So , I am sick of expression for wind and brass being programmed with mouse which sounds horrible and unrealistic at the end and am in need of a budget friendly midi keyboard.I have saved some money which allows me to get the following but I am confused which one should I choose.

1.Samson Carbon 49
2.Samson Carbon 61
3.M audio keystation 49
4.ICON-Global iKeyboard 6x 61

After watching the reviews on Youtube I find that Samson Carbon 49/61 have some midi issues when it comes to lower velocity range and the keys are very noisy.M audio keystation is a bit pricey and the keys are noisy as well.Therefore I want to go with the ICON-Global iKeyboard 6x 61 which seems to be not very much noisy but a guy posted a review on Youtube mentioning that the keys are squishy.I also have second thought of waiting for the next month and save a bit more to get something better.All advice is welcome.

My requirements
1. Learning to play piano (for which I think I must go for a 61 key solution and avoid velocity issues)
2. Midi expression and modwheel programming
3. Less noise in my room other than musical

 

For wind and brass it's hard to beat the expressivity of a breath controller. Seems a bit self-defeating to go to a keyboard if you are needing specifically that wind expressivity.

You might get something out of midi aftertouch, but...

 

Absolutely correct. Nothing beats a breath (and bite) controller for any wood, brass and even classical string instrument.

For playing the notes itself even an m-audio is enough. But nothing beats doepfer of course.

 

Last edited: Jun 7, 2019

Which Daw are you using? If you use ableton I recommend to look at novation launchkey series...workflow will be super fast as all knobs and sliders get midi mapped by default! Be carefull to the pitchbend wheel, mine is not working properly after no even one year..

 

I use LMMS, Fl Studio and Tracktion

 

Are there any cheap breath controllers out there?I find that they are much expensive than the midi keyboards

 

Are there any cheap breath controllers out there?I find that they are much expensive than the midi keyboards

 

And aftertouch, just normal, not polyphonic, is expensive.
And I just use an M-Audio Expression pedal for expression, rather than wasting a hand on the mod wheel.

All keyboards are going to make a noise when you hit the keys. It's just a physical reality!
I've been playing MIDI keys since the inception of MIDI: every board will make a sound physically.

 

As "Riccarlo" said tecontrol Breath and Bite controller 2 is very good.

 

Anything is better than a mouse!

 

Thank you very much sir!

 

No correlation there! lol

 

Though Breath and Bite controller 2 is 199$ which added with customs tax will cost me around 250$ but it's on my list now.For the time I am going with ICON-Global iKeyboard 6x 61 since it's available from the few musical instrument dealers in my country and mod-wheel is a lot better than mouse.Thank you for your input friends

 

Yeah, you'll be sorted. And you won't regret it.
Would recommend an expression pedal for mapping to expression or vib.