pork
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Roland A-800 key question
I fear that the lack of traffic on here might mean that this doesn't get answered but here goes...
I've been looking at the Roland A-800 midi controller and it looks like the best option to plug-and-play with Sonar. However, I've seen a few user reviews that mentioned that the keys are a little smaller than standard. Does anybody know if this is the case?
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LaryMary
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Re:Roland A-800 key question
2013/01/25 13:34:33
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Hi Pork,
Yeah, I was hoping for a bit more info in here. However, I can advise that the keys are pretty much the same size as most keyboards, synths etc. I am a Piano player myself and find the keys perfectly fine for playing. I couldn't tell you if they are smaller than a standard piano but they seem okay to me and I don't find myself hitting two keys at once, which I usually do with mini keys!
Take a look at the latest Cake TV Live video on X2 and you will see Brandon Ryan playing an A-800 Pro
Gary
Homebuilt Desktop PC AMD Phenom II four-core processor 3.4Ghz, Asus M5A78L AM3+ mobo, 16Gb Ram, 250Gb SSD for OS & Programs, 120Gb SSD, 1TB Project HDD, 1TB Samples HDD, Sonar Platinum, Zoom R16, Shure SM58
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Phil67P
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Re:Roland A-800 key question
2013/01/27 15:16:14
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@pork - Don't know about A-Pro 800 but my 500 does have slightly smaller keys than a standard piano (as do most midi keys these days).
I don't find that a problem however the feel of the keys (very spongy) really does annoy. Great as a midi controller but if you want realistic touch there are better ways to go (for example I find my old Clavinova almost impossible to beat for realism if your not using it in a live performance situation).
Good luck
Cheers, Phil X3D Producer. W7 64bit. Intel i7 3770k, Asus P8Z77-M. 16GB Corsair DDR3 Ram. SATA3 240GB SSD's. Various HDD's. VS-100, A-Pro 500. Various digital and analogue outboard (synths, effects, consoles). Clavinova CLP 300. Icon active monitoring.
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pork
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Re:Roland A-800 key question
2013/01/29 12:51:31
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Thanks. I guess what you two are saying is that if it does have smaller keys then it's not really noticeable. The spongy feel doesn't bother me; I've got a Yamaha S08 that has a great piano feel for when I need it, it just doesn't have all the knobs and faders and pads and whatnot. It would be great if roland made a midi controller with real piano action that had all the other standard controller features.
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Phil67P
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Re:Roland A-800 key question
2013/01/30 18:21:05
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. It would be great if roland made a midi controller with real piano action that had all the other standard controller features.
+1 to that
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FCCfirstclass
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Re:Roland A-800 key question
2013/01/31 07:29:35
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I bought a pro 800 when the keyboards first came out in April 2010. The keys and action are very good, as is the touch, pressure and after touch functions. They work great with Sonar via the ACT key and onscreen programming. A keyboard with true piano weight would cost a lot more money. The pro 300 500 and 800 are powered via USB bus, but are equipped with external power by a wall wart, which I own. It lets me run the 800 with other equipment when not hooked up to my computer. 
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LaryMary
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Re:Roland A-800 key question
2013/01/31 11:11:15
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Homebuilt Desktop PC AMD Phenom II four-core processor 3.4Ghz, Asus M5A78L AM3+ mobo, 16Gb Ram, 250Gb SSD for OS & Programs, 120Gb SSD, 1TB Project HDD, 1TB Samples HDD, Sonar Platinum, Zoom R16, Shure SM58
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dsurkin
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Re:Roland A-800 key question
2013/02/06 22:20:30
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I spent a lot of time researching this. My Steinway keys have an octave that's 6.5" wide, and that's the standard I look for. For example, my Kawai MP8 has standard keys. The Novation Impulse has standard keys. The Roland/Cakewalk keys span 6.25" per octave. Most of the home MIDI keyboards have that slightly shortened octave, and I don't feel comfortable with it.
Dean L. Surkin - Steinway A (1902, rebuilt 1988), Kawai MP8, Yamaha KX-76; Intel i7-4770K, 32GB, RME AIO; HP ZR30w (great monitor!); Sonar Platinum, Garritan JABB3 and GPO4, VB3 One day, when I have the time, I will learn how to use all the features of Cakewalk 2.0. Oh, wait, Sonar 8.5. What did you say? Sonar version what?
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pork
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Re:Roland A-800 key question
2013/02/11 11:48:25
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dsurkin
I spent a lot of time researching this. My Steinway keys have an octave that's 6.5" wide, and that's the standard I look for. For example, my Kawai MP8 has standard keys. The Novation Impulse has standard keys. The Roland/Cakewalk keys span 6.25" per octave. Most of the home MIDI keyboards have that slightly shortened octave, and I don't feel comfortable with it.
Wow. Thank you for that bit of information. I wonder, if you're going to the trouble of making a keyboard, why not make it the standard size that it has been for hundreds of years? Aren't human being getting larger, with bigger hands? Why would we need smaller keyboards? I assume, cynically, that the fractions of a penny they save on each keyboard by making the octave just a quarter inch shorter will make Roland a cool $50 by the end of fiscal year 2019. Every penny helps when you've got shareholders breathing down your neck.
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pork
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Re:Roland A-800 key question
2013/02/11 14:28:06
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LordElpus
Well your prayers may have been answered - Roland announced the release of two new keyboards at NAMM, a Synth/Controller and a digital piano.
Take a look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLOVGmc2oY-Dr-khxAqkNW36r3muJiPwtM&v=ybs0ukrluB0&feature=player_embedded
I looked at that video but that just seems to be a 88 key hammer action midi piano. It would be perfect if it had about 8 knobs, 8 sliders, and about 8 pads. I don't know why they wouldn't make something like that. Their market research must tell them that most synth guys don't want 88 hammer action keys and most piano guys don't do the synth knob twiddling thing.
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