Edirol PCR-50

I bought the Edirol PCR-M30 the smaller version, and it works like a charm, had no problems setting up this baby. downloaded the newest drivers from the Roland site

i needed this controller for Propellerheads Reason 3.0 and it works great. it's got it all: buttons, sliders & knobs, and they are good and precise. the keyboard feels like a real keyboard, doesn't feel like a toy in any way. i would have liked a little more buttons buts its always like that. when it comes to the size i dont think it will fit in a small bag with a laptop, so if you need something for "on the move" this may not be it... otherwise get yours today ;)

i get the sounds from the Korg Legacy Collection.... this is a midi controller = it does not have any sounds in the hardware

just got it today so i dont really know yet

haven't needed them yet

nice design.. looks cool (i got the black version) the buttons feels pro, as goes for the keys.. its looks like and is a quality product. so far it haven't been letting me down in any way. i was thinking about m-audio oxygen8, O2 or Radium49 but i'm real glad i got the Edirol instead

super easy to set up. install the drivers, go to preferences (in reason) select device (edirol pcr50) and you're done.

the actual midi in/out jacks are VERY tight, i thought that the cables i had were bent or broken or something, but they were fine, you just have to push REAL hard.

the assignable buttons are pretty sweet, set em up for start, stop, scrub, rec, etc... would be great for live use :p

i don't really use it a whole lot for playing chords or much live stuff, mainly as a midi controller for reason, which it works very well for.

could i depend on it? that's hard to say... i've had problems with one of the keys not responding very well. i've had to use that canned air stuff to get it to work properly. i think if i was into doing live stuff i would consider a different controller, or just have something else as a backup.

never had to deal with them.

lost or stolen? i would buy a korg kontrol (full size) probably, or just another cheap controller, depending on how much money i had at the time. i like the fact that reason 3.0 supports it in such a way that i don't have to configure anything, very nice ;) i don't like the key action/keyboard on it as much as i thought i would... doesn't seem as solid as the pcr30 i tried before ordering the 50 :p

i wish it had drum pads... i think all midi controllers should come equiped with velocity sensitive drum pads and NINE sliders if they want to compete...

it definately helps me make music. i could not imagine going back to an oxygen8 or, worse, NOTHING!!!

not the greatest quality, but better than most midiman/m-audio stuff imo.

It was great until the keys stopped working!

It was great until the keys stopped working!

It was great until the keys stopped working!

After about a year, certain keys stopped working, or became unreliable.
I took it apart once it was usless anyways, and wow, what a cheap piece o' junk! I tried cleaning the contacts, and this helped.. a little.
This this was used minimally for a year, and now I need a new keyboard

WASTE OF MONEY.

The rest of the features are great, but dont mean a thing when it starts to die after a year. I'll never buy an Edirol keyboard again.

Easy to program. The software the comes with it to program the controls is very easy to use.

Lots of buttons and sliders, but it doesn't control that many midi controls. It could use better sysex controls. The keyboard action is incredibly bad. It is too light, and very cheap feeling.

It's almost impossible to express anything with this crappy controller. The action is bad and the knobs send out weird, uneven values when controlling paramters

This is the worst part. I've only had it 1 year, and 2 of the keys are already broken, and also a couple of knobs. I have never gigged with it. I keep it in my studio under a cover and it still is falling apart. The thing is made of cheap plastic and weighs about 8 ounces. Save your money, and do not buy this controller! I feel ripped off.

I never tried to contact them, but I doubt they could help revive my dead pcr-50

I hope it gets stolen, so my insurance will reimburse me for this piece of junk. Now I have to find another controller, because this one died after 1 year. It is essentially a cheap piece of plastic that cost me too much money.

Easy to program, manual is easyt enough to follow (especially for Roland documentation). Changing user presets takes 3 key strokes, I would've liked increment/decrement for this (there are inc/dec, but for sending program changes).

Keyboard action is quality Roland, way better than any I've tried in this sort of controller. I was hoping for that U20/S50 type action, I thinks it's better, the keys don't make as loud a clunking noise as the older Rolands. The action, amount of controllers (especially the expression pedal) sold me. A 9th slider would be great for master in the VST mixer, and for the 9th drawbar on the NI-B4.

I have leslie speed on the foot switch, swell on the expression pedal, 8 drawbars on the sliders (the 9th I had to use one of the pots), I have all the control over the hammond as when I had a real C3. Rhythmic filter sweeps on the expression pedal while both hands are busy (find that for $350CDN). That's what this instrument delivers, expression.

A good balance between portability and durability has been achieved. I do get a problem with the pitch bend sticking out of tune when I'm going pitch bend/mod crazy. I was sent some instructions on calibrating the pitch/mod, maybe I screwed it up.

Chris at Edirol in WA is great, emails always get a reply. I bought the original version and qualified for the system board replacement to get rid of the steppy controls issue, didn't cost me a dime. I'm sure Edirol wants this thing to fly, so they seem very attentive. There's no reason why any home computer should be without one. They're inexpensive enough where any family wanting to introduce their child to music shouldn't consider the PCR50 and a decent soundcard over some cheezy combo synth.

Eventhough I would like an extra octave, and Edirol came out with the PCR60, I would still replace the PCR50 if something happened to it, as it is so darn portable, great for the open stage, jam night thingy. I can carry my whole keyboard rig in with one trip from the car.

Fairly easy when you get used to it, although the downloadable presets are useful until to get used to it.

There are lots of controllers (27 in total) which are fully programmable albeit using the PCR Editor available from the Edirol website. They keys are fairly solid and the pitch bend/expression control is different but fun when you get used to it. It also comes with General MIDI 2 support for suitable programs.

Being a MIDI controller you must use a VSTi/DXi compatiable program however the reaction and feel of the keyboard is good.

So far I have encountered no problems with this, so I would recommend this to anyone.

In comparison to my other MIDI controller (Evolution MK225C) it feels more natural and I like the layout and functionality better.

It's a typical Roland operating system, you're not going to figure it all out without the help of the manual. But the manual's pretty good and it's easy to find the stuff you need. After a little practice the setup becomes pretty straightforward. And the downloadable editor software makes it all that much easier.

It has been a long road to finding a great controller for my computer/soft synth setup. I've tried Oxygen 8, Evolution, and older products like the Edirol PC-300...the PCR-50 blows them all away. Finally, a computer friendly MIDI controller that actually feels like something other than a toy. The case has a decent weight to it, the knobs and sliders have a good positive feel, the keyboard action is better than the PC-300 which itself was better than any of the others I tried. Knobs and sliders are totally configurable and there are 16 full setup memory locations. You can save more setups using the editor software. The only thing I could possibly ask for is maybe more knobs and sliders (there is some empty space on the thing, they should have filled it!)

NA

Feels very solid, like most Roland gear.

Now that they've fixed the controllers so they increment in 1's, there's just nothing better than the PCR series on the market, for this kind of money. The Novation Remote 25 looks interesting but it's still not out, and it's going to be considerably more expensive. You really can't go wrong with the PCR series for your computer based MIDI setup.

I purchased its smaller brother - PCR-30 - couple of weeks ago. Being aware of "increments in 3" problem, I asked the sales guy to open the box and try it in the store. It was a new shipment - "increments in 1"! So Edirol obviously fixed this problem.

Interesting fact: they were demoing an old PCR-50 unit in the store! :)

PCR is exremely easy to use and program, especially with the supplied PCR editor. Some settings (like default power-on memory profile) are not quite clear but the manual is very helpful.

I needed a decent small MIDI keyboard with knobs and sliders. I used to own Oxygen 8 but it was too fragile and unreliable. PCR-30 is very solid and does not feel cheap, has programmable knobs, sliders and buttons!

I had the only problem so far - with velocity. The default setting of "velocity offset" is not the best one for me. Fortunately it is adjustable.

Very solid.

I did not have a reason to contact Edirol support about my PCR. But I contacted them in the past (regarding DA-2496), and they were very kind and helpful.

If it were lost or stolen, I would buy another one without hesitation. It is well worth the money I paid.

Exceptionally well-written manual. Simple installation of driver on Win98SE. Considerably easy to get up and running with controller presets for Sonar, Cubase, etc. as well as a variety of VSTi's. Also quite easy to assign and save controller presets in one of 15 memory banks (1st bank is read-only with a GM setup). Addition of new (and free) preset editor from Edirol website adds to flexibility.

Best keyboard action of all controllers at its price-point, although a tad stiff and/or springy (may well "break in" over time) - though this is a very minor and subjective observation. Controller knobs & faders have a solid feel and are consistent in their action across each of them. Buttons are rubber-surfaced and have a pleasant and responsive action - several of them are designed to light up and/or flash while patch editing, making the process more intuitive. Newly designed bender/mod wheel has a good action and improves the transmission of mod data, although this controller is not assignable. All controllers can transmit a wide variety of data including MIDI CC, SysEx & RPN/NRPN. Each controller can send data on its own dedicated MIDI channel, on one of two MIDI Out ports (using USB connection, IE - keyboard & bender transmits on USB Midi Port 1, while all controller data transmits on USB Midi Port 2 (Ch. 1-16)) Can be powered by USB or DC adapter (included). MIDI I/O via USB or standard jacks. On board MIDI I/O jacks can route external MIDI hardware through USB MIDI connection.

*The most recent shipment (as of April/03, I believe) of this controller rectifies the "controllers transmit in increments of three" issue. All controllers now respond in increments of one.*

Solid construction and build quality. Solid keyboard feel lends itself to playability. Velocity offset feature in system settings can compensate for different playing styles, although no "velocity curve" preset feature is present.

Good initial selection of controller presets downloadable from Edirol website. New Editor application (free and downloadable from the Edirol website) for PC & Mac is a great new support feature.

Technical support: N/A

Absolutely the best choice among the current keyboard/combo controllers (ie - Evolution MK-361c, M-Audio Radium - both suffer from an immediately distinctive "cheap" and "toyish" feel). Feels more like a professional piece of gear despite a few shortcomings. Resolution of the controller increment issue makes the PCR series a hands down winner (though where's the 61-key version?). May get competition from the new MK-461c if Evolution improves their keyboard action.

THIS MACHINE IS USELESS AS A CONTROLLER. IT SENDS OUT CONTINUOUS CONTROLLER DATA IN INCREMENTS OF 3!!! FILTER SWEEPS ALL STEP, EVERYTHING SOUNDS TERRIBLE. APPARENTLY THEY ARE GOING TO FIX IT BUT WHO CARES, I JUST WASTED FOUR HOURS OF MY LIFE GOING TO THE SHOP, BUYING IT, TAKING IT HOME, UNPACKING, INSTALLING IT, AND THEN FINDING OUT IT DOESNT EVEN DO THE ONE THING EVERYONE WILL BUY IT FOR.

WASTE OF TIME.