Members sevensinner Posted September 9, 2004 Members Share Posted September 9, 2004 So I tried the M-Audio Keystation for a short time at (of all places) the Apple Store. They have Garageband (nifty program I have to admit) on the eMac with the Keystation attached and for the money it's actually not too bad. The action is nothing like the Radium 61, it has more substance to it; not too springy but not too mushy either. It feels a lot like the Kurzweil SP76's keys. All in all, for what it's intended for, it's not too bad, even the two local Guitar Center don't have a floor model to sample, although they carry them for $169 . No substantial amount of knobs or sliders, just a pitch bender and mod wheel. For controlling a ROMpler module or soft sampler like Kompakt that's probably all you really need anyway. For something like Garageband it's pretty close to ideal. There's also the Keystation 49e which has the typical crappy mushy non responsive M-Audio keybed... They seem to push that one more because it's $99, but it sucks.... bleah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J3RK Posted September 9, 2004 Members Share Posted September 9, 2004 How does it compare to the StudioLogic SL-161 if you've used one? The only Kurzweil keys I've used are on the K2600 88-key version, which are hammerweighted. I don't know what the SP-76 feels like. I had an SL-161 and liked it. I need to get a new controller, so the Keystation 61 might work if it's not too bad. I've heard good things about the 88, but that's weighted too if I remember correctly. I suppose I should just go try one out, but I won't have time for a little bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sevensinner Posted September 9, 2004 Author Members Share Posted September 9, 2004 I actually liked the SL-161, if I remember correctly it had a metal chasis and was built like a tank. The Alesis QS6-series supposed used the same mechanism, and I thought that was the best part of that keyboard (had a QS6.1). Do note that the M-Audio KS61es is all plastic, so whether it's gig worthy or not remains unknown, I'd think not though. It belongs in a studio next to a computer. I don't think it's really aimed at a significant percentage of the people that read this forum, but it's just something else that's out there. I guess the main thing is that it is another option out there. What I mean to say is, I wouldn't dismiss it instantly because it has "M-Audio" written on it. Like many guitarists that dismiss anything that says "Squier" or "Ibanez" on it (even though those two manufacturers, well in Squier's case, Fender, do make some very decent products) The Keystation's keys are shaped like a piano's ("box keys") and seem to have more weight than a Yamaha DGX-500 or the Roland RS-9 (which i still have) The Keystation Pro 88 has hammer weighted keys. The 61es doesn't. Also, the KSPro88 seems to have some issues in this current first released. M-Audio usually smoothes out all the "issues" about 9 months after the initial batch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J3RK Posted September 9, 2004 Members Share Posted September 9, 2004 Thanks. I don't play live, but I need to have quality synth-action. It is just going to sit next to my computer, but it has to feel nice. I'm basically going to use it for patch auditioning, testing chords, and random tomfoolery. I hate bad keys though, no matter how simple the task is. I really liked the keys on my old XP-80. Just synth-weight, but the action was nice, just the right resistance, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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