but not from the top series) keys.

About drumpads it is not only novation..
All suck!
Even a nanopad has better pads than ANY key controller imo.

ever used an MPK?

only had i fast demo once so i dont have a clear opinion.

I believe that novation has better keys (dont know yet about the new nocturn key - im still waiting for it but i guess it will be same like sl series)

[TRS80]

I got the mpk49 a few months ago and like it. I mainly like knowing it's really well built and is bound to last. I like to keep things for a long time.

[Illiac]

It ain't all good:
http://mpc-forums.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=119928

[marble]

Fatar TMK 49:


http://www.fatar.com/Studiologic/Pages/TMK_49.htm

Lightweight, compact, genuine Fatar key action in all its beauty. I paid $180 for mine. A fine example of getting exactly one thing perfectly right, in place of doing many things and all of them wrong.

(Granted, a set of octave shift buttons and a MIDI channel switch would've been nice.)

Edit:
Never mind, a new version fixes all the problems:



http://www.studiologic.net/tmk-49.html

[necho]

cme-m key?

I have one - avoid them.

You pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

[Hidden Driveways]

I think there's a gap in the market here - I don't want knobs or faders or drum pads (APC40 and PadKontrol have those covered) - I just want a fairly inexpensive, reasonable quality 49 key keyboard... I'd rather spend the money on build quality instead of knobs and faders I won't use...

I hear you... I'm looking for a new controller because I accidentally fried my Ozonic. I'm digging the knobs and faders on my APC40, and I don't want any more knobs and faders on my controller keyboard. I'm actively trying to de-clutter my workspace, and having unused and unnecessary knobs, sliders, and buttons is not what I'm looking for.

After searching I've arrived at the M-Audio KeyStudio 49i. It's a 49 key controller/interface/piano. I don't need another interface, but the one on the 49i is M-Powered Pro Tools compatible, which is good for me. I never use Pro Tools, but I have a few old recordings that are in Pro Tools that I will need to access again in the future. It also doesn't hurt to have that capability at the ready.

It also has a built-in Steinway grand piano. I don't need this that much, but it's kind of nice knowing that it's got an instrument built-in, and it's more than an empty shell. Could be useful in a band situation someday. Mostly I just like that it's clean and basic, and pretty inexpensive.

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/KeyStudio49i.html

I think there is a gap in the market here, but this one makes the most sense for my needs. I don't really get having drum pads on the far end of a cluttered controller keyboard. I'd rather have the 49i and the nanoPAD. I'd rather put the pads where I want them, rather than be forced to reach over other controls to get to them.

[Hidden Driveways]

There's a new Oxygen series with 25, 49, 61. The 49 looks pretty nice, but it doesn't have aftertouch.

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/O ... ?action=20

[delicioso]

I've tried them a lot of them and I think Axiom 49 (original not the Pro) is the best value for the money and the one that I finally decided on. The Axiom Pro with hypercontrol seems cool to but I already have automap that I'm haappy with so I don't need to spend more for it. The best part about the Axiom 49 is the feel of the semi-weighted keys. I've tried M-Audio's keyrig series, Novation's remote sl series, korg kontrol, you name it and none of them come close. The only keyboard in the price range that came close was Emu's Xboard 49. Xboard 49 was the only one that came close to matching Axiom 49 in terms of the feel and weight of the keys, but the Xboard 49 I got had a defective key which doesn't help building confidence in their construction quality.

[3dot...]

semi-weighted keys are for pussies...