88 Keys if your wallet and room size permits. More keys = better as far as I'm concerned. You'll outgrow the 49 quickly if you actually plan to learn how to play it.

 

another thing to consider is your desk space. example, I really prefer my mixer directly in front of the monitor. if the lower tier was kb sized, etc. etc. etc. even though your controller is probably the most "dumb" thing you will use with your computer, it's pretty important.
my advice is no matter what you do, get it from a retailer with a good return policy. they are all very lax since Covid. maybe even an extended warranty. controllers get beat to hell.

 

I like classical but the 88 keys model is in a different price league in my country.
Also, space would be a showstopper here.

 

^
Hello good friend @mrpsanter :
If your are not in a hurry for a new usb controller I strongly advise you to wait a couple of months at least for the NI Komplete Kontrol S Mk2's.
Remember that these controllers came out like 4 years ago, so this might mean that N.I will have a fresh mk3 line on the Holidays,next year in January 2022 or Summer 2022.If you're are not considering the software bundle that these awesome controllers come with & the tight integration with NKS & komplete control workflow then your best bet is the Novation slmk3 line (same good quality Fatar keybed),free from the Komplete control universe( meaning here you can assign the knobs to whatever & however you want) & the biggest advantage to me :
long travel sliders (something N.I keyboards are missing) & a bit cheaper :
https://novationmusic.com/en/keys/sl-mkiii
An ever cheaper alternative would be the Arturia Keylab 61 mk2,good value/price to ratio keyboards, but the sliders are on the far right so no good if you're working with Kontakt libraries & so on that require dynamics/vibrato/volume/ expression automation.
You could go for the Arturia Keylab essential, 88 version of the velocity-sensitive semi-weighted keys/more like synth actions style keys & priced @$349.
That been said if I was you and was not looking specifically for synth action keys(good quality),at around $800(remember the NI Komplete Kontrol S Mk2 costs $779),i would spend a bit more/buy the mighty Kurzweil KM88 - MIDI Controller @$599 + Monogram console Kit $399 :
Total $1000 but worth it ( best weighted keys & a very solid separate controller) :

https://monogramcc.com/shop/products/traveler-console/

Alternative : buy the mighty Kurzweil KM88 - MIDI Controller @$599 + the M-audio Oxygen Pro mini @$199 : Total $718 :
https://www.m-audio.com/oxygen-pro-mini

Best luck with anything you buy & make some awesome music ! ,have a great day, cheers !

 

Thank you very much for your report/impressions, appreciated!

 

I use my Controller more than my Guitar and although i'm a guitar player, found myself playing Piano most of the time. I have a Sampson Graphite 49 and although the midi implementation is fantastic, it's shit for playing keys. I purchased an 88 note weighted Korg B1 with a midi out just for playing the piano. I'd get the 88 without question.

 

Last edited: Oct 14, 2021

In this case more is really more, get as many keys as you can, regardless if you can play the keyboards or not.

I'm a shit keyboardist but I had a similar choice a while back (it was Kontrol A-series though) and I went with A61 instead of A49 and man I'd miss the missing octave if I'd gone with the smaller one.

 

Are you able to play keyboard with both hands at the same time?
If no, 32 keys will suffice in reality.

 

Please read what he asked.

 

I did read it thanks.
If he can't play with two hands, his decision should be based on how many keys does he want to be gathering dust?

 

You're forcing your opinion here as a some kind of truth, which it isn't, sorry.

Even though I'm still not a flashy keyboardist, having more range is great, and my keys are not really gathering dust. Also when auditioning sounds it's good to be able to try things out in several octaves without having to go wild on the octave up/down buttons.

 

I know what you mean. But he still didn't ask for 32 keys.

 

Chosing between 49 or 61 keys depend on how you will use your keyboard.
If you are going to compose music, at some point you need enough octave to hear the relation between bass and higher chords/sounds. In this case 61 keys is a minimum.
Also if you use kontakt, remember that some libraries have triggers programmed in the lower octave.

 

Last edited: Oct 14, 2021

Sorry to disagree. I can't play correctly with both hands at the same time, but having a 61 keys allows me to listen to the relation between chords and bass, or low chords high chords, etc. Even if my keyboard technique is bad, I can experiment live, and it's import for creation.
Not to speak about certain kontakt libraries that have triggers programmed in the lower octave.

 

Nonsense, early keyboards like harpsichords, clavichords etc were 4-5 octaves (and on some of the clavichords you could perform vibrato on the keys, so way more expressive instrument than modern pianos + it doesn't sound metallic. Piano dominance is a historical joke, I guess.) Proto-pianos had 5 octaves. Later were added more keys.
I can find online that Steinway started producing 88 keys piano in 1880s.
Bösendorfer makes a 92 key piano. Stuart and sons - 108.
People were composing way more technically demanding music(compared to modern pop/rock/edm stuff) using 4 or 5 octaves back in the day. The idea you are limited in some way is a nonsense, imo (considering there are also buttons that change octaves and pitches today).
The only midi keyboards/synths I would not recommend are these with mini-keys (unless you are a girl or with very thin fingers), because you are probably not going to be able to play them properly.

 

It depends on your purpose and/or portability.
I use mainly the 88 weighted keyboard, but to bring it in a backpack is not very practical, so I got the M-Audio Keystation 32 keys.
The last ONLY to find melody and chords.
Keys are too small even if I can play it, and the 2 and 1/2 octave are not enough to play riffs that go out of sight. Example of missing key, the synth riff starting from 0:30 to 0:47 cannot be played entirely because of the missing lowest B, pretty annoying, so I would suggest at least 49 keys, it sould be enough in most cases to play with one hand:

 

Last edited: Oct 14, 2021

Depends on what kind of person you are. I'm assuming you're not going to use it to learn how to play the piano, cause for that you probably want 88. (Note: I said piano, not just keys in general. Obviously a lot of pieces for piano are composed to utilize a big range of the keys)

This may sound strange but I actually found that I write better music on smaller keyboards, because a big keyboard gives me the compulsion to play both the rhythm/harmony part and bass parts on the same synth patch when I noodle around. I know this sounds silly, because the obvious answer is to simply just NOT do that and pick a different patch for the bass. But coming from piano I just always just tend to noodle around using the full range of the keyboard...
When I'm forced to play on a smaller keyboard I also tend to use inversions way more often and more elegantly which has also improved my writing due to way better voice leading.
I've probably composed my best harmony parts on the Keystep or the little keyboard of the OP-1.

Again, my reasoning is silly, but that's why I'm saying it depends on what kind of person you are.

 

61 for me,I think if you use key switches its better on 61, 49 if you are space restricted.