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I was thinking about buying Cakewalk A-500PRO because it has about all of the basic stuff like knobs, sliders and pads (Since I've never owned a midi controller, I don't know what I would find most comfortable using), 49 keys and it has Pitch Bend and a Modulation Stick. Don't know if the keys are weighted or not though. It costs £219.

Features: http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~nam ... ~13091.asp

There is a 32-key and 61-key version but I think that'll just be too little or too much. What do you guys think? Could you guys recommend another Midi Controller that's better for beginners or one that's pretty much the same as this one but cheaper? I won't go over £250/$400 but that still doesn't mean that the Midi controller has to be this expensive.

Ive used the Maschine MK1 and just bout Maschine MK2 and absolutely love it!. once you get the hang of using it, it opens endless possibilites. Im sure the controller your looking into is great but Maaschine will do anything you want it to do while being in a small sleek interface.

It depends also how much you wanna spend. MK2 out the door retail is about $700 but worth it if you push yourself into learning how to use it.

I'm no piano player and also have little experience with these things, but after hearing a lot of good things about it I decided to buy the M-Audio Oxygen 49 and I'm really happy with it so far. Can't compare it to other controllers but for the price I feel like I got a great product. What I can tell you though is how fucking great it is to have knobs and faders on the controller. I didn't think I'd end up using them as much as I do since I used to do everything ITB, but I really love it. When making basses etc it makes a huge difference, map out the Massive macros to your 8 knobs, some HP/LP filters to the faders, play a melody and then start turning the knobs. It's so much easier and faster to get a feel for the bass patch and automation etc when you can just turn the knobs, saves me a lot of time when figuring out my patches, what works, what's cool to automate etc. I feel like they've made me more creative and also sort of re-kindled my joy for production. I have 8 knobs and 9 faders (dont use these as much though) on mine and I wouldn't recommend anything with less than that, even though you could probably make it work.

As for the pads, I dunno. Do you need them? Maybe buy a cheaper controller and then buy a dedicated drum pad later? I wouldn't want my pads on a keyboard for ergonomic/practical reasons, and I'm sure a dedicated pad controller would have higher quality/better functionality.

@Zkeeto
$700 is a bit too much, I'm not sure I even have that much money to spend :/

Also I'd like it to have keys.

@Maxxan
That's exactly why I want at least both knobs and sliders on it, so I could figure out what I feel most comfortable with using when automating. With the pads I kinda agree. I should probably just buy a dedicated drum pad later for better quality. The M-Audio Oxygen 49 looks pretty good, for now it's on the list.

Akai MPK25 or Akai mini, they don't have sliders but they have knobs and drum pads and other buttons and 25 keys. Solid, reliable equipment.

yeah I'm about to get my first midi keyboard as well, alesis qx49 looks good so I might go for that... 49 keys with knobs, sliders, pads and some decent reviews, all for 100 pound

That Cakewalk controller you're looking at is a good choice probably...Roland make good shit. Either that or an Akai, I dunno. See if you can try them both out at a shop.

I'm an m-audio axiom fan, 49 keys, knobs, faders, pads (terrible ones, if you want good pads + keys go with the mpk), semi weighted keys and it's built like a rock.

Vouching for Akai, mines still working solid 1 year on.

JizzMan wrote:yeah I'm about to get my first midi keyboard as well, alesis qx49 looks good so I might go for that... 49 keys with knobs, sliders, pads and some decent reviews, all for 100 pound

I got the QX25 and I'm very happy with it. I was more after the knobs and faders than the keys themselves so I got all the functionality I wanted for less scratch.

mthrfnk wrote:Vouching for Akai, mines still working solid 1 year on.

errrrrr it bloody well should be, surely?! I've had my Tapco S8s since I was 15 I think (now 23) and they've only been turned off when I move them or leave the house for more than a day. That's a true test yo.

£10 Bag wrote:

mthrfnk wrote:Vouching for Akai, mines still working solid 1 year on.

errrrrr it bloody well should be, surely?! I've had my Tapco S8s since I was 15 I think (now 23) and they've only been turned off when I move them or leave the house for more than a day. That's a true test yo.

Yeh, but a lot of Akai controllers are cheap and all plastic. I chuck mine around a lot too... have read a few people saying theres broke easily (notably the knobs or USB socket) but mines been fine.

I have MPK mini about 1,5 years (that's my first and still only controller) and it's still works fine.

korg nanokontrol and maybe a korg nanokey is all u need for starting out.