Yamaha p95 as a controller?

How functional would it be as a controller? Would anyone mind giving their opinion on getting this versus a pure controller keyboard like a novation impulse 61? I know I made a thread along the same lines as this yesterday, but I've had a grand total of no replies and I'm on a bit of a time limit - I could grab a cheap p95 from a friend but they have other people interested.

Could a midi controller function as a regular keyboard for purposes of live playing if set up on a laptop properly? Or are they really just for home/studio use? Would a yamaha p95 function perfectly well as a controller? Any replies would be really appreciated.

A huge difference that you haven't addressed at all is how the keys feel. If you are primarily a piano player, you probably won't enjoy playing on the Impulse. So you might want to get the P95 and supplement it with something like a Novation ZeRO SL Mk II to get the rest of the functionality you want. You could still bring the laptop to gigs if you want, but you'd also have the built in sounds of the P95 as backup.

That's a good point - thankyou. I am most used to pianos, so that's something to take into consideration. Something like a ZeRO SL MKII or a Maschine would also be a really good mix of the two. Thanks for your help