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THE best hammer action 88 key


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ok am shoping for a 88 keyboard hammer action

i would like to know which are the best ones

to work with logic 7.1

 

i was thinking '''''''''Logic-Studio, Kursweil or m-audio but i heard'''''''''''

some of these keys had problems

also the new yamaha Mo8 if any one has any of these let me know,,,

 

my bouget is $1650 or lower

help anyone

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M-Audio Keystation Pro 88. Most of M-Audio's gear are toys, but this is actually good (for the money). You may read on the boards a lot of people claiming theirs is jacked up, some keys don't work, whatever; but the few music stores I deal with have never had a return on them (but have on other models).

 

The best actually is the Fatar series in terms of feel and action, but unfortunately they don't last long. It's weird because they make the keybeds for a lot of the synth manufacturers, but can't seem to get it right for themselves.

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M-Audio Keystation Pro 88. Most of M-Audio's gear are toys, but this is actually good (for the money). ....

 

Good for the money controller-wise, yes. A lot of knobs and faders. If you're after great action, avoid this keyboard. (IMO). I tested it extensively, cos I really wanted to like it. But it feels like I'm playing on plastic-bubble-wrap-stuff. The casio privia has great action, so do the yamaha P-series. I ended up with a CME UF8. Partly because I needed a pitch bend-wheel and a modulation wheel besides great action. The action of the CME doesn't feel really natural, but.. strangely, when I play it for a long time it feels absolutely great, and I feel like my fingers are flying... (but beware; the ting is ugly! :-)Anyway, you should really check the options out for yourself as its such a personal thing...

 

Good luck.

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Anyway, you should really check the options out for yourself as its such a personal thing...

 

That's the real truth of it.

 

You know what I've always wanted but could never find a good one? A keyboard controller with aftertouch. My old K2000 had it and I really miss pressing the keys down to trigger vibrato or open a filter. Anybody got some options on that? Expensive is fine, it's worth it.

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You know what I've always wanted but could never find a good one? A keyboard controller with aftertouch

I was sad to find out my Pro88 didn't have aftertouch...I really considered selling it when I discovered that very soon after bringing it home, but I'm giving it another chance now. I just fixed up my workdesk, today to get better access to it again. When I did have it set up properly after I first got it I certainly did like it for virtual instrument synths and organs

 

There's really well-implemented aftertouch on my Korg M1, but it's short, it doesn't have proper pitch/mod wheels (it has a joystick,instead!) and I feel silly having THREE keyboards hooked up in this limited space so my M-1 has been sitting in a closet.

 

For piano, my cheap yamaha p60 feels and sounds great to me. It never needs tuning plus it's got built-in active speakers so always ready to go...can record direct or midi... In fact, I got rid of my apt.size acoustic 'cuz it sucked so bad compared to this thing...but lots of other people without a piano background think the action on the yamaha is way too hard...and it isn't a controller at all...it has no volume pedal, no knobs/faders/mod wheels nothing!.)

 

Anyway, I guess the subjectivity factor here makes finding ONE controller to cover everything impossible... since tastes vary so widely.

 

RESPECT > i think $1650 US would get you both the YAMAHA piano and the M-AUDIO Pro88 or something similar, that's more then I spent on them here in Canada. I myself went with these two cheaper solutions because I didn't like ANY of the more expensive controllers any better, your mileage may vary. :)

 

By the way, it IS possible to have more then one controller working as one unit so you could use the vol.pedal or controls from one while playing the keyboard on another

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The best way is to go to a large music vendor and try the controllers yourself, you'll be surprised how much personal preference comes into play. Nevertheless, I will say the controllers by the up and coming company CME (I've used an UF8) are incontestably better than those offered by M-Audio (i.e. Keystation Pro 88 and ProKeys 88). Be sure to make sure the controller you buy can do what you want it to do and that it feels the same PLUGGED IN, not just fiddling with soundless keys to determine the keybed touch. A lot has to do with with how the keyboard communicates with the computer...there's a sense of an intangible relationship going on there. Lastly, if you'd like a controller with sounds or at least some sounds, with remarkable keybeds, definitely look into Yamaha's P-series Pianos and S-Series synths.
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These CMEs look AWESOME. So you guys have tried them, and they're good? Gonna have to guy by the store and wail on one anyway, but anything I should know about from your experiences?

 

action; good/very good depending on taste

 

knobs and faders; feel cheap, but they work ok.

 

Remote buttons (play, rec, stop etc): feel cheap, but have actually become a great tool for when recording pianopaerts. Keeps from reaching for the keyboard a lot.

 

weight: okay-ish (i think little over 20 kg) At east I've never played a goo-action 88 that's any lighter.

 

direct usb-connection to mac: flawless.

 

Built quality: Mostly sturdy metal, but with cheap feeling plastic sidepanels

 

Price; Can't go wrong.

 

Looks: Even my mother in law is prettier, but that's taste.

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Suges,

 

Can you please give us a follow-up report when you have a chance to use that thing with LOGIC...and yeah like RESPECT asked, which exact model is it? Does it actually work the way you hoped? Does it come with LOGIC presets? If you are using the LEARN command... does it work?

 

thanx PETE

 

PS: re KEYSTATION-->

M-AUDIO's "Enigma" software for the M-AUDIO Keystation Pro88 doesn't work at all with my system, anymore - i suspect maybe because they haven't kept abreast of OSX- anyway, I can not transmit to or from controller(!) reinstalling fresh copies doesn't help...

Using the Learn command is still hit and miss.

Meanwhile, their tech support line listed in thier HELP file isn't working and they haven't answered my eMail from last week yet. I'm a little disapointed and hoping I can maybe sell this keyboard to someone who doesn't use Logic!

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Well I decided to go for the UF7 because I'm getting tired of hammer action (that isn't a real piano). At the store I wailed on the UF8 and does seem to feel noticeably better than the M-Audio one...however it's my session keyboardist who really likes that M-Audio one, but he hasn't seen or heard of the UF series yet.

 

Anyway, the UF7 has awesome synth action...basically it feels exactly like the same quality as the keybeds on Roland synths. Better than the Kurzweil keybed. It's all made of metal which is cool (and rare). The aftertouch is exactly what I've been missing, works fine.

 

The transport buttons are a little wonky I'll tell you right now. But if that's a deal-breaker for you, you're not really shopping for a quality keyboard are you! It's weird the transport buttons send different MIDI message depending on where they think they are in your song. I got my Play and Stop buttons to work so that's good enough for me. More about this at: http://www.cme-pro.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=431&fpage=1. I haven't figured out how to make the preset knob or Inc/Dec buttons correspond to pressing F12/F13 to move through your presets, I don't think it's technically possible. Sliders work well, knobs do too.

 

This is a very good MIDI controller no doubt.

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  • 2 months later...

Wow what a 360 I just did. I had my heart set on a M-Audio keyboard but after reading this and reading some reviews I starting to like the feature on the CME. This will be my first(own) keyboard. I used other friends, but at first when I saw it on the site, i didnt liek the look, but it not about the look then i saw it in person, i like it and the feel, that one thing, i trully love the UF7 feel. ABout two more weeks and I take this puppy home. I will be useing it on logic,. would love more info that you have sence you had it for a while thank for the info again.

THis might sound funny but im excited..To get this keyboard

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