Looking for some advice on MIDI Keyboard Controllers..

[maunstor]

Hi,
I'm new to this forum and this is my first post.

I'm a beginner in electronic music production. I use Ableton. I go to a music school to learn production where I was introduced to a Novation Launchkey 49, looked pretty good to me. I'm unaware of its competitive products, my teacher recommends it to me too and I've a gut feeling that it could be a decent buy.
The reason I've posted this post is to know what are the other products of this type, and how each could offer something different?

[c0nsul]

there is an endless variety of controllers and midi keyboards out there. you can map the midi commands of each of them to features of your software. because the musical magic happens in the software not on your controller.
but back to topic: novation has a good reputation. but maybe the feel and look of another controller may suite you better. go to a music store and touch/play with different devices.

[botstein]

+1 for Novation

[matrick]

Reloop just brought out a couple of Ableton controllers with keys, pads, faders etc - Keypad and Keyfadr

[amadeus]

There are a lot on the market.

I don't own this but the Akai MPK 25 and it's bigger brothers look pretty decent, along with the new line of Novation stuff.
I think the intergration with ableton with the Launchkeys looks pretty good if I'm honest.

It all depends what you want it for, and what kind of controls you are after.

personally the reloop stuff looks like junk, based purely on looks, basically taken akai/korgs ideas of compact controllers and stuck it all in one piece. And I dont like mini keys, and I can imagine the rotarys aint gonna be that nice either.

[soundinmotiondj]

I'm a beginner in electronic music production. I use Ableton. I go to a music school to learn production where I was introduced to a Novation Launchkey 49, looked pretty good to me. I'm unaware of its competitive products, my teacher recommends it to me too and I've a gut feeling that it could be a decent buy.

There are a ton of products you could look at. However, you are in school and your teacher recommended a particular product. The odds are good that is the one you should get. The point of school is to learn, and for that you (mostly) need tools that will not get in the way.

At a minimum your teacher probably has some insight into the class requirements, technical help that is available, and the capabilities of the keyboard itself. If you get anything else, you may be left to do your own "tech support" in order to get things working. That is time you can not spend on the actual assignments and learning the techniques that you will need to understand.

Once you are further down the path, you can always change tools...and the best part is all it takes to make a change is time and money.

[amadeus]

There are a ton of products you could look at. However, you are in school and your teacher recommended a particular product. The odds are good that is the one you should get. The point of school is to learn, and for that you (mostly) need tools that will not get in the way.

At a minimum your teacher probably has some insight into the class requirements, technical help that is available, and the capabilities of the keyboard itself. If you get anything else, you may be left to do your own "tech support" in order to get things working. That is time you can not spend on the actual assignments and learning the techniques that you will need to understand.

Once you are further down the path, you can always change tools...and the best part is all it takes to make a change is time and money.

This is not the best advice at all.

So becuase his teacher recommended it, he should get it?

Seriously, if he recommened a piece of junk, should he still get it then.

We are talking about a midi keyboard here, if it were a photography class, and the teacher recommended a Digital SLR then yeah I'd agree, as if he bought a film camera it could be wrong, and maybe then wouldnt get support.

Like I said before, there are other options, but I also said the Novation was a good bet.

But what you advised is just utter b*llocks.

[soundinmotiondj]

So becuase his teacher recommended it, he should get it?

Seriously, if he recommened a piece of junk, should he still get it then.

First, the Novation is a reasonable choice. We both agree on that. So the recommendation passes at least the sniff test.

Second, I did offer some rational for my advice. The teacher is in the best position to know how the keyboard will be used in the class assignments, what mappings or templates may be available or provided with the assignments, the level of tech support that can be provide by the teacher or other students, and so on. AND, it appears that the school also uses the Novation onsite...so there would be some continuity between the school setup and the home setup. In most educational use "the same" is better than "better." Having a stable set of tools that will not get in the way is often more important than having a better set of tools that require "fiddling" to get them to work. The goal is to learn to produce music, not to learn the ins and outs of any particular piece of gear.

Finally, the teacher can be presumed to have the students interests at heart...if not, then the choice of keyboard is moot and the issue is the selection of a new teacher or new school.

[botstein]

I think it's fine to question a teacher's recommendation but it drives teachers insane when their instruction is undermined by strangers when students jump on forums.

[deevey]

The reason I've posted this post is to know what are the other products of this type, and how each could offer something different?

First off your Instructor knows the criteria of the course, and obviously the Novation Ticks all the necessary boxes for whats being taught, sure there are other options though.

Most Midi Controller keyboards of this type differ in.

Number of Buttons, Knobs and Faders - generally More of each means more control.
Some feature Drumpads - Some are better than others
Knobs vs 360º Encoders - Encoders can make life much easier if you are controlling multiple instruments or parameters.
Number of Programs - How many Presets can you save.
Software Compatibility - Some Software e.g. Reason can be picky about the controllers used or what can be controlled.
Build Quality - Will it last a long time
Aftertouch - Are the keys touch sensitive.
Powered or USB - Some keyboards need an external power adaptor, some do not.
Number of Keys - generally 25/49/61
Built in arpeggiator - speaks for itself.