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Hey guys, I've been playing piano for just over 4 years now and have been getting into EDM for a few months now, and I think I'm ready to start buying some equipment! I understand some keyboards, such as the MPK and LPK series, have synth action keys which are supposedly useless for proper piano playing. Not sure though, I've never even had a keyboard before, but I'm interested in purchasing a MIDI keyboard that will suit my finger dexterity; so nothing too small.

Suggestions? (:

You probably want something that is 'semi weighted' this is in between 'weighted' (the feel of a traditional pianos keys) and 'synth action', a lot of stage pianos have midi in/out but if could be well out of your price range - god they sound good tho (in terms of built in sounds and expressivity). It might be worth just buying a cheap synth action keyboard if you are just starting out with electronica, my mate seems to do fine when he is using my crappy controller keyboard. If you dont end up getting any useful replies in the next few days Ill ask my friend for his impressions, he has been playing piano since he was 3 so he should be able to help

^ That nailed the important points. What's your price range OP?

erratech wrote:You probably want something that is 'semi weighted' this is in between 'weighted' (the feel of a traditional pianos keys) and 'synth action', a lot of stage pianos have midi in/out but if could be well out of your price range - god they sound good tho (in terms of built in sounds and expressivity). It might be worth just buying a cheap synth action keyboard if you are just starting out with electronica, my mate seems to do fine when he is using my crappy controller keyboard. If you dont end up getting any useful replies in the next few days Ill ask my friend for his impressions, he has been playing piano since he was 3 so he should be able to help

Yeah, semi-weighted would be class. My mate suggested an Axiom 61, not sure how great it is though. Thanks for the help, mate. The only MIDI I've ever come across in person the LPK mini, and I just hated it. Far too small with no controller. I want something that will last me a long time so I don't necessarily have to upgrade or buy a new one any time soon.

Shum wrote:^ That nailed the important points. What's your price range OP?

My parents currently owe me one free gift, but I don't want to really take the piss; so I'm around the > £300 < £400 bench mark.

Edit: I just realised the MPK 49 is semi-weighted as well, but Axiom has 61 keys. Which is better?

Neds Newt wrote:
Edit: I just realised the MPK 49 is semi-weighted as well, but Axiom has 61 keys. Which is better?

Personally I'd go for the MPK 49 but I'm no pianist so four octaves would be plenty for me, just ask yourself how much you'd use the extra octave? Also I know it seems obvious but is there anywhere you could try either of them out? Your local music store might stock them as they're both pretty common. You'd be able to get a feel for which keys you're more suited to. Not sure if you have already but have a look second hand I reckon you could grab an MPK 61 in your price range if the number of keys thing is bugging you

i have an axiom 49, which is semi-weighted, and i like it a lot. definitely very practical for what i do with it, which is mainly auditioning sounds and getting down some basic ideas. but to be honest, if you're really used to the feel of a real piano, semi-weighted keys will take some getting used to. i'm not a very good piano player at all, but i've been playing for a few years, and going to the axiom after playing piano for any stretch of time is just kinda strange. i sequence out all of my piano parts because i find trying to get a usable performance from a semi-weighted keyboard pretty awkward, but i know other people that play both and don't really have a problem with it, so it's up to you. just something to consider, i suppose. if possible, i would head over to a music store and just fuck around on a keyboard with semi-weighted keys (doesn't have to be a model you're considering) and see how you feel about it.

it also depends on what you plan on using the keyboard for, though. that'll also help you figure out how many octaves you want. again, as a piano player, having 49 keys is kinda weird, so i don't really use my keyboard for recording piano parts or anything and don't mind too much. but if you were planning on using it for manual input like that, you might want to consider 61 keys (or more?) more seriously.

Neds Newt wrote:Hey guys, I've been playing piano for just over 4 years now and have been getting into EDM for a few months now, and I think I'm ready to start buying some equipment! I understand some keyboards, such as the MPK and LPK series, have synth action keys which are supposedly useless for proper piano playing. Not sure though, I've never even had a keyboard before, but I'm interested in purchasing a MIDI keyboard that will suit my finger dexterity; so nothing too small.

Suggestions? (:

get something 4 octaves or higher. i have a 3 octave keyboard and it pisses me off not enough keys

Hypefiend wrote:

Neds Newt wrote:Hey guys, I've been playing piano for just over 4 years now and have been getting into EDM for a few months now, and I think I'm ready to start buying some equipment! I understand some keyboards, such as the MPK and LPK series, have synth action keys which are supposedly useless for proper piano playing. Not sure though, I've never even had a keyboard before, but I'm interested in purchasing a MIDI keyboard that will suit my finger dexterity; so nothing too small.

Suggestions? (:

get something 4 octaves or higher. i have a 3 octave keyboard and it pisses me off not enough keys

I have a 5 octave and it still pisses me off. I want a full 88-key mpk88

ambinate wrote:i have an axiom 49, which is semi-weighted, and i like it a lot. definitely very practical for what i do with it, which is mainly auditioning sounds and getting down some basic ideas. but to be honest, if you're really used to the feel of a real piano, semi-weighted keys will take some getting used to. i'm not a very good piano player at all, but i've been playing for a few years, and going to the axiom after playing piano for any stretch of time is just kinda strange. i sequence out all of my piano parts because i find trying to get a usable performance from a semi-weighted keyboard pretty awkward, but i know other people that play both and don't really have a problem with it, so it's up to you. just something to consider, i suppose. if possible, i would head over to a music store and just fuck around on a keyboard with semi-weighted keys (doesn't have to be a model you're considering) and see how you feel about it.

it also depends on what you plan on using the keyboard for, though. that'll also help you figure out how many octaves you want. again, as a piano player, having 49 keys is kinda weird, so i don't really use my keyboard for recording piano parts or anything and don't mind too much. but if you were planning on using it for manual input like that, you might want to consider 61 keys (or more?) more seriously.

just to clarify, semiweighted just means stiff keys. still not close to a piano.

ambinate wrote:i have an axiom 49, which is semi-weighted, and i like it a lot. definitely very practical for what i do with it, which is mainly auditioning sounds and getting down some basic ideas. but to be honest, if you're really used to the feel of a real piano, semi-weighted keys will take some getting used to. i'm not a very good piano player at all, but i've been playing for a few years, and going to the axiom after playing piano for any stretch of time is just kinda strange. i sequence out all of my piano parts because i find trying to get a usable performance from a semi-weighted keyboard pretty awkward, but i know other people that play both and don't really have a problem with it, so it's up to you. just something to consider, i suppose. if possible, i would head over to a music store and just fuck around on a keyboard with semi-weighted keys (doesn't have to be a model you're considering) and see how you feel about it.

it also depends on what you plan on using the keyboard for, though. that'll also help you figure out how many octaves you want. again, as a piano player, having 49 keys is kinda weird, so i don't really use my keyboard for recording piano parts or anything and don't mind too much. but if you were planning on using it for manual input like that, you might want to consider 61 keys (or more?) more seriously.

I'm an Electro House, Disco and Trance producer, so I appreciate a keyboard that allows me to use both hands, in which I can build chord progressions and inversions. So I do want it spacious. As for the Dubstep element, I want one with knobs, faders and wheels -- MPK49 has pads which just makes it much awesome-er. MPK49 looks a bit chunky, how is it's performance? It's looking like my favourite as of now because of those knobs and pads. I don't want to buy a lot of unnecessary hardware if I can find a universal keyboard that can do it all.

But, the Axiom 61 is only £15 more expensive than the MPK49, so I'm not sure which one to opt for. 61 keys would be nice in theory, but I'm not sure if it's necessary.

Any personal experiences would be amazing. I don't have a local music store that would sell MIDI keyboards, that I know of unfortunately :<

jrisreal wrote:

Hypefiend wrote:

Neds Newt wrote:Hey guys, I've been playing piano for just over 4 years now and have been getting into EDM for a few months now, and I think I'm ready to start buying some equipment! I understand some keyboards, such as the MPK and LPK series, have synth action keys which are supposedly useless for proper piano playing. Not sure though, I've never even had a keyboard before, but I'm interested in purchasing a MIDI keyboard that will suit my finger dexterity; so nothing too small.

Suggestions? (:

get something 4 octaves or higher. i have a 3 octave keyboard and it pisses me off not enough keys

I have a 5 octave and it still pisses me off. I want a full 88-key mpk88

damn i wish I had 5 octaves. aha and I get what you mean man an 88key would be really nice

Get th axiom if it's only 15 more. Pads on the mpk are pretty much useless for finger drumming , you can fist drum on them though. The keys are fine for me and I play piano, on the axiom I had though it felt more like a real piano, although axiom is made by m-audio, so just be aware of that.

The 61 looks good, I'll probably get that. How are the pads? Good for drumming? Reliable? Or should I invest in a separate MPC?

Thanks guys. Now all I need are some studio headphones and I'll be set (:

the pads on the axiom seemed better than the mpk's imo

akai pads these days just aren't.... good. Axiom pads feel great to me, but the controller itself is shitting out on me. Pads on the maschine are niiiiicce

-[2]DAY_- wrote:akai pads these days just aren't.... good. Axiom pads feel great to me, but the controller itself is shitting out on me. Pads on the maschine are niiiiicce

If you buy any mpd from 2010 or later the pads will be good just to clear that out.

Don't know a lot about what you are looking for but you can't go wrong with Nord Lead or even Nord Electro.
Not controllers though but I'm sure you can use sounds you made in softsynths.

AxeD wrote:

-[2]DAY_- wrote:akai pads these days just aren't.... good. Axiom pads feel great to me, but the controller itself is shitting out on me. Pads on the maschine are niiiiicce

If you buy any mpd from 2010 or later the pads will be good just to clear that out.

Don't know a lot about what you are looking for but you can't go wrong with Nord Lead or even Nord Electro.
Not controllers though but I'm sure you can use sounds you made in softsynths.

Those look beautiful, but they're so expensive for not being controllers ):

Would you recommend buying a separate MPD? If so, which one if the most adequate.