Maybe Behringer Motor 49. 49 semi-weighted with aftertouch, quite solid, 8 pads, 8 panpots, 8+1 motorized faders (each can have 4 banks in MIDI mode), Mackie Control, arppegiator. Should not be so expensive. Got this piece and one of mine best buys.

 

Novation Launchkey 49 MK3. features scale and chord modes but unlike NI and Akai, its standalone not powered by Konnect or VIP.

 

Exactly. Forget to mention, that faders, panpots and pads Each have 4 banks in MIDI

 

I've been using a Roland A-800PRO & A88MKII for years with no issues whatsoever. The A-800 is older but they both work just as well. I have few smaller controllers from AKAI, Novation, ICON, and very old M-Audio Oxygen. Aside from the Rolands, they've all developed some issues mostly with the rotary potentiometers jittering or drivers being obsolete. However the Rolands just refuse to die or even develop any issues.

The A-500 has synth keys which is the only strike against it, but it does everything else without glamour or fault. I think they run around 200 euro, give on a try, it might not be flashy but it gets the job done and documentation and midi implementation is solid.

 

Right, should be Novation Impulse 49.

 

Are there no good controller keyboards at all in the 100 - 200 € range?

 

I think 49keys is a wrong measure for anyone: if you play with both hands it's too small, the minimum acceptable size for an expert keyboard player is 61, but if you don't know how to play and use the keys with only 1 finger then 49 is too big: if you have space or budget problems then 25 is fine.
Be aware that whatever keyboard you choose will be compatible with your daw: for some reason there are keyboards that are not natively mapped and you have to map any midiCC by yourself.
(eg: Nektar has no support for Ableton)

 

Last edited by a moderator: Feb 18, 2021

OK. I'll try to describe. Motor have a 3 control sections. Faders, pans, and drumpads. And of course a keys (surprise
In MIDI control mode, everything can learn, AND each control section have 4 banks to remember settings.
Tested in Reaper and Live and works. Also with automation.
Mackie Control is a little diffrent animal. If you set DAW to Control surface>MC (whatever DAW you have) there are only 8 channels you can control from Motor, but I think there is a roundabout. And panpots already are set to pan on channels 1-8. And It's reprogrammable. (RTFM)
One thing I leared, MIDI mode for create, MC for mix, but as I sad, it can be programmed, and it is't so much trouble.

 

Not renamed, Launchkey and Impulse are two different products. The third Novation would be the SL, but that's way more expensive.
https://www.thomann.de/de/novation_launchkey_49_mk3.htm
https://www.thomann.de/de/novation_impulse_49.htm
https://www.thomann.de/de/novation_49sl_mkiii.htm

 

I know what you mean, but 25ers often lack some controllers (pads, knobs, faders).

 

Personally I'm no longer a fan of M-Audio having owned several which had failures in a relatively short amount of time.

I picked up a used MPK49 which ticks the boxes for the most part I believe? I got it used for a buck fiddy, perhaps you could find one in you neck of the woods? I've been really happy with it but I'm not a pro keyboard connoisseur by any stretch. It works and does what I need it to do and most importantly it hasn't failed me yet, even after s couple of moves and 7+ years. I see Thomann has 'em for 229. Might be a worthy consideration? Using Ableton and Mac it might be better to go for the Novation. The Impulse vid you linked is sweet, kinda makes me want one lol.

 

Doesn't seem to be available any longer. How much did you pay back then?

 

https://www.keithmcmillen.com/products/

 

About 200€, And it's still available in Poland. Maybe try to search for used.