Fatar StudioLogic SL-880 Controller

The SL-880 is not really build for easy MIDI editing or control features. If you want this, you need to pay more for a different model.

I was well aware when I bought the SL-880 that it did not have an extensive user interface with a big display for example, but I simply did not want to pay more to have this. Using it the way I do, I still do not miss these features. I am not using a lot of special MIDI features, as I use it mainly with my piano modules. With piano sounds, or with modules with other sounds like saxophone e.g., I am very satisfied.

Best price / quality I found with respect to the "piano-feel" "hammer-action" for a device of this generation. I did not look for other devices of younger generations as I am satisfied with the SL-880.

For the first time in 9 years (!) I experienced the power-up problem. At these pages I found a reset suggestion (turn power on with up, down, edit pressed down for a few seconds). This solved my problem. I also looked at http://www.kappenburg.net/projects/Fatar_SL880/ Being an electronics engineer (dutch ing. degree, english bachelor degree), I can imagine the SL-880 having the design flaw described at this page. I am considering to use the "bridging solution" described at this page if I am experiencing the power-up problem more often, maybe I will post later if I do so.

The woman at the phone of the reception of the dutch importer (World Music) was probably not aware of the power-on problem. She did not want to help me further as I was not a dealer. The woman was professionally doing her job, but did not really help me. (I am getting sort of used to this behaviour at commercial companies in capitalistic countries :-) The postings on this site did help me.

I bought the SL-880 in the year 1998. I am mainly using it because of the nice "hammer action" imitating a "mechanical piano". With this I am very satisfied. I am not really using a lot of MIDI editing/control features, maybe also because of the limited user interface of the SL-880.

I used ths keyboard on gigs for a few years with a NanoPiano module. Then I got tired of the excessive weight and switched to a lightweight Korg with built-in sounds. I now use the Fatar at home. One problem is that even when I play with headphones, the key action is so noisy that my wife can hear them clacking from the other room.

The weighted keys are sensitive to subtle touch, although they are lighter than my preferred piano, an acoustic Yamaha (and much lighter than a Steinway). I'm a pretty straight-forward player, so I don't stack voices much or use the pitch and mod wheels. The keyboard works fine with my MIDI setup.

An important shortcoming is the lack of provision for a music stand. If you lay charts on top, they inevitably depress one of the Zone or Edit buttons. I drilled a couple of holes and mounted my own stand.

My gear is the electronics section os an old Korg 3500 for piano sounds, a couple of outboard synths, a Mac G4 with a Delta break out box and a MidiSport 2x2, and mixers feeding out to a sound system.

Does not apply. This is a controller with no inboard sounds.

I used this on a many gigs with no problems. However, when it first arrived the right side of the top cover was touching the high end keys. I opened the case and found insufficient tolerance for clearance, so I put in my own spacer.

Lately, my F above middle C has started to fail intermittently. Time to repair or replace.

Overall, it's been thrown around a lot, and still works. I'd say the roblem is quality control, not lack of durability.

I'm long out of warrantly. If I can ge that broken key fixed for cheap, I'll let you know ...

Prices have come way down since I bought mine for $800, and there are cheaper and lighter controllers available. I wouldn't buy another. But if it were a gift I would keep it ...

It's too simple. Very straight forward

The "Action" of the keyboard feals great. What's missing is Volume (CC#7) IMHO.
Yes, you can hook up an expressions pedal 880pro. However, I'm standing most of the time and expression pedals dont operate too smoothly when standing. Sliders are easier.

This is probably the worst part. I can't get 127 velocity out of the keys. Tops out around 100 or so. Not very dynamic. Also, strangely enough, I get higher velocities out of the sharps/flats than the whites. I've recorder this to midi tracks and had other pianists hit each with the same pressure and we all get the same results.

I've had it just not respond before. Usually when i leave it on for day.
Unplugging it usually fixes it. I have gigged without a backup, but it makes me nervous.

I ain't calling Italy over 300 bucks

I'm giving it a 4 cause for $300US I honestly don't think you can beat it. I want to try a CME UF-8, but from reviews i'm a little nervous too.
Sadly enough, I went and bought an Axiom 61 from M-Audio. Although it's not weighted, strangely enough it's much more "expressive" Very sad.
I bout the SL-880 cause I had M-Audio's 88Pro. Piece of junk. I sent all 3 back!
Unfortunately no one and I mean no one makes a good weighted "Midi-Controller" Those went out with Yamaha's KX88! There hasn't been a good one since. (Ok, maby the a80/90 from Roland)
My Fatar is on Craigslist and I think i'm going to have to by either a Yamaha cp33 or cp300 or p140 just so I can hook it up to my laptop to play Akoustik or Ivory!
I sware all this has made me want to just get a real piano for the house. There's no substitution in reality. However, none of us are going to own a Bosendorfer 290 or Steinway D in our lifetimes so if someone is kind enough to sample it for us, we might as well make use of it. :)

It is good for simple plug'n'play. I use Pro Tools wit various digital and analogue synths, though, the lack of display means your always shooting it the dark. But understand this keeps costs down.

Everyone else has mentioned so I'll not bother. The keys do have a nice resistance.

The velocities are very adjustable- I just never used them.

NO YOU CANNOT RELY ON THIS. AT A GIG DEFINATELY NOT

I have not tried to contact the manufacturers.

If it were lost or stolen my heart would go out to the stupid thieves...don't they read these reviews!?! I have had this for about three years and for the most part it was straight forward to use, though, I have never done any complex effects or programming on it. On of the lower keys began playing at full velocity, then I moved house (using all its original packaging) two more keys began to exhibit this phenomenon. So I decided to have a look inside. I figured dust and dirt was to blame on the ultra cheap rubber contacts and brushed & cleaned it in soapy detergent and sprayed WD40 and put it back together- now it was worse. So I'm taking it to an indendant repairer. Had an Oberheim B4 this one- swapped it for this. both a load of shit

Ok (plug and play)

Ok, all keys are there and it has possibilities to tune the key sensitivity.

Full 0-127 respons

No, not reliable at all. First, there is the switch-on problem (my solution http://www.kappenburg.net/projects/Fatar_SL880/ ).
And after a while one key broke down and now produces less output (need a nuke to get max output).

I haven't tried.

Well, it is usable. And after dropping the device from 1 meter on one of its corners while the case was open without any damage, I would give it a 10 on durability!

Ok, but see reliability below.

ok, has 88 notes, pitch bend, and mod wheels, and 4 customizable setups. However see reliablity below.

keys are ok piano type feel.

Can you depend on it? No, No, and No again.

My keyboard has never been giged and has sat in a home studio.

I bought this keyboard because it was cheap, I didn't stop to think where it was made/designed (Italy).

After looking at all of the other posts I can say that my keyboard is exhibiting the same screwball tendencies:

It transmits midi events to the sequencer even when not being played, and goes some way to explain the problems I have been having with the sequencer.

Switching it on is temperamental sometime no lights work sometimes they do.

Italy and electro/mechanical devices do not make for a happy combination (after all you wouldn?t buy a fiat would you?)

I only have myself to blame, but I will never buy another Fatar product again.

Don't no haven't tried, but got a feeling they would want a load of dosh to fix it.

If it were stolen I would think that the thief would have done me a favour. I could collect on the insurance and buy something that is reliable.

The fact that this product isn't reliable outweighs the mediocre handling at a budget price. I bought this product after looking at a review somewhere, however I made a big mistake buying on the strength of that review and its budget price.

If anybody want's to buy mine I'd be happy to let it go for #20 or so.

Awkward to use with a sequencer (I use Sonar 5 Studio). The user interface is antequated: 7 buttons and 14 red (off/on) lights. There is no display of what your current settings are: patch, transposition, keyboard mapping, channel, aftertouch, etc. It required too many button presses to make any changes. The user manual in minimal (no examples) but adequate to understanding how to use the SL-880 Pro.

It's a keyboard controller with minimal features for integration with your MIDI environment. Supports Channel After Touch, 4 zones/layers. Two parallel MIDI outs, no MIDI Thru. Pitch and Modulation wheels have a nice feel to them. Memory for storage of the last-used zone parameters.

The Hammer-Action keyboard has a great piano-like feel. 8 zone-specific velocity curves, 8 global velocity curves, sustain input jack, and volume input jack.

I've owned two. Within several weeks, the electronics failed on both. On both, the control buttons stopped working completely. On one, the MIDI NOTE ON messages sent were incorrect when playing a repeated notes at high velocity e.g., I would play 6 notes but only 4 would be sent. I used MIDI-OX to confirm this.

I was unable to reach Fatar support. The only support appears to be from the reseller. Your only support option is to get a replacement. The reseller was good about replacing the first defective keyboard. (I didn't bother replacing the second--I just returned it for a refund.)

Due to the lack of reliable of the electronics, this product is not worth buying at any price.

Relatively easy to use, but the patch-setting via the keyboard is awkward. Plays well for my purposes. I play live and in my studio - but I don't depend on this for a living.

Action is nice for the price - I liked this best after trying yamaha and others.

I use a Roland 5050 with the XA Premier Grand. With this keyboard and the Roland controller I can get a piano sound for recording and live playing that sounds quite nice.

Mine worked well for 2 years in the studio until recently - but recently I started playing live which required frequent on/off cycles. The keys themselves work well live. But I ran into the power-on/reset problem listed by other posters.

With some effort I have identified the issue with power-on. After taking mine apart it appears that there are two main issues.

First, I took it apart and cleaned it - specifically I removed the two IC's and cleaned their contacts with a pencil erase and then with alcohol. (The IC socket contacts are cheap non-gold - potentially a problem as the unit gets older as they will oxidize.)

Second, I discovered a number of "rules" to follow for power-up. 1) Don't turn the power on with any MIDI or pedals plugged in. 2) When you push the on/off switch in, do it straight on, smoothly and with a moderate speed (don't punch it hard). You can tell if you do it right because the red patch lights flash on and then off AND THEN the green lights come on.

It seems that switch connects the 9V power input to a LM05 power IC. The switch connects one power supply voltage and then the other as it moves in. I found pushing it straight in connects the two power supply voltages in the sequentially so the main controller IC resets correctly.

So far this seems to solve the power/reset problem.

Never called them - since they're in Italy...

If this were stolen, I'd probably look around first for something I liked better - but I would not hesitate to buy this again if it had the best action.

It served me in the studio v. well for 3 years. Loved its action and its controllability. Hell, even pianists asked if I would recommend it and said "yes" to them. Just one problem. Recently (without any prior warning, as is the way these things sometimes) the keyboard started transmitting MIDI on/off notes to the sequencer causing MIDI jams. Then it refused to play any MIDI off notes (having read the instruction manual to and tried to rectify this) and now it doesn't even work like it is supposed to in the manual. Hmmmmmm. For all those who are using it and enjoying the keys, rock on. I just hope that yours doesn't go the same way mine did.

Be careful if you owned it for a few years and decide to take it out on tour. Get it serviced before hand.

If it was stolen, I'd try other keyboards before I bought anything else. Something that will work like it's meant to, and last ten years if not more. Heard the Roland keyboards are lush, as are the Korg controllers.

For the price, it was the best option for me. It is weighted, has aftertouch, and has a good range. The buttons are terrible, and very fiddly to use.... deffinately wouldn't go for this type again, would rather have a screen to show what's happening. Saying that, it works as a controller, and if that's what you need, with weighted keys then okay...

Action is fairly good, and you can get some good feel from it.... bit complicated trying to adjust for more subtle playing. The input method for the controller is not good at all..

Would never use this for a gig. the reason I'm writing this is to let anyone know... came to write / record today, and the keyboard had glitched, changing all the settings, so there was no midi output from the keys, after checking everything else (midi leads, midi interface, MAC, etc, restarting) I came to this site, and found a reset suggestion (turn power on with up, down, edit pressed down for a few seconds). Have had problems before, though this was the most serious., and expect the frequency of faults to increase.

Went through a shop, and that was years ago, so guess this keyboard is out of guarentee. Very heavy, so a real hassle to cart off to repair, let alone post

I would not buy one of these again, and would suggest looking at the competition. The user interface (the part whereby you change zones, note range, velocitys etc) is really bad, and I would definately go for one with a display of some sort.

Oh, it's easy to hook up, sure. Connect the cheezy power cable, connect the midi out, and the sustain pedal.

Oh, the features are good, sure. Yea, great features.

It's a midi controller, yep.

I ordered one of these from zzounds. 90% of the time I would turn it on, it wouldn't work. All of the lights would light up and the keyboard wouldn't do anything. So, I'd turn it off, and on again; same thing. Off, and on, off and on, off and on, off and on, off and on, then maybe I'd get lucky and it would work. I sent it back, and zzounds sent me another one. It acted the same way. 90% of the time it wouldn't turn on in any meaningful way. I'd just turn it on, and all of the lights would light up (THEY'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO, BY THE WAY).

So, I did a little searching on the internet and found many other people who had the EXACT same problem. Including two on this very site - scroll down some - and also some on the newsgroups.

Do - not - buy - this - keyboard. It is extremely unreliable. If you want a true piano feel AND A KEYBOARD THAT ACTUALLY WORKS, get a Yamaha from the P series (P80, P90, P120, etc.)

Again, a warning in all caps:

DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT. IT IS VERY UNRELIABLE AND YOU **WILL** BE DISSAPOINTED. DO NOT BUY IT. STUDIOLOGIC IS NOT A RESPECTED COMPANY AND THIS IS WHY. BUY A YAHAMA OR A ROLAND. ***DO*** ***NOT*** ***BUY*** ***THIS*** ***KEYBOARD*** I know it sounds cool from the description, but, please, you will only be dissapointed. Check out the P80, really.

Well, my Yamaha P80 lasted for four years. Both Fatar 880's that I've owned have lasted for a couple of days.

Fatar has come up with a terrible user interface. No master (MIDI) volume slider. A lot has to be done with the keyboard, not with special dedicated buttons. Thumbs down.

I can't complain for a keyboard at this price range. I think it lacks a volume slider - you have to adjust the volume with a foot pedal. Aren't the sustain & expression pedals enough? My floor is cluttered enough as it is.

No "piano-feel", for two reasons.
First, the action is not so good. Sorry, but that's my opinion. Before buying, try out some alternatives such as the Yamaha & Roland digital pianos, and, of course, try out real pianos. I've never owned a grand but I do own a fine upright and there's little connection between them.
Now, for the second reason. If you're buying this and plan on hooking it up to a realistic piano module (or gigasampler, or The Grand, or whatever), forget about it. Why? Because when you buy a digital piano, you don't only get a piano sound and weighted keys - you're also sure that they're *matched*. That means the velocity curves of the keyboard have been specifically matched to the onboard sounds. When you get the SL-880, even if it had the best action in the world (which it doesn't), you wouldn't get a real piano feel, EVER. So please bear this in mind. If you're thinking, "hmmm, I'll just use my Gigapiano and get a real grand!", forget about it, it won't happen.

HORRIBLE! Allow me to share my stories ...
I've owned 3 units and a friend of mine owns a unit as well (2 SL-880 PRO units and 2 non-PRO). They've ALL had problems with their electronics - the board simply went wacko when turned on! You could only calm it down by pressing the power button in a certain angle. Nope, I'm not joking. The internal electronics is a piece of crap.
If that isn't enough, the keys on both SL880-PRO units I've owned have, after a short while, begun to develop highly annoying metal-like "clicking" sounds. A few white keys simply made a slight, but quite audiable, "click" sound when they were released. Now, it didn't affect the operation of the device, nor was it noticeable when playing loudly, but try playing a quiet Debussy, only to be assaulted by virtual crickets going "click, click, clickclick, clickclickclick ... " at the most emotional points of the piece.
I finally gave up on replacing the keyboard & will be selling it.

Haven't dealt with Fatar myself, only with my local dealer.

As is evident from my reviews, I am disappointed with my choice. I've had this keyboard for almost 6 months and am planning on selling it. I was aiming at a budget digital piano which I could also use in my humble home studio. I got exactly that. As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. I will never buy another Fatar product for as long as I live, and hopefully you won't either.

The Sl-880 is very easy to set up and use. The wieghted, velocity sensitive keys feel better than some acoustic and any electric piano I have played. I play keys in a rock band and it works great for me. The manual is logical and staightforward.

The sustain pedal is a little cheesy but I don't use it much in rock pieces. I play some classical piano, Debussy, for relaxation and then I wish I had a sturdier sustain. One of the features that I tried to use, carefully following the manual was the transposition feature. I could get the controller to shift up or down. But when I repeated the operation to shift back to concert pitch, or any other pitch the transposition would not work and the controller stayed shifted to the first shift I had made. I tried this several times in several sessions. The only way to get back to concert is to use the process for returning the Sl-880 to factory presets. (This deletes any other feature changes one has made.) Consequently, I never use this feature, which probably makes me a better keyboardist since I have to learn songs in F# and Bb. The pitch bend and mod wheel work well with my NanoPiano. There are dual midi outs and I split the zones into two midi channels and control two NanoPianos.

I have used the piano in rock, country, jazz, and classical. Except for the sustain it works well in all. Very good touch and sensitivity for the price.

I have drug this thing without a case for a couple years. Got a case a couple of years ago. Gig average three times a month and rehearse out of the house almost as much. Never had a problem. Would not purchase a backup because the unit is so reliable.

Fatar is impossible to reach. Tried to contact them about the transposition problem. They are an Italian firm but they might as well be Martians. No web site or address. Represented by Music Industries in US. http://www.musicindustries.com/ Music Industries made it easy to get copy of manual. But I got no reply when I contacted them about transposition problem

Dollar for dollar it is the best 88 key weighted, velocity sensitive, controller I have ever found. Thats why I bought it. If it were stolen I would buy another. I wish it had a way (as my Hammond xb-2 does) of changing pitch in between concert diatonics. Sometimes I am trying to learn a song that is a quarter or an eight of a tone off concert pitch and the Fatar won't let me adjust. When I bought the Fatar there was nothing that could touch it. Now, probably because of Studiologic, there is the Korg SP200 at $800 and the Yamaha $900 which are comparable but still, at least $200 more.

It is pretty simple to operate, when it cooperates. Skim through the manual and you should be good.

It has all I need, which isn't really alot. I just need to hook it up to my Alesis QSR to play keyboards/organs/other. I wish it had the knoby-knobs for all the realtime synth type stuff. And for that it is fantastic.

I think it sounds great with my QSR. Again the knobs, but oh well. At first I was pissed because every note I hit, even really lightly, sounded like it was slammed, but I found you can change that.

This is why I wrote this review. I have found this controller to be very unreliable. Everytime I turn it on, I wonder what will go wrong. Sometimes it transposes itself down for no reason, sometimes it resets boundaries and the like, and sometimes it just doesn't want to work at all. I've tried reseting it numerous times, still no luck. I dunno man. If anyone has found a magical cure for this please email me. I don't abuse it, it hasn't left the house. Can't save the zone's boundaries (or at least there's no point becuase they reset themselves frequently). So I wouldn't gig with it.

I haven't tried.

I'm not a very good pianist, but I have a damn good ear. I play guitar and bass very well. I don't get into alot of sequencing and crap. I can't really help you much other than warning you that if you decide to buy this controller you may suffer many problems. If it were lost or stolen I wouldn't buy it again, too unreliable. If it were reliable, hell yes i'd buy it again. If its reliable: 8.5. If not I'd say 0.

The controller has no indication of the current status (no LCD-screen), which can be annoying. Furthermore it keeps resending all its MIDI-settings when you change one i.e. it will retransmit the bank/program number when you set a new transpose interval. It has only four presets.

The keyboard action is OK for a keyboard in this price-category, although definitely a bit on the light side in comparison to a real piano. Doesn't weigh up to stagepianos of less modest size. MIDI-capabilities are limited, certainly when considering that this is a
MIDI-controller and not a stage-piano.

The bend/aftertouch wheels are too 'chatty', i.e. they transmit too much information (sometimes they keep sending very little changes, when I hit case of the piano!). Annoying

It is rock-solid. I've been using it for three years on gigs, repetition-rooms and studios. No problems whatsoever.

Never had to call customer support

It is certainly worth the money, but definitely not the best controller around. Buy it for the solid and affordable key-weighted action. You will run out of MIDI-programming options soon, when trying to control more than, say 2 MIDI-modules

Very easy and obvious. My one complaint is that the manual only explains 4 velocity curves out of 10. The other 6 you have to kind of hear for yourself. I wish the manual were more thorough for this feature.

Ideally, it would have a soft pedal like a real piano. But it does give a lot of desireable features like pitch bend, modulation, split zones, velocity curves, etc.

Until I changed the settings from the preset to Shape #2, I thought that the keyboard was too sensitive. I was disappointed that I couldn't get a real piano feel. With Shape #2, it does feel like a real piano. Could it be better? Perhaps slightly next to an expensive grand piano. I'm running this thing with Gigastudio, and the piano samples sound really exquisite. This keyboard and gigapiano (and some other Nemesys compatible piano samples) are a marriage made in heaven.

I just use this in the studio. No problems so far.

I think you'd practically have to call Italy to get support for this thing, but I haven't tried.

Would definitely buy it again.

Very straight forward controller. They don't get any easier than that :)

For me it's ideal. This is a controller ONLY. So are the features.

well, since it does not actually produce any sounds . . . a lot depends on your synth.
But expresiveness of the keyboard make my synth sound real.

never had a single problem with it so far (used for about 5 months now)

never had to call for support, so this is basically N/A.

It is worth every penny. I played a real pianos for 12 years so for me it was really important to get something with a good touch. I never thought it is possible for just $600. But it is.
You have to get a good sunth too, but that's another story.

Very simple software. No presets. Editing is really easy and intuitive. The manual is short but complete.

It depends on your point of view. If you don't mind the lack of controllers other than wheels and aftertouch; if you don't mind the lack of user memories to recall settings; if you're looking for one of the best keyboard action (88 hammer notes); if you're looking for a really cost-effective solution;...
Then this is the controller for you. Otherwise, for sure, you'll spend much more.
The action is quite heavy, heavier in lower section and lighter in the upper one (very good). Perfect for everything except, maybe, since I'm not really an expert, for organ parts (i.e. glissandos...)

You can set eight velocity curves and four aftertouch shapes. It's not easy to find the right one, but then,...there you go flying like one my Yamaha grand.
I use it to control a Realpiano Expander, so I can get the expressivebness of an upright piano (the keyboard action of a grand is still unmatched), with the sound of an amplified grand.

Well, Fatar are life guaranteed, they should be dependable. The sustain pedals included are a joke; get something firmer. I had several problems with stuck notes and so on.
Some problems turning it on, but once it's on you can be quiet.
I've already gigged with it and I will in the near future. Get a better pedal and a sturdy case for this 20 kg. beast.

This aspect is influenced by the fact I'm italian, as the manufacturer. You know the pedal having problems? They sent me a new one without having the broken one back. Still a cheap pedal but at least now it is working. Note that the pedal should have been substituted by the dealer who didn't help at all: Fatar imposed to the dealer to be helpful...

If it were lost or stolen I would buy it again for sure. The price is unbeatable. I've been playing piano for 8 years, classical and little jazz. It's only ten months I play classic rock in a cover band. I own also one Studiologic 161, the uptold Realpiano and a Yamaha Mu-90 R.
I compared the SL-880 to the Oberheim new series of 88 notes controllers, don't remember the name. Oberheim was an overall better instrument, both for look, and features (Midi, controllers, user memories,...), but its action was too light compared to the Fatar, and being used to true piano action, you know...
In a way if you do not control many tone generators but it must be a "substitute" of a piano, you can't go wrong.

You can't imagine something easier to use.
The rear panel is almost empty, 7 buttons and a few LEDs.
There is no numerical keypad: value entry is made via the keyboard,
this is a bit strange but, using it, i find it funny.
User manual is sufficient.

This only a master keyboard. There is no sounds. You can divide
you performance into 4 parts, setting a few parameters (transpose,
velocity, midi channel) for each part.
No onboard sequencer. This is _only_ a keyboard.
No sound, no effect, no sequencer...
There is some wheels to control pitch bend and modulation.
Those wheels are not handy.

This thing feature a excellent keyboard. I've tried many
masterkeyboard and digital pianos (even very expensive ones) and
, in myu opinion, this keyboard is a dream ! It feels like a real piano.
You can even feel the hammers under the keys !
Hmmm... I think the keyboard is too sensitive, it's VERY difficult
to play softly, even with the recommended shape (see a review below).
I'm angry with my fatar because some keys are more sensitive (to
velocity) than another. This is a shame. I hope the technician will
fix the problem.
A better keyboard would be the Yamaha P-80 (but more expensive and
technically limited)

Have it for 1 month. Time will tell.
Seems reliable.

Never had to contact them.

If it were stolen i think i would buy another one.
For the price, this is a VERY good keyboard. Maybe the best.

How easy is this thing to set up? MIDI up, plug in the power supply, and play. Several hours after playing with this controller, I cracked open the manual and learned how to set the MIDI channel, expressive curves, and zones and splits. I cannot imagine a controller getting simpler than this one.

There are four programmable zones to set splits and layers; 8 zone-specific velocity curves and 8 global velocity curves (which come in very handy once you get the feel for them); 2 MIDI outs; sustain pedal; and the best feature: real weighted hammer action keys. This thing feels like my piano. Other than that, there's a cheesey LED display (dots, not letters) but it gets the job done, and the case is metal -- this thing is built like a tank.

Since this is a controller only, you'll get out of it what you connect it up to. I first plugged it directly into my NanoPiano. Between the feel of the keys and the sounds from the module, I can't imagine anything coming any closer to a real piano. Then I ran it through my MIDI set-up and tried it out on my XP-30, NanoSynth, NanoBass and PM-Pro drum modules. What a *world* of difference having real velocity control; like Andreas wrote below, I had no idea the XP-30 was capable of the sounds I got out of it with this controller. And using this controller was the first time I laid down a drum track that had the feel of a live player. Very, very cool.

It's built like a tank. There aren't a whole bunch of electronic gadgets to crap out. I bought this controller based on comments from other users, and I have a feeling a year from now I'll feel the same about it as I do now. This is strictly a studio controller for me, but if I gigged live, I don't think I'd hesitate to haul it out on the road.

Since I have had no reason to contact Fatar, I can't comment.

I got a steal on this controller since this model is being replaced. All things considered, I'd buy this model again, no question about it. I looked at the SL-2001, which is the SL-880 stuffed with electronics and features some people wish it had. The 2001 is $1000 more than I paid for this one. Since I only need it to control my rack of gear, I'll save my $1000 and be happy for the SL-880's sparseness. I am completely happy with this keyboard.

They don't come much easier than this - just hook it up and go.
It took me about 5-10 minutes to figure out how to configure it,
and for anyone with even the slightest experience in this sort of
thing, there should definitely not be any problems.
I'd have preferred a dedicated keypad for the settings but
using the pianokeys does work well too, so I guess I shouldn't
complain.

The technical features are what you pay for. No sounds and only
the most basic settings, although it does have 4 split zones.
The keyboard action is the BEST. Once I start playing, I just can't
take my hands off it. I don't know if it'd be possible to make
an electronic product much more acoustic-feeling than this.
Some kind of LCD instead of the LED:s, to see the current settings
might have been nice, but it would undoubtably raise the price.
You don't really need it anyway, since there really aren't that
many settings to keep track of. If you need more features, get
one of the two more advanced (and more expensive) models instead.

This unit really does feel like it enhaces your existing sound
modules. I hooked it up to an XP-30 to try out some layering, and
was really amazed when I realized many of the patches acually
sounded a lot better than with the XP-30s own keys.
A review below bitches about the keys being too sensitive.
Hey man, ever try fiddling with the velocity curve settings?
For soft to medium piano playing I'd recommend you try curve #2,
which is well suited for this sort of thing.
Some reviews also state that the action is too hard. Initially I
thought so too, but after a month or so I've gotten quite used to
it, and I really wouldn't have wanted it any softer.

Feels really dependable with its full metal body.
I haven't carried it around much, but I wouldn't hesitate to do so.
The power cord could definitely use some work, though.

I've had no reason to contact Fatar, so I really couldn't say.

I would buy it again. If I could afford it, that is.
Definitely worth the price, and the hammer action is probably the
best you can get. I've played a number of different pianos over
the years, and this is right up with the best of them.
The only thing I hate about it is the cord, which is way to thin.
I checked out the Roland A-33 as well, before I decided on the
Fatar. The action of the A-33 sucks badly in comparison, and I'm
really glad I put in the extra cash for the SL-880.
If you want a really good hammer action controller with basic
but sufficient functions, this is a great choice.

Few features but the most necessary is included. Non exhaustive list :
split, for each zone : pitch bend on/off, sustain on/off.

This implie few keys in front panel an quick access to functions.

Less compared to other products but really enough to do want I wanted
to do with this keyboard : play with an expander and somtimes
record into a sequencer.

Key action is catastrophic. Unless you press the key very, very,
very slowly, you will get velocity = 128.

The keyboard had to be changed two times before I got
one working correctly. The first two had key with locked hammers
and the second also had front panel keys some times remaining stuck.
The third I got worked OK for the 8 months I kept it. But :
- some keys are a little bit lighter than others,
- 3 times, memory wiped out.

The first two keyboards were changed within 2 days. Excellent.
I sent a letter to have explantions about keys a little bit
lighter than others. I got no anwser.

Key action is to bad to get pleasure on this keyboard.
Note however that I rather play piano parts than synth parts.
I didn't try it enough on the store and when I got it,
I realized I had been wrong purchasing this product.

The only attractive point is : the price. But I strongly
recommand to wait a little and buy, for example :
a Technics SX P30 or a Yamaha P80. And a little bit later,
again for example, a Roland A33 to have a synth keyboard,
pitch bend and modulation wheels.

This controller is very simple to use. It has all the basic features-A bad thing is that you're not able to change sones when you're playing. You'll have to release all keys. That is a minus.

This is a controller only. It has no internal sounds and is therefore ment to hook up to soundmodule. It has two midioutputs for 32 channels.
There are no built in effects.
The keyboard action is great, or even the best. You'll find the same keys on giant workstations like Kurzweil 2500 to 5 times the money. The keys are quickresponding and the velocitycurve is adjustable. The pianofeel is almost acustic. It's like playing a consert grand piano. The aftertouch is very good, maybe a it hard.
There are no expansion capabilities on Fatar SL-880. It has no memory for presets except for the four sones. I recommend a soundmodule that is easy to use, or a soundmodule hooked up to a PC with controllersoftware, like SoundDiver.
A summary: the feeling is the greatest. If you want memory for presets: buy SL-2001.

This controller gave my soundmodule new life. The music reponds perfect to my touch. The keys beats a lot of ather 88-key synths, like Alesis QS-8 / QS-8.1. These keys does not feel like plastic. You can really feel the hammer touching the strings. Great for piano. But...for fast phrases you need muscles like Sylvester Stalone.

This controller is perfect stable. I've had no problems what so ever.

Never had any use of them

If my SL-880 were stolen I would probably buy a SL-1100 or SL-2001 to get the memory for presets. But these models have the same keys and the same touch. SL-880 is very much for the money. I love this controller.

If you understand midi and sound modules, it shouldn't be too hard to
use the panel for splits and/or layers.

more than enough for a controller. I use my module anyway (korgx5dr)
to program heavy layers etc.

The slope and velocity feature has a wide range of settings for dynamic
classical music or rock.

The power switch seems to be touchy. When i lightly press it, the L.E.D.
lights flicker. It looks like the switch is bad.

The keys are hard to press and the keys are full size and wider than my old spinet, so you better practice your scales and get
your finger muscles strong. Although, I notice the pain in my fingers
after playing for a long time, especially ragtime. This board is one of
the hardest I've played, but I'd rather have the action hard than soft.

Very easy to use this controller. Straightforward design, but limited MIDI implementation. No presets, just a controller. Manual is very brief and more than sufficient.

ANother review states 28 note polyphony. This is false, as this is a controller only - no limit to notes played except by your sound source. In other words, this keyboard will play as many notes simultaneously as your module can dish out. After touch is a bit hard, but the velocity curves and shapes available make this very playable. For piano sounds, I would suggest velocity 4+ and shape #2.

The expressiveness of this keyboard beats all the other weighted 88 note controllers, with or without sounds, hands down. Nothing feels as much like a real acoustic piano as this that I have tried, and I have tried many! One of it's best features is its' weight - 44lbs. Very transportable, and yet very solid when playing. It doesn't move on a good, sturdy stand. The velocity settings are very good, and with the shape feature I mentioned earlier, I can't imagine anyone not being able to find a combination of settings that is very comforatable for them.

As reliable as can be. I'm not in the habit of taking spare keyboards to gigs, unless touring with someone who requires it. I can't imagine this going down for any reason, other than the hideous power supply. This is the Fatar's only downfall. It is the cheesiest cord I've ever seen on a pro product. I will be replacing it soon with a beefy cable.

The 1-800 line has a very helpful and knowledgable staff. I've only called a couple times, but they are very supportive and friendly.

I have been playing piano for thirty years. I have owned and used everything from pianos to Rhodes EPs to Yamaha electric grands to 88 note pianos and synths of many makes and models. This action is far superior to any elctronic product I have ever had. I use it to control a rack with many different sound sources and they all feel great and sparkle. The touch is fantastic, allowing you to hammer like crazy or play very gently and come up with just the right results. You forget you are playing electronics, if your piano sounds are good, and get back to the music. I can't think of any other way to express how much I enjoy playing this keyboard. The only problem is the crappy power supply. Plus I wish they had a dedicated keypad instead of having to use the keys themselves to make controller changes. THe graphic on the front is kind of dumb, but these are very small grievances. If you need sliders and more MIDI implementation, the SL-1100 and SL-2100 are available. They cost more, but have the same keyboard action. The SL-990 does even less, is cheaper, and somehow feels inferior - like a different keyboard. I use MIDI mappers and only require patch changes, which the 880 does very simply. Just what I needed. I haven't enjoyed playing piano on a controller as much as this ever.