I would go with Roland A-800 PRO. But, for piano, I would get a full 88 keys, and invest in either a used Kurzweil K2500/K2600 (w/ or w/o sampler), SP4-8, or Artis SE 88. Anything Kurzweil w or w/o weighted keys is way above Akai or Novation keybeds, feel and quality.

 

My older brother has been using this for quite some time (can't seem to wrestle this out of his gnarled hands) <lol>:

 

Last edited: Apr 2, 2016

thanks for replies gents all around .... good food for thought...

 

Ive got a Yamaha KX61, for synth action its great and you can find them dirt cheap on eBay etc only thing its missing is aftertouch. but its a great inexpensive controller

 

Kontrol S61. Besides the NI stuff it offers, it works great in user mode and the knobs/sliders can easily be arranged in the controller editor. Load multiple templates (for Different DAWs or workflows) into the keyboard and its kept into memory and easily switched on the fly. The aftertouch and feel of keybed is great. I wouldn't buy for retail price tho. Look around for good condition.