Members nat whilk II Posted August 3, 2007 Members Share Posted August 3, 2007 A couple of the retailers are blowing out the CME USB line of keyboards. Got a Musician's Friend catalog with a $159 price on the UF5 49-key model. zZounds is carrying the same unit at $149. About 34" long for 49 keys, 8 knobs, 9 sliders, data wheel, transport controls, etc. I think the 49-key version will just fit on my desktop for softsynth/synth programming and tracking into my DAW. These are really low prices - the magazine reviews were very positive - the user reviews have the usual mix of rox/sux... Any hands-on experience to relate? Other info? nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lostandfoundpdx Posted August 3, 2007 Members Share Posted August 3, 2007 hey man, i bought the 49 key, ignoring all the bad reviews, and i went through 3 of them before i just took my refund. the drivers are pretty much useless, you can't use the USB at all, they have no intention of upgrading the dirvers because they are discontinuing the line, and the midi in/out doesn't send cutoff messages. the controller doesn't accept normal CC codes, so setting the sliders etc., is really difficult. honestly, i wouldn't be romanced by the price tag. i was, and it turned out to be a big waste of my time. its too bad since they look rad and the keys feel pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members XorAxAx Posted August 3, 2007 Members Share Posted August 3, 2007 In the VX there is a "game mode". That killed it for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nat whilk II Posted August 3, 2007 Author Members Share Posted August 3, 2007 hey man, i bought the 49 key, ignoring all the bad reviews, and i went through 3 of them before i just took my refund.the drivers are pretty much useless, you can't use the USB at all, they have no intention of upgrading the dirvers because they are discontinuing the line, and the midi in/out doesn't send cutoff messages. the controller doesn't accept normal CC codes, so setting the sliders etc., is really difficult. honestly, i wouldn't be romanced by the price tag. i was, and it turned out to be a big waste of my time. its too bad since they look rad and the keys feel pretty good. Wow, nasty experience. What computer setup were you using? nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrcpro Posted August 3, 2007 Members Share Posted August 3, 2007 LostandfoundPDX kills it for me. And I've given serious thought to CME controllers too. BTW, you haven't lived until your luggage is lost in PDX. It was never found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Daft Punk Posted August 3, 2007 Members Share Posted August 3, 2007 In the VX there is a "game mode". That killed it for me. I just got an 8. Don't know what the hell game mode is but it's by far one of the best keyboard's i've seen. Motorized faders, presets for different sets of controls, and a really easy to learn interface. Ribbon controller is nice but a little short for pitch bending. Keys feel great, close to a grand but not close enough. Probably the best you'll find without paying a hundred grand for the real thing. Love the velocity sensitive pads, a great feature. USB Hub in the back with 2 usb slots for hooking up other time dependent midi interfaces or anything else you'd want to use, line in's mic in's, headphones, 2 footswitch jacks, it's just a great machine to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sinner6 Posted August 3, 2007 Members Share Posted August 3, 2007 After mulling it over and trying some low cost alternatives (edirol), I finally sprung for a remote SL and can vouch for it's quality. Sorry for being ever so slightly off topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Meganulon-X Posted August 3, 2007 Members Share Posted August 3, 2007 Regarding the new CME UFx0 controllers, here are two very recent threads of interest over at KVR. The New CME UF80 keyboard / MIDI controllerJust got my CME UF70.. major issues so far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nat whilk II Posted August 3, 2007 Author Members Share Posted August 3, 2007 Thx for all the serious posts... Truly, there is great variance out there in userland on these things. Makes me wonder what OSs, what MIDI interfaces the CMEs have trouble with. Some people report trouble-free, some report fixless disasters. Some of the pro/magazine reviewers reported bugs here and there, but either came up with workarounds or downloaded new drivers, and generally were able to cope. Some of the negative user reviews look like they're from people with no patience or knowledge to figure things out. But not all by any means. One guy complained that the effects were crappy:rolleyes: At the current price point, and if the seller will take the thing back if faulty, I still might bite and see if my setup is friendly to the things. Those who like them like them a lot, esp. the keybed and feel. It's the driver issues that seem to deepsix the thing for some people... I've bought items notorious for quality control issues, and if they don't work they go back..some of my best deals have been scored by buying when things with some bug issues are being blown out. Just have to work with the situation. nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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