Which Controller should I choose ???

[marco b]

I have an offer from Yamaha KX88 (odl but faithful) or Studiologic SL-880
controller keyboard almost same price!
Which one you should choose?

KX 88 has quite heavy keyboard touch, but also feels like good weighted keys should feel,
I haven\'t played SL-880, but I have heard good things about it!
Maybe I will take newer SL-880???

[aplanchard]

I have an 880 and love it. The feel is certainly weighted but a bit springier than a real piano. The few people I know who do not care for it are serious classical pianists, who really want a heavy action like a Steinway or Bosendorfer.

[thesoundsmith]

Beside the feel, the other issue is control. THe Fatar has no auxiliary controls, so if you want to use CCs, you have to resort to a separate unit. AND make separate controller passes.

Depends on how you want to work. I use the Kurzweil 2500X-all kinds of sliders, ribbons, wheel, bells and whistles. Of course it costs a lot more, but again it comes down to how you owant to work...
Dasher

[aplanchard]

I must agree with soundsmith. The lack of control is a limitation that needs to be worked around. Slows your work down a bit. That said, for the money, you do get great feel.

[Synth2k]

In my humble opinion, if the KX88 is in great shape I would grab it in a second over the Fatar. The KX88\'s were great (they still are) as studio controllers and a lot of composers still use them. If you can get one for a good price that is in good condition, go for it!

Ryan.

[Jake Johnson]

I hate to add complexity, but have you played an Ensoniq ZR-76? Yes, it\'s only 76 keys, but the action is the best I\'ve found. Better, to me (yes, it\'s subjective) than any of the Rolands, including the new RD-700. Apparently it\'s a Fatar keyboard, but all of the Fatars I\'ve played feel spongy or loose in comparison. (The ZR-76 is a workstation with internal sounds, now discontinued by EMU, the company that bought Ensoniq, but its combination of more than decent sounds and its action make it an excellent controller.)

Has two wheels. Sells for about $800-$900 if you can find one. Listen to the sampled pianos (try the Stately Piano and the Keith Jarret piano patches) at a high volume with a good set of powered monitors or with a good 10 inch or better amp. Use the internal recorder to record a song a two and then play it back while you walk around the monitors.

Only buy if you can get a full warranty\\return policy--some of these had problems; later ones have sat in music stores and been played by countless people without any glitches. They seemed to have fixed the problems, but only after the early ones gave this keyboard a bad rep and Ensoniq fell on hard enough times to be sold. They are still around at Mars and Guitar Center.

[Kenn159]

Alot of interesting opinions.
Personally I would not recommend buying a 76 key keyboard with giga because some of the libraries like GOS have keyswitches asigned below the range of a 76 key keyboard .
So if you want to keyswitch between sounds in realtime with your keyboard youll need a 88 key keyboard .
Also make sure the controller you are considering can transmit pressure and aftertouch , nice features that help to add expression to your samples asuming the library was programed to respong to them.

[marco b]

I will take KX88, because they want 100 EUR more for new SL-880!
Yes, KX88 is in a very good shape and keys feels great (oucch.. very heavy).
I am enjoying playing GigaPiano and others with good touch. Even EVP88
sound lot better. By the way, Akai Splendid Grand Piano 256 MB is very nice
and it\'s free! There are four controller sliders in KX88! How do you use them with
CC??
And it\'s sad there are no velocity curves in KX!!!
But otherwise I\'m happy with my new controller!

[marco b]

Final price for KX88 was 600 EUR (540USD)!
I think It\'s quite reasonable.
I\'m feelin\' that I\'m gonna love it very much!!!