If you need nothing else than a good keyboard without lcd, faders and stuff, you cannot go wrong with the doepfer lmk2+

 

Since there are only a few 88/hammer Masterkbds under 600 Euros, I found Studiologic SL88 Studio and M-Audio Hammer 88. I can recommend Studiologic for their hammer action, since I have an older SL-990, which is very spartan in functionality. SL-88 seems much better. And very cheap, too (around 400,-). It should be mentioned that some people wrote about quality issues they experienced with this brand in the nearer past.

I have also a Yamaha P35 Stage Piano, and I like its hammer action a bit more - its action is more 'velvet', a bit more precise, and a bit lighter. I use it only as a midi masterkeyboard, sound is muted. Small problem: no modulation or pitchbend or aftertouch (SL-88 have them all). The successor, also far under 600,- (360,-) is P45. I do not understand why Yamaha does not make masterkeyboards. Their 'graded' hammer action, as they call it, is even implemented in their cheap models like P45/P35.

 

great question. seems like there is a market for decent quality midi controller keyboards with piano-key action. a lot of people hate semi-weighted and synth action.

 

Your key phrase determinator is: "...simple MIDI data"
I agree if that is what they only ever intend to do.
Personally, I tend to try and allow headroom even in decision making, not just audio.
They might decide in 2 years to go the full cinematic multi-MIDI path with 60 MIDI instruments simultaneously chained through a divider and thru ports[I hope not the latter urghhhh...].
USB 2 definitely will not cut it even with the best low latency audio interface. USB 3 however and fire-wire definitely have the better MIDI translation latency times.

MIDI will always have some latency even if it appears undetectable because it is technically not possible for anything that relies on any given moment in time when we press a key triggering identically at the same time. In saying that, DAW's can correct that as sure as a great MIDI connection will give the illusion of zero slapback and being immediate when it is impossible because it will be in micro-seconds.
I have been into MIDI since the ATARI 1024STE and Notator then Logic before it became Logic Audio when it was written and owned by EMAGIC, not Apple who bought it out.
When MAC's took the DSP chip from ATARI when their computer dept collapsed and PC's were using Serial 16550 UART for MIDI which in reverse had horrendous latency because the floating points never translated properly.
Also in saying that before all the hardware became digital plugins, the Opcode 8PortSE with 8 5Pin DIN MIDI ports and 16 MIDI channels available on each port gave any serious composer 128 MIDI channels seamlessly and in what still today, was better latency than even the best digital audio connectors, with 8 keyboards and rack keyboards attached to it.
Shame they never upgraded the software past the late 90's it is now redundant in more ways than one and they never adapted it to digital which would have been smart.

So yes MIDI needs another overhaul and while it is certainly not broken, there is a lot of room still for improvement.

Cheers

 

Last edited by a moderator: Mar 18, 2018

This one is well under your budget and ticks all the boxes. Yamaha P115 88-Key Weighted Action Digital Piano.

 

All of the mentioned triple sensor hammer weighted keyboards in this thread have key down weights way heavier than any real grand action. We're talking 90-120 grams compared to a factory Steinway grand with about 45-50 grams of down weight. The best solutions in todays market are optical sensor triggered keybeds which are extremely rare. The best piano touch keybed Ive ever played comes from a small manufacturer. I've put 2 orders in & cant wait to put them together... Vax mops the floor with anything listed here.

http://vaxmidi.com/

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1200817609/vax-midi-keyboard-controller/updates

 

Korg D1 beats everything that has been mentioned so far in this thread in terms of action. But only has a midi port.. that means no USB, but that's easily solved with an extra $30 or so.

 

gotta love it when someone recommends a product that is impossible to purchase (and exceeds the budget of the o.p. by a lot even if you could actually buy it). this was a kickstarter program that took more than twice as long to deliver as originally promised. they finally started delivering units in 2017 - even though their web page announced shipments would begin in April 2016. If you look at their Facebook page, you will read that the handful of people who actually received their kits, had nothing but problems.

Here's a facebook post from one of those lucky people:

"I got rid of it on ebay for $1. They've completely abandoned the product -- even if you could put it together and make it function correctly mechanically, the electronics don't work right and the firmware was never finished."

here's a quote from an ebay listing that never sold:

"Unfortunately, I need to sell my Black 88 key VaxMidi Kit in semi assembled condition. There were only 20 of this module ever sold and I had to wait for two years after clearing my full payment to finally receive this unit this month. This is the follow up product from Infinite response who was made famous for making the infamous ultra high end Poly-AT Vax77 keyboard used by Eddie Jobson, and Herbie Hancock, and many more.
After shipping costs, preorder was around $1300 for the kit unassembled. Still the cheapest and most advanced way to get fully polyphonic aftertouch on a grand piano size scale. I been told no more will be produced as of now due to unforeseen manufacturer costs and revisions."

I received this kit less than a month ago after a two year waiting list and had full intentions of completing it, but I recently downsized apartments and have no room whatsoever for a full grand sized keyboard. Everything is assembled as direct except the Keys need to be attached to the key rod. This is a simple process of setting the key in mold and using industrial instant glue to connect them. I would assume this shouldn't take more than an hour or two, then all the parts just need to be slide in the steel chassis no soldering required! Everything besides the keys has been meticulously and carefully assembled before I knew I was moving. I've also included 2 extra free sensors boards (everything tested 100%) in case of a mistake/accident."

and here's a quote from an ebay listing of one that the seller never even actually opened the box - but at least this one did sell (for $320.00):

"I bought this kit new, for $650. I haven't had the time or the interest to try and put it together. Additionally, you should check out the forum page @ the Vaxmidi website, to read what other builders have been running up against. For this reason, I'm selling it "as is".


so good luck on ever receiving those two units that you ordered. the manufacturer has not responded to anyone on their facebook page since may of 2017.

 

Last edited: Mar 18, 2018

There actually is some kind of update available. When Apple stopped providing ADB, I replaced my Opcode Studio 5LX (15x15) MIDI interface with an Emagic Unitor8 Mk. II. It's an 8x8 USB (2, I believe) interface and Latency is no problem imo, as long as your hardware synths can handle the load.