Fatar StudioLogic SL-161

If they just made this with an LCD screen it would be the best on the market.

Mine is actually a Sl-161 Pro which is identical accept it has 4 zones instead of 2.

This board has THE BEST weighted synth action out there. Great velocity and aftertouch.

no problems. I previously owned a SL-161 as well and they both are exactly the same.

If you read the reviews here you will notice the big let down is not having an LCD screen to verify what channel/parameter etc you are adjusting or are on. You can get by it by just looking at your tone module and verify that it has changed. It's just annoying. When I purchased this one I considered the M-audio Axiom 61. I didn't have a chance to try one of those out so I went for the Fatar since I owned one previously and it was $50.00 cheaper. Recently I got the chance to try out the M-audio axiom at a local Sam Ash and I am very glad I went for the Fatar. The Axiom feels like a cheap casio compared to the Fatar. Hey Fatar, if you are reading this, " I would pay $50.00 more, hell $100.00 more for this board if it had an LCD screen with knobs or buttons to adjust parameters instead the keys."

Erm... bearing in mind the manual mentions how this keyboard is designed to stop people having to fiddle with sound modules and computers on gigs, its not the most well laid out of devices.

As a master keyboard its simple enough, plug in the leads, in their obvious places, and turn the thing on. Changing patches and things is ok once you get used to it, still takes longer than turing the dial knob on my module tho...

Nice action, has vel and after touch. Got two parallel midi outs, plus two zones, which can be assigned to different chans. Sockets for expression pedal and sustain pedal, and pitch bend and mod wheels.

all in all has more or less everything I need - obviously could always be more, but its suitable for most day to day stuff.

Reacts to vel and after well, 4 different vel curves, so it can be adjusted to your style of playing. Shame you cant use custom curves, but never mind.

Apart from that, not really applicable - its a master keyboard

I have been using it for a while now, got it second hand, and never had a problem. Feels a bit flimsy while carrying it, but once its on a stand it feels sturdy enough, even for my heavy handed playing! I do normally have a back up, as I have a Studio-41 that I have modded with guitar strap buttons to use as a cheapo AX-7 (!), but I would gig it without a backup anyway.

Never tried - in Italy, so i doubt it'll be great

If it was lost or stolen, I would probably look at getting somthing else, perhaps somthing with 88 keys, but I would not dismiss buying this again. I would deff. look at other Fatar keyboards.

Overall, fairly happy, yes I have gripes about it, but i dont think there is a truly gr8 master keyboard out there (if anyone has found one, please let me know!!)

Changing patch is no fun; having to get into edit mode and then pressing key combinations and getting no form of feedback except from the computer. However, i bought this keyboard together with a 50$ Evolution UC-16 USB gadget that has button & knobs galore. so i dont really use the SL-161 patches and splits.

There are Several programmable MIDI features like splits, patches, shape, velocity, transpose etc.. played with them a bit but didnt touch them since.

It has ok key action and values that reach the computer go from 0 to 127 almost linearly with force played. I've only played real pianos in the past so I couldnt tollerate synth action keyboards that i tried in different shops. The SL161 is semi-weighted (i would say 25% weighted) but it "feels" more weighted when i run a sampler on the computer that plays Steinway or Bosendorfer (must be some mind trick).
I will buy a weighted keyboard at some stage. Most probably the Studiologic/Fatar 880.

Latency is an issue i didn't foresee with this whole plastic-piano experience. My A7N8X motherboard comes with an NVidia ASIO enabled sound chip but it turns out that chip (with 2400+ CPU and 1Gig of memory) can't produce less then 20ms latency!!
So I installed an old SoundBlaster 5.1 card and an ASIO driver from kxproject.com and now I get 5ms latency... well, not quite so.
The Midi-to-USB connector from Midiman imposes another few milliseconds of latency. I'll get the SoundBlaster-to-Midi cable and ditch the midiman USB and then hopefully get a perfect 5ms latency experience.

Aftertouch, pitch/mod wheels and sustain pedal all work fine with Reason and VSTs (synthesizers, string instruments etc.), samplers (I tried Kompakt and sampletank and they work well but - Giga doesn't work with cheap sound cards on Windows XP).

I bought this a couple of months ago used (a year old or so) from display at a Guitar-Center. Works like a charm.
(using it at home)

No need so far.

Great solid keyboard and action for 150$.
For use with Reason/Cubase it's perfect combined with a separate knobs box.
For playing piano I'd go for the Fatar/Studiologic 880 or any quality used weighted 88-key keyboard.

To a non-techie I would recommend getting a MIDI keyboard that is able to prduce sounds without the need of a computer. Lots of effort is required in tweeking around things to get it to work right and you need to spend time in shops and with musician friends trying out different software before buying.

It's easy to figure out anyways. Has 2 Zones and you can change the paremeters for each one (midi channel, bank, program, key range, transpose, sustain on/off, pitch/mod wheels on or off, aftertouch, shape, and velocity curve, and you have to have the same velocity setting for both zones). To change these you press the Edit button, then press the up/down buttons till the little light is next to the paremeter you wanna change, then type in the new value with the keyboard (the middle octave doubles as a numeric keypad) then press the Edit button again and it saves it and returns to play mode, and there's 2 buttons for turning either or both of the 2 zones on or off

2 midi outs, no ins. Inputs for damper and sustain pedals. Velocity sensitive with aftertouch, nice pitch and mod wheel. The annoying thing about this, although it's got some good features is that you have to stop playing in order to change anything - let go of the keys and pedals before it will even go into edit mode, scroll through the menu, then press the keys to change it, then you can start playing again.. not good for live unless you dont need to change settings other than between songs. Nice in the studio though. i wasn't sure whether to give thw low rating to Ease of use or Features, so i gave it here

Nice action. I'm not a piano player, but i think the action feels good. Definately a difference between this springy weighted and cheapo synth action, although the non weighted version of this keyboard (SL-61) feels barely different at all. No built in sounds of course

Random keys just stop working every once in awhile, and then they start back up again a few days later. One time i took it to practice and couldn't get it working.. i finally realized days later that somehow the velocity had automatically set itself to the lowest setting so that even if you bang on the keyboard it wouldn't even make a sound. One of the keys, now, when you just tap it it send a way too loud signal, as if you hit it as hard as it goes. interesting. all the keys are working at the moment. Moving it around tends to cause problems. If i was in an active band i would fear gigging without a backup with great trembling. Had to open the case up once to fix a key that randomly stopped working, and the thing is impossible to put back together right. The screws are all whack and so now only about half the screws are holding it together.

i'm tired of writing this review so i'll be short. I would definately not buy this again, although it's nice for around the house/amatuer studio type stuff as long as it stays in one place, it's got a great feel, just not reliable enough to be used prefessionally.. although maybe i just got a dud, who knows. Other people gig with this alot and have no problems with it. I've definately done some cool stuff with it. I wish it had a keypad, and was made better, i'd keep it if that were the case

Ease of use depends on what you're using it for. I'm using it as the main board(!!!) in my ultra-compact setup consisting of the Fatar and a Nord Lead 2 as controllers, a Triton rack, an Oberheim Matrix-1000 and a Hammond Xm-1. I'm not sure ease of use is the correct choice of words here; it all seems to be about avoiding fiddling with the 161 as much as possible. I've set the two zones identically except for different midi channels, and I use the zones only to control my modules. All other settings are made in the modules themselves, and if I need splits-on-the-fly I'll use the Nord, which is actually an excellent midi controller.

The keyboard action is very nice; works for just about anything I want to play. Very easy to overdo aftertouch, though, and I don't play hard. A big pain is the octave switching function, which is buried in the transpose menue - which requires settings by intervals instead of octaves; can get very messy if You try to do something quickly.

The pitch wheel is'nt all that sturdy, and the mod wheel seems to move when I play hard. Since you can't switch between the zones if any controller is working, you've got to give it half a second to "settle down" before trying to switch between the zones, otherwise youn might press the buttons with no result whatsoever.

Well, due to my economical situation, I have to hope it won't break down on me during a gig. The whole thing feels a bit brittle, though. Wouldn't want to drop it or anything. Once it freaked and started switching octaves during a heavy organ-blues-gig, rendering some REALLY strange organ comping, I had to save the situation using the drawbars to "transpose". After a quick power off-power on everything was fine for a week or two. Then the mother board broke down (7 months old!!!) and had to be repaired, which took two weeks, leaving me without my main board!!! someday, if possible, I'd like to find a controller that lets me sleep at night...are there any out there?

I handled everything through the store where I purchased it.

If the Fatar was stolen or lost, I'd cash the insurance and get something else. Don't know what, though. Haven't found a single controller I'm perfectly happy with. The best things about the 161 are its weight, and that when it works and is properly set up it's quite a nice controller. The only time that I'm completely happy with it is when I'm carrying it to and from the gig.

It's very easy to use despite the awful interface. Wanna change programs? Go into the edit menu, select program, use the +or- buttons, exit edit menu, see which one youve selected. Absolute genius. No scrolling through patches here, that's ay too easy and convienient.

The usual velocity adjustments. Keyboard split is a nice feature. 2 midi outs too.

The key action is alright, too bad it's so poorly constructed.

This thing is a pile of junk. It weighs about 16 ounces, and is constructed like a cheap toy. I broke a key on mine, without a lot of force. I got mad and decided to see how easy others were to break and began snapping them off like I was superman! A total waste of money.
Spend extra and buy a Roland A-33 or better yet buy a used synth from the late 80's or early 90's when construction was much better. I wish I had done that, I thought it would be handy to have aftertouch because I might use it one day. I might use it one day but not on this board because it's going to the dump!!

A total waste of money. It's a real shame manufacturers are putting out such crappy keyboards.

Very easy to use but highly annoying as well (bit of a wierd interface) although it works well enough for an entry level master keyboard.

The feel of the keys is impressive, especially when compared to similar priced keyboards (a lot of them feel cheap). 2 midi outputs along with the ability to split the keyboard into 2 zones or you can have 2 seperate sounds using the full 61 keys selected using 2 buttons (1 & 2).

Responds well to my Micro Modular - the aftertouch is a welcome feature. The feel of the keys is impressive, especially when compared to similar priced keyboards (a lot of them feel cheap). Not one for the Richard Claydermans but good enough for a budget bedroom studio like mine.

It's not really all that solid so I'd leave it set up somewhere rather than move it around as I'm sure it's not too difficult to break. My main concern is the power supply input at the rear, as with a lot of cheaper equipment, it's very flimsy and would be one of the first things to break - gaffer tape reinforcement needed here.

Never needed it

Nothing really to moan about here because as entry level keyboards go, it's better than a lot of others I've tried. I expected entry level master keyboards to feel a bit cheap so was surprised when I tried this in the shop and didn't need long to decide on my purchase.

Very easy to use, as long as the uses you want to make of it are easy. Despite the fact that this is a controller, and nothing else, it is remarkably inflexible at its main mission. The system for changing set ups is so awkward -- using the keys as data input devices -- I simply don't try to make changes on the fly. I just set it up for some simple functions as use it that way. So I give it high marks on "ease of use," but there are lots of things one might like to do with a controller that can't be done with the SL 161.

Here's the reason I love this board -- its the action. Superb "synth style" action. The keys are large, they have a nice texture, the action is solid and just weighty enough to be to my liking (being a piano player at heart, I'm inclined towards heavier action even on a synth). I use it mostly to trigger an organ module, and also a synth module. I own a Hammond B-3, and this is the keyboard that gets me closest to feeling like I'm playing the action on my B (even though the key size is a bit different and there is not the waterfall style keyfront). I think the action is much better than most other synths. It makes me wonder why most synth manufacturers would overlook this important aspect of playing.

There are two zones, triggered by independent buttons. I use one to trigger an organ module, the other a synth module. I can play one or the other, or I can layer them. That's about it in terms of flexibility. I wish there was the ability to assign different controller parameters to the CV pedal or the modulation wheel. You can't, and that's a bummer.

No onboard sounds.

I've put this thing through alot. I really should get a better case for it. The cheapo gig bag I have is about as protective as a plastic grocery bag. Yet the keyboard is doing fine despite being banged around quite a bit.

I wish you could battery operate this thing. Does it really draw that much current to make batteries impractical. I have a Roland A-33 controller, which is battery operable, and its so nice when gigging having one less wall wart to deal with. At home, of course, the wall wart gets plugged. There is not a stress relief device for the wall wart. That's a rather significant omission on a keyboard.

Well, as I said, its the great action on this thing that sold me. I wish it had more flexibility, but action is very important to me. Its supposed to be a musical instrument, after all. That means you're supposed to feel connected to it and inspired by the tactile interface. So when it comes down to choosing between a more flexible controller and one that feels great, I'm going with the Fatar 161. Obviously you might strike that balance differently, but play the Fatar so you know what really good synth action feels like.

You could get great action AND flexibility with some 61-note synths. The Alesis QS 6 or 6.1 comes to mind as one example. But then you'll be paying alot more, and it doesn't come in such small portable package.

This is a simple controller, but that doesn't mean it isn't good. It feels solid, the keys are nice, it has velocity and aftertouch (both variable on the controller) as well as pitch and mod wheels. I got this thing without a manual, and the prospect of learning how to use it without any sort of display on the SL161 was daunting. However, I got it working right away without even consulting online. I'm using it as a controller for my sound modules. I have the controlling running into the MIDI IN of my computer, and the MIDI OUT of my computer goes to an MX28S MIDI Patchbay which goes out to all my modules. I didn't even break a sweat. Whatever channel I was currently on in Cakewalk Pro Audio 8, was the channel the Fatar transmitted at. So I could just use the up and down arrows to scroll through my channels, and it would play the correct module. Cool! I'd give it a 10 for ease of use if there WAS some sort of display.

Variable aftertouch and velocity, mod + pitch, flexible and automatic channel outputting, two midi outs, sustain pedal support, splittable keyboard.. and so forth. Nice feeling keys. I'm not into the heavily weighted keys, and they aren't. I'm a synth player much more than a piano player.

No sounds of course, but it's very expressive. All controllers on the SL161 work fine with all my modules. I haven't had a problem with garbled MIDI. I'm very happy.

It seems pretty solid. I wouldn't throw it out my window, dump acid all over it, or drive over it with a rollercoaster... however I'd use it at a gig, despite these concerns.

Fatar has a website.. http://www.musicindustries.com/fatar-menu.htm I emailed them about getting a replacement manual and haven't heard back from them yet (3 days).. we'll see.

I'm happy with it. It works. I don't have to think about it. If you're just using it to control, directly, a slave synth, it should be easy there too. I've never done it, just using the setup I described above. Good luck!

The interface is horrible. First of all, my biggest problem with it is the patch messages it sends are from 1-128. It should be zero thru 127! So when I call up 55 on the board, 54 comes up on the module. Sure I could re-map everything on the module, but I look at the patch chart for my module to look up the sounds. I don't want to have to transpose in my head. OK, I admit I'm a guitar player who wants to dabble, I won't even use this on gigs anytime soon. But this 1-128 thing drives me nuts, so I will probably return it as I've only had it 10 days. Some other things I dont like, is you enter numners thru the keys which are marked. This means you have to hit an escape button which temporarily disables the keyboard, hit your patch numbers (and hope they are right because there is no LED on top) then hit enter to commit and it sends your "MIDI preset value minus one" to the module. And yet another thing, when hitting the escape button there are up down keys which allow you to move thru functions like preset change, bank change, velocity value, etc. I can see this thing getting moved to one of the other 10 or so functions at a gig when you want patch change and you enter a value, you might panic "my sound didn't change" in the middle of a performance. Scary. So this rules out using this board in my band where we have a rhythm guitar guy who plays decent keyboards but is technically challenged. He'd go crazy using this thing. So Fatar, here is my feedback to you. Get a 0-9 pad on top, and an LED display so you can tell what darn number you're on. Read the MIDI standards documentation which clearly states 0 - 127, not 1 - 128, and maybe next time I'll keep your board.

It's a controller so there are no sounds, but it has velocity control, aftertouch, synthweighted keys (which feel very good by the way, this is why I'm so pissed cause I'll end up getting that MK-xxx thing which feels like a piece of garbage, but at least has a numeric display). It kinda feels like a good quality organ, not a piano. It has bank change, key splits/zones etc. So it has all the required features you need, but getting easy access to change them, well that's another thing.

Again, no sounds- it's a controller. I can't notice a difference with aftertouch on or off, so unless I'm doing something wrong it doesn't seem to have any effect on the sound/feel. The velocity sensitivity works, but when changing the values I can't feel any noticeable difference in sensitivity. (I was using electric piano patches like CP70, and wurlitzer on a classic keys module to test this).

Since the keys feel nice, it gives a sense of security. Sure I'd bring it to a gig. But if I was a full time keyboardist, I'd probably use something better more expensive anyway. But keys aren't my main thing, that's why I bought this controller.

The company is from Italy, I didn't see any web page or email addr listed, and I'm certainly not going to make an overseas call to ask questions. It does have a fancy glossy manual which I was surprised to see. It spend a lot of time talking about the split/zone feature, and I can't find anything on how to make simple patch changes.

I definitely would NOT replace this. If that MK-xxx crappy plastic controller for $150 recognizes zero, I'll probably swap it for that and take the other $150 credit. So my main beef about this is the 1-128 thing, not recognizing zero. I think the problem dates back to the Roman Empire. Remember Roman numerals? They had no concept of zero, probably why the Empire fell- they couldn't keep track of their profits.