I like my Yamaha p-120, but it's way to big to drag around NYC. I'm considering using a soft-synth set-up with Mainstage and a MIDI controller.
Does anybody know anything about the M-Audio Axiom 61? That's what looks best so far.
I know this won't help too much, but I would stay clear of the M-Audio range.. the so called weighted keys feel as if they're based on rusty springs.
That one looks a hell of a lot nicer than mine, but I definately wouldn't buy without trying it.
I did a gig this past spring and the 2nd keys guy was on an m-audio. Those keyboards are a cheap mess. I wouldn't touch them anymore.
Ever checked out the fatar keybed? They are on studiologic keyboards. I tried one awhile back and was expecting something better.
I still think Yamaha is pretty good, especially their high-end keybeds. But it's got the same problem - they are all too heavy.
Here's a good discussion I found once:
http://www.northernsounds.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-50382.html
I'm no keys player, I mainly use mine for programming strings etc. The fatars look great, haven't heard of them before.. pretty cheap too. Might have to try some out for my studio. The M-Audio drives me insane! Thank god for midi quantize thats all I can say, impossible to play spot on time with those things with the sensitivity and action combined.
If we were talking keyboards with on board sounds on the other hand I would go for the Roland Fantom G8, based on my little experience playing keys!
I have the roland pcr-300. My only complaint is that logic 8 is worthless when it comes to using your this keyboard as a control surface. Other than that is a good small keyboard, not too expensive and too bad of a feeling when playing.
Logic 8 isn't designed for using a keyboard as a control surface (for live shows anyway). Check out Mainstage, which is included as part of the Logic Studio suite. There is a bit of a learning curve involved, but once you get it, the results can be amazing.
I have been using the soft-synth/Mainstage setup a lot this year, and it has worked wonders for me. A lot better than hauling my MOTIF ES8 around everywhere. I do need to get a larger controller than the one I currently have eventually, though. 49 keys just isn't enough.
I don't have problems with all the M-Audio actions, just the aftertouch ones. I've been doing a lot of sequencing with the Axiom controllers at school and I'm not the biggest fan of their action. The bottom of the key is really spongy and just feels weird. My Keystudio is unweighted minus the aftertouch and it feels great for the purpose. I'll have to look around myself and figure out what I'm going to use to upgrade. Really I just need more keys.
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