Ableton Forum

bosonHavoc wrote:anyone have the cme u-key?

http://www.cme-pro.com/products-list/pr ... ground.jpg

i have been eyeballing those for a while but i have not had my hands on it yet.
but thats 49 key

i've also been considering Yamaha KX-25 25-key.
same issue though.. the music stores don't have them in stock.

I got the M-key (same keys, no knobs/pads/tone generator)

You can't find a better keyboard in its price range. It even feels better than some of the 200-400$ keyboards. The keys feel nice and the velocity curve is just perfect. Only that joystick is a bad thing. Too tiny to tweak accurately. But on the other hand, it isn't much worse than your average cheapo pitch bend.

Interesting!
Ive seen deals around my parts, for the m-key, but didnt think it was any good at all.
Perhaps i should consider it then, even tho i would really like a mod wheel etc..

steffensen wrote:Interesting!
Ive seen deals around my parts, for the m-key, but didnt think it was any good at all.
Perhaps i should consider it then, even tho i would really like a mod wheel etc..

In my case, I'm actually looking to source a high quality pitchbend. These days it only takes a few lines of Arduino code to hook up virtually everything. Even analog pitch bend modules.
You can look for another keyboard that has a better pitchbend, but then the keys might not be so nice.

Call me crazy, but combining a decent MIDI Keyboard with this: http://www.synthwood.com/wb/P5064954.JPG (Pitchbend part for Pro one, DSI evolver, Moog,..) or something similar, does look like a nice option.

hoffman2k wrote: In my case, I'm actually looking to source a high quality pitchbend. These days it only takes a few lines of Arduino code to hook up virtually everything. Even analog pitch bend modules.
You can look for another keyboard that has a better pitchbend, but then the keys might not be so nice.

Call me crazy, but combining a decent MIDI Keyboard with this: http://www.synthwood.com/wb/P5064954.JPG (Pitchbend part for Pro one, DSI evolver, Moog,..) or something similar, does look like a nice option.

I wouldnt call u crazy at all, thats some nice options there. And i already have a Arduino here.
Gonna consider this myself.. Are you planning to modify the CME keys then, or something else?

steffensen wrote:

hoffman2k wrote: In my case, I'm actually looking to source a high quality pitchbend. These days it only takes a few lines of Arduino code to hook up virtually everything. Even analog pitch bend modules.
You can look for another keyboard that has a better pitchbend, but then the keys might not be so nice.

Call me crazy, but combining a decent MIDI Keyboard with this: http://www.synthwood.com/wb/P5064954.JPG (Pitchbend part for Pro one, DSI evolver, Moog,..) or something similar, does look like a nice option.

I wouldnt call u crazy at all, thats some nice options there. And i already have a Arduino here.
Gonna consider this myself.. Are you planning to modify the CME keys then, or something else?

No modifications. The thing about a quality pitchbend is, it takes a while to be able to really play it well. Instead of trying to find a cheap plastic one with a crappy resolution that eventually gets replaced with the keyboard in time. Might as well get one to keep and master.

So what keys are you gonna use then? Are you gonna build the whole midi keyboard from scratch?

steffensen wrote:So what keys are you gonna use then? Are you gonna build the whole midi keyboard from scratch?

I'm just using the CME keyboard over usb and I plan on using a separate pitch bend/Modwheel module also connected over USB (with arduino perhaps).
Just got to source the parts.

Ah, a standalone device. I thought you were implenting it into the keyboard. I cant see myself using a standalone device for modwheel etc. Tho, those mods looks really nice!

Hmmm... so after my third visit, trying lots of different keyboards, I've come to the inevitable conclusion that there's nothing perfect out there and I may as well make a big compromise... Although I don't want to buy M-Audio again, there's really nothing else out there that meets my needs...

The more I played with the CMEs, the less I liked the keyboard action - it's very much personal taste though. I also missed the pitchbend & mod wheel on the CMEs. The Yamahas had a nice action, but lots of stuff & bulk I don't need on them. Axioms and Novations also just have too many extra controls that I don't need (adequately covered by my UC-33e and upcoming APC ). EMU were too clunky.

I think I've also come to the conclusion that I'm going to use the keyboard mostly at home for composition and not carry it round with me for jam sessions.

The conclusion of all this self-indulgent rambling is that I'm probably going to buy this...

M-AUDIO KEYSTATION 61ES


...knowing that it may only last a couple of years and I'll be replacing it anyway sometime, when hopefully there's something else, better, on the market...

8O wrote:Went to the customer-hostile Just Music today...

yeah, they can be pretty awful sometimes. . especially the k.braurei.

how is it they are the only (mainstream = not schneiders) music store in town?

swishniak wrote:

8O wrote:Went to the customer-hostile Just Music today...

yeah, they can be pretty awful sometimes. . especially the k.braurei.

how is it they are the only (mainstream = not schneiders) music store in town?

Which other Berlin store has such wide range of yellow ukuleles?

swishniak wrote:yeah, they can be pretty awful sometimes. . especially the k.braurei.

how is it they are the only (mainstream = not schneiders) music store in town?

It really depends when you go - I think they put the most grumpy people on the busiest shifts. 10am Monday morning and I got pretty friendly service - one of the guys gave me a pretty good demo of the Maschine. Saturday afternoon? Forget it, I was pushed out of the way by one of the assistants!

And every time I'm there, I wonder the same the question: how come there's no real competition for them here in Berlin? It's a bit strange really when you consider the music scene here...

^ thats because geeks like us buy in the internet anyway, so it doesnt really worth to pay the rent for us . .

Nah, really, I only buy on Thomann because of the poor service at Just Music (previously known as Sau & Doofland). Other stuff like CDs and books I buy locally at probably a higher price, but to support local businesses - but there those shops have excellent service, so I like supporting them. But you're probably right, it wouldn't be worth the effort nowadays to set up a physical store...

^ it is sad. i miss shops