Best Master Keyboard for Producers

Hi there and hi Rob,

I just discovered that you were speaking on the promotional video for the new Novation Keyboard Line (MK4) and I was wondering if you could say a few words about the playability of the keyboards?

I'm using a National Instruments Komplete 61 Keyboard (MK2) and I'm not really satisfied with it. The functionality is ok, but I don't like how it reacts to my input. When I compare it with my old Roland XP-50 synthesizer keyboard, it's worse in regards to the playability. So I want to buy a new one in the next couple of months and I was thinking about the Novation or the Arturia.

Can anybody here recommend some good quality keyboards which have a good playability?

Kind Regards

Paddy

Hi Paddy

I believe this is both very subjective and very budget dependent. I'm currently on a StudioLogic SL88 (hammer action) midi controller + an Arturia Minilab3. Very happy with both. However I have considered adding a 49/61 keyboard with semiweighted keys as well (more synth action, which I miss a bit since my old Roland MKB died a while back), so been looking around a bit.

I have not yet been able to try out the Novation.
I didn't really like either of the NI Kontrol A series nor the Arturia Essential series (the budget options).
I did like NI S-series, Arturia Keylab mk3 and Akai mpk series. All solid and very playable imo, but obviously more expensive. The Akai is also ripe for an update, and speaking of that, none of these (nor Novation I believe) have MPE support, and I would think it's only a matter of time before that comes to more midi controllers. Admittedly a bit too advanced for my level right now, but thinking of future proofing

Ableton Push has it, as well as the new Arturia Polybrute and the Expressive E Osmose. I've seen some vid's on MPE, and it looks really cool.

So now I consider just waiting till a good MPE midi controller drops, or buying a used Akai MPK249 (which can be had pretty cheap) to fill the gap in the meantime

Hi Petter,

thanks for your very detailed and helpful feedback. I have here a NI M32 Mini, which is also fine. I don't expect from a mini keyboard very much. But the NI one is pretty playable. At the moment the MPE keyboards are not in my scope mainly because of the price. But I think the Novation looks indeed good from price and quality pov. But before I order it, I would like to know an opinion of someone who actually has a novation keyboard. I'm also using the LaunchPad and LaunchControl, which are very good options, if you don't have enough money. They deliver very good quality for a relatively cheap price. The pads of the LaunchPad are very responsive which I really like.

Regarding the A-Series of NI, I fully agree. I also have the NI A25 which is not bad from keyboard pov but the controls are not really good.

Cheers and have a nice weekend.

Paddy

i also have the M32, which I don't like at all actually ... minilab is way better imo.

I'll make sure to try the Novation series next time I'm in a music shop that have it :D

BTW, I forgot Nektar, panorama series is really good too, but also the more expensive.

And lastly, the Roland A49 is a little bit left field here, but for the price, the key action and playability is quite good tbh. However there's really very few other controls on that one. Might be worth checking out,

Hi Petter,

thanks for the info. I think I will have a closer look at the Roland A49, because I was very convinced of my old Roland XP-50 keyboard. And this A49 looks like it's just the keyboard without the synth engine. The price is also in my range what I want to invest. The only downside here for me is that it has only 49 keys. I got used to 61 over the past decades.

Cheers

Paddy

Hey Paddy,

The Launchkey keyboard keys aren't bad. At first they seemed to have a bit of a strange (almost sticky) texture, which was the most distracting aspect, but that quickly went away. The weight of the keybed isn't as good as the old FATAR ones from back in the day of course (one of the reasons the old Novation went out of business! from being too high quality/expensive for a budget instrument) but they do come fairly close and are certainly good for the money. I think you'd struggle to find anything better at that price point and the Launchkey has quite a lot of cool features with the different chord modes, onboard arp and so on.

Let me know if you have any more questions about it...