Most Compatible MIDI Keyboard Controller for Sonar X2 / X3

I have an A-300pro by Cakewalk (now by Roland AFAIK) and am very pleased with it. It's integration with Sonar is near perfect.

The other thing I like about the A-300 is the number of keys. It has a few more than most small controllers that, I find, makes it a lot more useful.

Thanks for the responses guys.
 

jb101
I have an A-300pro by Cakewalk (now by Roland AFAIK) and am very pleased with it. It's integration with Sonar is near perfect.

The other thing I like about the A-300 is the number of keys. It has a few more than most small controllers that, I find, makes it a lot more useful.

 
I guess that should have been obvious! So I guess its fair to say for easy compatibility out of the box, this series is the way to go? I like the form factor of the A800PRO, it would fit the space I have better, although the compromise is travel / size of the controllers. I'm not too keen on the stick either.
 
I've got this thing in my head about going for a semi-weighted action, but I'm in two minds. I tried an M-Audio Keystation, its the only semi-weighted action I've tried, and it was horrendous. Not like a natural piano action in any way, it worked against you, so light playing became difficult. This is the opposite of what I'm looking for, I want something that enables a light touch. If this is what all these 'semi-weighted' actions are like, the Roland could be a real contender, because I know I'm guaranteed a good playable synth action.
 

Mystic38
if action is of a concern, I think you would be better off with a used Novation SLII, or even SLI if that better fits your budget. The keybed in the SLII is from Fatar and significantly better than either of those you mentioned.

Its a little over budget, but if the action is really special I could maybe save my pennies. Only thing is the stick again. So with the Novation, and Automap 4, can anyone confirm that if I set up Automap 4 following the instructions for Sonar X1 (which reading other posts is what you need to do) I'll get good reliable and permanent control of transport, faders etc, thats comparable to say the Roland series mentioned above?
 
I'm leaning toward Novation but I don't want to get stung by poor integration with Sonar X2. I can live with reasonable but not perfect integration, as long as it is consistent and the basics are covered.

Thanks jb101. Whatever I choose will be it for me, my space is pretty tight. I'm currently using a 48 key 'Quickshot' midi controller, which is old, outdated, but perfectly sufficient for its purpose. So I want the extra octave, a little more lux action, and a lot more control of the DAW. It may well turn out that a good synth action is all I can afford, if the cheap semi-weighted actions are all a wash.

I have not had much success with control surfaces, and find that I end up using a controller just to get notes into SONAR 99.99% of the time. All of the knobs and sliders look enticing, but the bottom line is the keys themselves.
 
Be sure to invest some time at a music shop playing the ones you are considering before you buy one (especially if key action is important to you).

Any of them are fine, not that much different in keybed feel really IMO. The question I would ask is what in Sonar you plan to use besides the Sonar Plugins. Certain Sample based Instruments just work better with the pitch & mod wheels over the joystick. And then there's the matter of aftertouch, which may not even matter for how you play into the DAW, but if it does, only the Roland A-xxxPro's and Novations will do that. There's also the Akai that no one has mentioned. There are things I don't like about everyone of those mentioned, but if I needed one immediately, I think I would go with the Novation Impulse. And I think I might have seen Sweetwater selling some 'B' stock cheaper too you may want to check out?  

I have plenty of 61 keys with the usual controls & vel sense pads. But I am going to buy M-Audio 88 Key es for the simple reason of where control keys are situated in most kontakt instrument keybooards. Sick of scrolling, patching in 2nd keyboard or splitting keyboard into zones. so not worried about any actual on board controls except the obvious universal ones.

Mystic38
I certainly suggest you try it before you buy anything (try them all, just make the ones you like are plugged into something)

 
Problem is, I'm in a regional area about 90 minutes out of Sydney in Australia. I get into Sydney every week or two for business, but it's hard to find a one stop shop where I can try all of these boards.
 
If any Sydney-siders know of a really big music store that has a lot or all of these controllers available to try, I'd love to know. When I'm in Sydney I'm pretty mobile so I can get to most areas, although South or West of the CBD is best.
 

Mystic38
regarding "that stick again".. the SLII has a switch that can disable the spring on the mod (Y axis), so while it is not separate, dedicated pitch and mod wheels, you can set a static mod amount so its not as restrictive as a sprung to centre action.

That's a neat feature, makes a difference. My first keyboards were Roland SH-09 and then a Juno-6, so I was totally OK with that style of bender then, but after some DX's and the early Ensoniq boards I got fairly set on the two wheel setup. I could probably adapt.