Edirol PCR-50

Easy

Velocity sensitive keys
Wonderful feel

good velocity and aftertouch

Others have documented the key problem
I just bought a used unit via ebay and 11 keys were dead.
the following page
http://www.fixya.com/support/t451937-replacing_key_contacts
tells how to fix them
The problem is that the contacts are not conductive - apparently whatever made them conductive evaporates with time.
Very easy solution - see above - open the unit - remove the keys pull off the rubber strips.
At each pair of contacts on the strip coat them with powered graphite.
Real pain putting the strips back n - be patient
Mone now works like new!!! :)

Before I did this i tried cleaning the contacts - it made it worse.

They want $145 to replace the keyboard

I like it but the manual is hard to read

Dead Key Issue..
Roland knows they have a problem, (they said so.. amazing!)... It's out of warrenty (by a couple of years) so when they said "send it in", and they said "No charge".... I 'bout fell over. They SAY they have problem solved with new keyboard... I'm taking them at their word (at least cant beat the repair price ($0).

Used basically as a back-up board or lower board on CX3. HAve used it to run parameters on XV5050. At the time.. it was cheap, (and worked)

Since I only use basic midi I had no problem

More than I need.

Worked great when new.

DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS DEAD KEYS UNRESPONSIVE KEYS. AND DON'T TRY TO FIX IT. I DID EXACLTY WHAT ONE REVIEWER SAID AND I MADE IT WORSE. I NOW HAVE A WORTHLESS PC OF PLASTIC.

Don't know.

DON'T BUY ONE.

Contact rubber on the keys is known to dry prematurely; Roland US fixed the problem a couple of years ago; still working fine. Give it a try; it's a shame to throw a cool controller like this in the trash. Peace.

Good

Good

Keys have never had the right feeling even when new.

Stopped to work after a bit more than 1 year. I used it maybe 10 times before the keys started to not work

dont know.. never tried to contact them

Dont buy that piece of plastic is useless since it stop to work after just a year even if you leave it in his case.

Takes getting used to, but once you know how their menu system works, it's pretty easy to change parameters.

When I opted for this one over and M-audio radium, I chose the edirol for its higher resolution knobs/sliders and buttons. Compared to some of the other controllers I've tried (Raduim and EMU xboard), I still like the layout of this the best.

N/A as others have said before. However, this was my first velocity sensitive keyboard, so I was initially thrilled by the simple fact that I could be expressive when running soft synths. This one doesn't have the option to set velocity curves like the PCR-M series, and only lets you change what amounts to a "velocity threshold," the default setting of which sucks for playing piano-type sounds (too much velocity). The other thing I wish it had was real aftertouch. Shame on edirol for using that word in their advertizements; the only thing close to aftertouch is changing that particular CC with a slider--you could do that with any controller. The EMU xboard (which I now own- see below) has actual aftertouch, which is a really cool feature if you program your synth to take advantage of it.

Here's where this unit takes a big hit, but IT CAN BE REPAIRED. Like a number of others have reported, I started getting dead keys shortly after the warrenty would have expired. This was the only product I've ever had an extended warrenty on, though I had some inital trouble getting Guitar Center to make good on it. Long story short, I was able to get the Xboard for free, have a few bucks for store credit AND keep the semi-functional edirol.

HOW TO FIX DEAD KEYS
Since the warrenty bought me a new board, I decided to take the Edirol apart and see if I could fix it. After opening it up and taking apart the keyboard mechanism (which involves removed the spring from the individual keys--very time consuming), you'll find a rubber contact strip, which can be pulled away from the PCB. Get a pink-type pencil eraser and lightly rub the two contact points on the PCB, then the black contact points on the strip itself. This apparently gets rid of whatever oxidation might be make the key unresponsive. I did this for every key, put it back together, and it works like new.

Here's the bummer part. After fixing it I tried to tighten the usb jack, since it was loose and breaking the connection to my computer. I broke the jack in the process--so I've got a working keyboard that I can't use through USB anymore--only MIDI. Bummer.

So, reliabilty kind of sucks, but I wanted to let people know that it is possible to repair some of those dead keys, if you've got some free time on your hands.

Difficult to set up without the PCR editor software. Multifunction keys take awhile to change settings.

Keyboard action requires a lot of pressure to get decent volume. Newer M series should help with adjustable sensitivity. The sliders and knobs worked as I expected them to.

The Chinese sure know how to make something work great until 1 day after the warranty. Same dead keys as others, though the other controls are fine.

Never called them, don't plan to ever deal with this company ever again.

If lost or stolen, I would thank them. I just put it outside for the trash.

Easy enough to use. I'm a hobbyist that just wanted something to hook up to control Reason. Easy to change knob assignments with the included editor.

I'm not qualified to answer this.

No sound - MIDI only.

The reliability is absolutly unacceptable. It doesn't get a lot of action, and is getting less and less action as more and more keys stop working. It is absolutly useless at the moment, as about 50% of the keys have stopped responding.

It's too old to bother as warranty is long gone.

I will never touch another Edirol product.

This was a waste of (unfortunatly rather limited) funds.

Two years old, minimal use at home only, now 12 keys are not responding (2 months ago only 10 not working), sliders and knobs still work (although one has a really gritty feeling). I would never buy a controller from them again.

I just use the basic functions with FLStudio. No problems here for me.

Knobs and sliders. Work Well.

No velocity curve control, this causes problems.

Not very good at all. Basically a couple of keys died.

I took it apart today to try and see if I could fix it. The guarantee ran out so hey nothing to lose.

I managed to fix the dead keys with none other than blu tac. Not sure exactly how long this repair will last but so far so good. I stuck strips of blue tac to the underside of each offending key. On the part that strikes the switch on the PCB.

No email support available.

It's the weekend so I cant call the number provided to see if I can source a replacement for the keyboard PCB

Does it's job now I've fixed it :) for the time being anyhow!