Of MIDI Controllers and DAWs

Performance & Techniques Music Production
1

Of MIDI Controllers and DAWs

Hey there! I’m pretty new to the forums as far as posting goes but I have been lurking for a while and I figured this was the best place to ask this.

I’m shopping for a MIDI controller. I was using Logic Pro X but as i’m a PC kind of guy so i’ll be moving on to Pro Tools very soon. Right now i’m using an old Yamaha P-200 which has been pretty good to me but a little archaic as some of you might know. I’m not an expert piano player but I am aspiring so I feel like 61-88 keys are important for this purchase.

I have been looking at the following controllers and was hoping some of you out there had some feedback!

Arturia Keylab 88 -$700
Novation SL MKII - $400
Novation Impulse - $400
Nektar Panaorama- $600
Akai MPK88 - $700

I’m not gigging or anything as of right now. I’m primarily an “in the box” kind of guy. Will use this mostly for composing, recording, mixing, and mastering at home.

If you folks need any more information please let me know. I appreciate any great advice you can give on the differences of these or maybe some leads on to one I do not have listed here. Thank you!

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Is the P-200 88 keys? (BTW, googling P-200 results in a bunch of turntable pictures :wink:) If so, and you plan on keeping it, I’d suggest looking for something with 49 keys or so for a MIDI controller. You could always use the Yamaha to get the piano feel and all 88 keys, but you’d save money with a smaller keyboard.

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Yes it’s 88 keys. :slight_smile:

4

I have the Arturia Keylab 49,
I was struggling between it and Launchkey 49MK2,
the main reason I went with Keylab is because it was really well made,
the keys were firm and it came with a huge synth lab.

Launchkey is pretty good too, but when I tried it at a store, it felt pretty plastic to me.
So I added my budget and went with Keylab.

Hope this helps.