What about keyboards with weighted keys? Actually weighted keys not the non-weighted "semi weighted" keys. Are those in this price range as well?

 

I saw a few recommendations of the Roland A800Pro. And i would not recommend it mostly because of the PADS. I have one as my main MIDI controller and honestly is pretty great. But the PADS are horrible, and i have read that this is not that i was unlucky, its common. You can trust them to play drums. They may trigger twice in same impact or they may not trigger at all if you try to be "sensible" and play with velocity.
The velocity itself is unstable.
As a keyboard is good tho. And it's been like 5,7 years still working as the first. But with some many things now in the market im sure you can get something that it's more balanced.

 

One must of course have a midi masterkeyboard controller with a modwheel and a pitchwheel to design a preset.
The following pictures show the Togu Audio Line - TAL-Mod VSTi:



In the file attachment are 3 pictures of Amount with Pitch and Modwheel.

 

Both of those are far from good keyboards, sorry to say that but they are. The best keyboard I played on lately is Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol S61. It feels great! My second choice would be AKAI MPK 261. I like truly nicely semi-weighted keyboards. Like my Kurzweil K2000 and old Roland and Yamaha keyboards. Maybe you could rather score a Roland A800? It's a great keyboard. Just keep away from M-Audio or Alesis if you care about a good feeling keyboard... gosh, that feeling - rubbery keys. When I tried Alesis one, it seemed a little less rubbery, though, but still nothing to recommend.

p.s. oh yes, Komplete Kontrol software is unusable bloated shit of no use, so A61 is a better choice. NI uses Fatar keybeds, so no wonder they feel great.

 

Last edited: Mar 1, 2022

So, that's why, even if the price and other specs are good, I wouldn't buy a Roland keyboard.

 

I have made all my presets with a Roland - A-800 PRO. You should be able to test that somewhere. So you see I am biased because I am a fan of it. Roland musicians wished for this mod/pitch wheel in Japan and then implemented it.

Review: Roland A-800 Pro MIDI Keyboard Controller by mikeroephonics

Bender Lever:
For those unfamiliar with Roland's bender lever, it's a mechanical device which controls two potentiometers. One potentiometer sends pitchbend values; the other, modwheel values. The bender lever can move left/right for pitchbend, and up/down for modwheel. The benefit of this design is that it lets you send pitchbend and modwheel data either one at a time, or at the same time, with full control over both at any point in time. The bender lever is made of rubber. It's easy to hold onto and control. I can maintain control over it, even if only pressing it on one side.

Some people love the bender lever, some people hate it. I personally love it, but it does have the following drawbacks:

1.) You may accidentally change one control while intentionally changing another.

2.) If you let go of the modwheel control, the spring returns it to the lowest position (modwheel CC value = 0).
This can cause problems with some virtual instruments which rely on modwheel position to perform dynamic crossfades, or toggle between playing techniques. A workaround to this problem is to assign the "modulation continuous controller (CC 1)" to either a knob or slider to guarantee the value doesn't change unless you move it.

3.) Even with the A-Pro firmware or A-Pro Editor, you cannot permanently disable either control. The only way to guarantee a control is disabled is to disconnect its cable from within the enclosure, which voids the warranty. Hopefully, this will be addressed with a firmware update.

Pitch Bend control:
The pitch bend spring feels nice to me. Not too much resistance, but enough to allow fine-tuned control over the pitch. It returns to its center position (unity pitch) quickly.

Modwheel Control:
The modwheel spring also feels nice to me. It requires a little more force compared to the pitch bend spring, but I like it.

Source Review: https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=183229

 

Hell0o @Banesatis, to answer your question, buy a M-Audio Oxygen Pro 61:

M-Audio Oxygen Pro 61 - 237 €
- 61 velocity-sensitive semi-weighted keys with aftertouch and assignable zones
www.m-audio.com/oxygen-pro-61

Are the M-Audio OXYGEN PRO 49 Piano Keys Nice?

If You Want it....This Board Has It! |M-Audio Oxygen Pro Review|

User Reviews:
1.) The workmanship is above average in this price range from my point of view. The weighted new keyboard is, at least for me as a hobby player, super successful. The weighted keys give the player a good feedback and above all: Nothing rattles!

2.) after my long search for the perfect controller for me, I ended up with the new Oxygen Pro. First and foremost the keyboard was important to me and especially this is really outstanding for a controller. A nice weighting, no rattling, aftertouch but also the other controls like faders, pads and buttons feel very high quality.

www.thomann.de/de/m_audio_oxygen_pro_61.htm

 

Thank you. I had a JX8P so I know well the pro and cons of Rolands Mod system.

I have only one keyboard, and I want a new one, but I dont plan to use / have 2 keyboards, so I wouldn't be able to check.

 

O.k that we can check off the mod / pitchwheel topic.
Do you already know what kind of midi keyboard you want to have ?

 

After following this thread i still recommend the kk A61 with its newly developed semi-weighted keys and would buy it for €215,- at Thomann with its excellent service and 3y guarantie!
https://www.thomann.de/intl/native_...LCJjdXJyZW5jeSI6MiwibGFuZ3VhZ2UiOjJ9&reload=1
+
Trying out without commitment: our Money Back Guarantee
Before you can know that an instrument or piece of equipment is really right for you, you have to try it out. And that's exactly what you can do for 30 days, worry free, and right at home. If an item doesn't fully satisfy you, just send it back to us under our Money Back Guarantee. In most cases, even the return postage is free. So feel free to shop online with us, secure in the knowledge that you don't have to commit to anything you don't really want.

 

Last edited: Mar 2, 2022

OK i have one final question. Sorry for pestering you

NI Komplete kontrol A61 doesn't have aftertouch while the M-Audio Oxygen Pro 61 does.
Is aftertouch important? I heard it's pretty nice for vibrato on strings and what not, but correct me if im wrong, wouldn't that only be important in live performances?

 

Aftertouch is a quality feature and makes keyboards more expensive. I would always go for an aftertouch midi keyboard.

AFTERTOUCH - WHAT IS IT?
Getting more expression out of the keyboard with aftertouch
https://megasynth-de.translate.goog...l=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp

AFTERTOUCH – WAS IST DAS?
Mehr Ausdruck per Aftertouch aus dem Keyboard herausholen
https://megasynth.de/workshops/aftertouch-was-ist-das-eigentlich/

 

When you're talking about the NI keybed do you mean the s61 or the a61 ? because i heard their keybeds are different.

 

Yeah i know it's popular, but you know how it is, sometimes popularity doesn't mean quality. It looks good to me but i've heard mixed things about it's keybed and aftertouch ): I hoped someone here had some experience with it, but it seems that people only owned the older oxygen models which were MUCH different.

 

The company M-Audio has built more quality into this product and has earned a better reputation.

Do not you have a music store near you? Ultimately, you will play the thing after unpacking and then say yes or no.
User opinions are very subjective and not objective.In which country do you live ? No music store nearby ?

 

I live in Poland.Unfortunately there aren't any stores with studio equipment in my town; i guess im going to take a drive to the nearest large city soon.

 

Yes good idea. As I said, the music dealer thomann offers a Money Back Garanatie, that is, unpack play, keep or use the Money Back and get his money back. After all, we live in a common Europe and you should take advantage of it.

M-Audio Oxygen Pro 61 (235 € 1 114,01 zł)

30-dniowa gwarancja zwrotu peniędzy
3 3 lata gwarancji Thomann

https://www.thomann.de/pl/m_audio_oxygen_pro_61.htm?sid=8096cd75d9584a0001337bbaeb92c738&shp=eyJjb3VudHJ5IjoicGwiLCJjdXJyZW5jeSI6MTAsImxhbmd1YWdlIjoxMn0=&reload=1

30-dniowa gwarancja zwrotu pieniędzy

To żaden problem! Na wszystkie artykuły kupione w sklepie Thomann przysługuje ustawowe prawo zwrotu towaru w przeciągu 14-dni (zgodnie z paragrafem § 13 BGB). Dodatkowo rozszerzamy możliwość zwrotu o kolejne 16 dni oferując naszą gwarancję zwrotu pieniędzy. Jako klient biznesowy (gdzie ustawowe prawo zwrotu według BGB nie obowiązuje) otrzymujesz również pełną 30-dniową gwarancję zwrotu pieniędzy – bez żadnych wymówek.

Wyjątki
Zwrot towaru nie dotyczy produktów wykonywanych specjalnie na życzenie klienta (np. skrzynie transportowe), produktów eksploatacyjnych, produktów na licencji (np. kiedy zarejestrowano oprogramowanie) oraz takich, które ze względu na higienę nie mogą być zwrócone (np. stroiki w instrumentach dętych drewnianych).

Jeśli nie jesteś w 100% zadowolony z produktu zamówionego w Thomann, skontaktuj się z nami, a my zorganizujemy zwrot. Na terenie Niemiec firma Thomann pokryje koszty przesyłek zwrotnych.

Jak to działa?

• Wybierz funkcję "zwróć produkt" w Twoim centrum obsługi klienta. Otrzymasz wszystkie informacje niezbędne do zwrotu przedmiotu.
• Zwrot produktu można również zgłosić telefonicznie lub przez email.
• Proszę mieć na uwadze, iż towar należy odesłać bez śladów użytkowania w oryginalnym opakowaniu wraz z wszelkimi załączonymi akcesoriami!

Te warunki obowiązują dla gwarancji zwrotu pieniędzy. Warunki dotyczące ustawowego prawa zwrotu oraz gwarancji zawarte są w naszych ogólnych warunkach handlowych (OWH).

Spoiler: User Review 1

User Review 1
Moim zdaniem jakość wykonania wypada powyżej średniej w tym przedziale cenowym. Ważona nowa klawiatura jest super skuteczna, przynajmniej dla mnie jako hobbysty. Ważone klawisze dają graczowi dobrą opinię, a przede wszystkim: nic nie grzechota !!!
Muszę trochę ponarzekać na instrukcje: w załączeniu jest tylko krótka instrukcja, która jest również skierowana do doświadczonych użytkowników kontrolerów midi. Dla mnie jako laika MIDI był to z. B. niezgłębiony sposób, w jaki integruję klawiaturę z moim DAW. Wyprzedziłem tylko wskazówkami na temat kanałów mediów społecznościowych. Tutaj chciałbym uzyskać bardziej szczegółowe instrukcje lub samouczki od M-Audio. Stąd ograniczenie w ocenie użytkownika (jak powiedziałem, nie mają one wpływu na sprzęt, ale na dostarczone informacje).

Spoiler: User Review 2

User Review 2
Wybrałem tę klawiaturę, ponieważ oferowała więcej funkcji niż konkurencja w tym przedziale cenowym, w tym aftertouch, i muszę powiedzieć, że jestem bardzo mile zaskoczony.
Dotyk klawiatury jest bardzo przyjemny, niezbyt głośny i responsywny, co jest dla mnie ważne. Z drugiej strony przyciski wykonane są z dość taniego plastiku, który „trzaska” po naciśnięciu.
Integracja z Ableton Live jest wstępnie skonfigurowana, co jest miłe, ale instrukcja obsługi jest myląca i napisana łamanym angielskim. Ponieważ produkt jest nowy, w sieci nie ma jeszcze zbyt wiele dokumentacji dla początkujących, ale tutaj jest zgrabny link na stronie wsparcia M-Audio do układu klawiatury i mapowania przycisków dla użytkowników.
https://inmusicbrands.force.com/mau...-Oxygen-Pro-Series-Setup-in-Ableton-Live-Lite

 

Last edited: Mar 2, 2022

M-Audio Oxygen Pro - Before you buy it, watch this | Oxygen Pro Review

M-Audio Oxygen Pro 49 - SOS Review

Build quality, judging from the Oxygen Pro 49 I had on test, is good. The chassis is all plastic but inspires confidence. It’s light but not too light, and doesn’t flex at all in normal use. All the controls are firmly mounted and smooth in operation, the buttons quite stiff and shallow, and the small OLED screen is clear, bright and crisp.

Key action is very light and quite noisy, with a fair amount of plasticky clatter on the bottom of the stroke, and on rapid releases. All keys also squeak quietly when squeezed to explore the aftertouch; but only the white keys have an obvious additional range of movement in which that happens, and you need pretty strong fingers to get black key aftertouch going at all. These characteristics remind me a lot of the Novation Impulse I reviewed 10 years ago (blimey, that’s scary), and I suspect it’s either the same action or at least something from the same third‑party manufacturer, especially as the black keys also share a very distinctive angled, squat profile. M‑Audio call the action ‘best‑in‑class’. To my mind it’s a budget action that is more than fit for purpose, and that I wouldn’t hesitate to use for serious work, but it’s nowhere near as plush as the better Fatar keybeds, for example.

www.soundonsound.com/reviews/m-audio-oxygen-pro-49

M-Audio Oxygen Pro 49 Review
https://itsgratuitous.com/m-audio-oxygen-pro-49-review/

M-Audio Oxygen Pro 49 Review
Build quality: good quality plastic chassis, which helps with keeping the weight more than reasonable. No wobbly controls – the faders and pots feel solid, budget components maybe but with a good feel. I could say the same thing for the screen. Coming from other flashy controllers (including the now discontinued Akai Advance keyboards), this small monochromatic OLED screen might look nothing special at first, but it’s clear, readable, and a perfect match for the straightforward software implementation of this controller. No complaints on the buttons either. They are firm and clicky (it can only be a problem if you use them in a silent environment or if someone’s asleep!).

Keys: this is obviously something highly subjective (like talking ties!), but I have to say I really like the action of this Oxygen Pro 49. I like it better than the Akai Advance mentioned above, for instance. Light action, quick release, but with a nice feel.

Aftertouch: it works but it’s harder to use compared to other keyboards I use (for instance, my DSI Rev2 with Fatar keybed). Especially with the black keys, you really need to use your muscles to get the aftertouch to react (FYI: the display shows the aftertouch response as you’re pressing the keys, nice touch!). Maybe this could be improved with a firmware upgrade, or maybe not. To be honest, it’s not a dealbreaker for me anyway. Aftertouch is certainly an important feature, but it’s not something I use all the time when doing ordinary MIDI work. If instead you’re a Vangelis-wannabe, you might want to consider spending more for a controller with hi-end aftertouch.

https://audionewsroom.net/2021/05/m-audio-oxygen-pro-49-review.html

 

So basically every single midi controller under 500$ is crap.

Great, now what? I guess im too poor for this hobby