Hey all
 
I'm looking at buying an 88key controller.
 
I'm waffling between the Arthurian 88 which looks great and would also be a good controller.
 
Alternatively, I've been looking at the Roland FP 30 for about the same money. Its a very solid keyboard, could do the basic soft synth input for sonar, but wouldn't have the knobs, buttons, or faders.
 
Does anyone have some experience with either of these keyboards, and in particular how either of them work with Sonar?
 
Thanks
 
chez

Do you want the Arturia keyboard for its integration with the Arturia V collection?

If that is the case also consider the Native Instruments S88 which will integrate with a whole lot more.

But if at all possible try them out to make sure the action is right for you.

Lots of pros and cons on the google... and youtube.
 
Personally I'm holding off as I don't like piano/weighted keys.  Many of us are lobbying Akai to make their Advanced 88 semi-weighted, as NO hi end 88 keyboards exist at present.  
 
the only decent semi-weighted right now, with Sonar integration is the Nektar lx-88...  Remarkably nice for the price.

I have been doing some serious research for myself, for a 49 key controller, I was very interested in the arturia 49 keylab, but after doing some digging arround, found that the magazine reviews to be good, but digging deaper found issues with quality on forums etc, was not sure if the 88 had similar issues, so did a quick search and found that it might
 
https://www.gearslutz.com/board/electronic-music-instruments-electronic-music-production/1075155-arturia-keylab-88-vs-roland-a88-vs-akai-mpk-88-pro-midi-controllers.html
 
watch the second video before making up your mind, its stories like these that turned me off the arturia, and got me interested in the Novation SL MKII that I am experimenting with, but they dont come in 88 keys soz, you may also wish to consider that casio stuff, was someone else looking at keyboards on here that settled on a casio
 
http://forum.cakewalk.com...oards-m3434927-p2.aspx

Siluroo
I have been doing some serious research for myself, for a 49 key controller, I was very interested in the arturia 49 keylab, but after doing some digging arround, found that the magazine reviews to be good, but digging deaper found issues with quality on forums etc,

I have a KeyLab61. I got a great deal on a new unit with a broken key and bought a 'parts' keybed from eBay cheaply. I was able to replace the key and everything seems to work fine now, but doing this sort of repair is not for the faint of heart. Luckily there are some videos on YouTube that demonstrate the process. 
 
The original keybeds of the keylab series had some problems. I've heard that the quality has improved (but 'caveat emptor'). I can't say that their reputation for support for hardware is highly regarded.
 
I chose the KeyLab61 because of the tight integration with the V-Collection synths, but frankly, I don't find the automatic assignment of the knobs and sliders to synth parameters much easier than assigning the parameters through midi-learn. I always find myself searching through the knobs and sliders to find the parameter I want, when I could just click on the parm and move the knob I want to assign through midi-learn.
 
 

bentleyousley
 
I chose the KeyLab61 because of the tight integration with the V-Collection synths, but frankly, I don't find the automatic assignment of the knobs and sliders to synth parameters much easier than assigning the parameters through midi-learn. I always find myself searching through the knobs and sliders to find the parameter I want, when I could just click on the parm and move the knob I want to assign through midi-learn.
 

One of the advantages of the NI S-Series keyboards is the display under each knob indicates the assigned parameter.

Glyn Barnes

bentleyousley
 
I chose the KeyLab61 because of the tight integration with the V-Collection synths, but frankly, I don't find the automatic assignment of the knobs and sliders to synth parameters much easier than assigning the parameters through midi-learn. I always find myself searching through the knobs and sliders to find the parameter I want, when I could just click on the parm and move the knob I want to assign through midi-learn.
 

One of the advantages of the NI S-Series keyboards is the display under each knob indicates the assigned parameter.

So Glyn, I'm guessing you have one of the NI keyboards.
 
Do you use it with other stuff beside NI products? How does it function as a standard midi keyboard controller? I currently use a Triton as my midi controller, but the aftertouch curve is way too touchy and I'm in the market for a good controller. Plus, the Triton's key bed is certainly not weighted in any way. I had my sights set on an Arturia 88, but have run into lots of quality complaints, so I'm looking around again.
 
I use a lot of Kontakt stuff, but also use EastWest products and a few other synths...
 
Regards,
Dan

dcumpian
So Glyn, I'm guessing you have one of the NI keyboards.
 
Do you use it with other stuff beside NI products? How does it function as a standard midi keyboard controller? I currently use a Triton as my midi controller, but the aftertouch curve is way too touchy and I'm in the market for a good controller. Plus, the Triton's key bed is certainly not weighted in any way. I had my sights set on an Arturia 88, but have run into lots of quality complaints, so I'm looking around again.
 
I use a lot of Kontakt stuff, but also use EastWest products and a few other synths...
 
Regards,
Dan

I have a S61, so I can't comment on the action and feel of the weighted version but the keybed of the 61 is great. As for the rest see my thread http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3368341 where I have put down most of my finding and give a number ot tips on using the keyboard with non NKS Kontakt libraries and soft synths.
 

Glyn Barnes

dcumpian
So Glyn, I'm guessing you have one of the NI keyboards.
 
Do you use it with other stuff beside NI products? How does it function as a standard midi keyboard controller? I currently use a Triton as my midi controller, but the aftertouch curve is way too touchy and I'm in the market for a good controller. Plus, the Triton's key bed is certainly not weighted in any way. I had my sights set on an Arturia 88, but have run into lots of quality complaints, so I'm looking around again.
 
I use a lot of Kontakt stuff, but also use EastWest products and a few other synths...
 
Regards,
Dan

I have a S61, so I can't comment on the action and feel of the weighted version but the keybed of the 61 is great. As for the rest see my thread http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3368341 where I have put down most of my finding and give a number ot tips on using the keyboard with non NKS Kontakt libraries and soft synths.
 

Thanks Glyn. I will dig deeper into your other thread and the referenced links. Looks like the NI keyboard has improved since initial release. When they first came out, it looked like there was zero support for non-NI software. It's good to see that NI recognized this as a problem.
 
I'm really starting to lean towards this keyboard the more I learn about it's current capabilities.
 
Thanks again,
Dan
 
 
 

dcumpian
Thanks Glyn. I will dig deeper into your other thread and the referenced links. Looks like the NI keyboard has improved since initial release. When they first came out, it looked like there was zero support for non-NI software. It's good to see that NI recognized this as a problem.
 

While the software has been improved I think most of the "support" has been peer to peer, many of the capabilities were there early on. Its almost like NI does not want you to know you can get a lot of the benefits with non NKS stuff . The big thing that is NKS only is patch browsing.
 
I found for East West where there a a lot of key switches its better to make a template in the controller editor that lights up the keyboard zones and use MIDI learn for the knobs.