I've had two PCRs and they both developed dead keys after a year or so. 

I'd love to have 61 keys, aftertouch, and a few sliders/knobs wouldn't hurt. Love to spend $200 or less, which I can do if I get it used on ebay or some such. (I know I know)

The A-500 pros are still a bit pricey, but I don't about much else. 

I have an Akai MPK25, and it's great for smaller projects, but the MPK 49, or better, might fit the bill, check out their website, they just seem to offer more for the money. The Roland A-Pros, or bigger will probably be easier to map things to Sonar, just have to check them out, good luck!!!

A PRO series is great!

Yah but the A-Pro series is EXPENSIVE. If I can keep this purchase to $200 or so I can also get something like a Launchpad I think. I'd probably have to sell my BCR but that's okay it's just collecting dust.

if your hitting keys hard a lot I would ask a service center at a local music store to recommend something they know what is in for service work a lot and which is more sturdy.

Haha I don't think I'm a hard player, rip Jon Lord of course, but I dont' think the Edirol line is built for sturdiness. I've had three of them and after a while keys just start to fail. 

I'm wondering about the Novation line and maybe the Akai offerrings, I just don't have any experience with them.

...wicked


I've had two PCRs and they both developed dead keys after a year or so. 

I think you should give your dealer a call. Dead keys after a year is what I consider something that should be covered by warranty. I'm sure that's an easy fix!


Best Regards
Ludvig

Well I was gonna say I have a PCR500 I havent and dont use but looks like your not liking them.

E-MU Xboards are not bad. Bang for the buck. I don't know about these much, saw their ad in Best Buy. Specs look good. See if you can try it out somewhere.

http://www.samsontech.com/samson/products/usb-midi/keyboard-controllers/graphite49/

I'm really happy with the Axiom series from M-Audio. The keys are nice and the knobs and overall construction feels really sturdy. Some people don't like M-Audio's support but I haven't had a problem. I like Novation a lot as well, but I think the Akai MPC's feel quite smooth as well.