M-Audio Keystation 88 Pro

Well, I got one of the first units in at Sam Ash so I assume it's version 1.0. The driver was bit difficult to load in OS9, blew out my whole OMS setup the first couple times I tried. Some of the faders and knobs are preprogrammed for MIDI volume and the yamaha nsustain pedal powered up with the right polarity. No AC adapter included so I had too use USB.

Keyboard action is a bit spongy. Response is slow making it difficult to play fast 16h or 32nd notes. I liked it better than most Roland controllers but not as much as Yamaha. No aftertouch, but I've come to not expect this from a weighted controller.

If you're a serious piano player this isn't the controller for you. But if you're used to synth action and simply want a little more weight to play piano patches plus you need some programmable faders and knobs at this price point it's tough to beat.

Not so happy, I've goot some keys that don't come up after I play them. They get stuck down in the keybed. I wouldn't gig with this at all.

When it first came out company reps were plentiful on the net. Now that many users are reporting problems they've become scarce.

It's so cheap that if it gets lost or stolen I might get another. I've been playing for 26 years and am a studio musician. It's a great deal for the money but I would've paid a couple hundred more for a better keybed.

The Keystation is very straight forward and simple to use, especially with Ableton Live and its Midi Learn feature. The manual is enough to get you up and running right away but you may want to download the more advanced manual from M-Audio.

The keyboard action is good. I tested the Yamaha Balanced Hammer Action several times on the S90 and S08 and that may be better if you want *true* Piano action, but for a good all-around 88-key synth that won't give you finger fatigue, this one is by far the best of them all.

No aftertouch. That's the only down side.

It is built rough, tough, and seems like it will hold up well. The knobs and sliders feel very good.

If you email them they will respond quickly.

I feel confident that this was the right purchase. USB powered, 88 key, weighted controller with a lot of solid knobs/buttons/sliders and a clear blue LED display for $499. You can't beat it. I do not feel I sacrificed performance for price. I would have paid more for this controller! No complaints at all.

Straight out of the box the keystation works with windows xp no problem there! The manual it comes with is basically a "quick start guide" however there is an adavnced version available at the M-Audio web site. I am a MIDI producer so I found the manual in the box to be of nopt much use. I went and downloaded the advanced one.

OK, OK, OK, let's get something clear on this MIDI controller's action! I'll just make one point on this. If the Keystation 88Pro interests you, then go and TEST one for yourself. Personnally I was waiting on something like this to come out on the market. The Radium 61 was the only option last year.

When I saw the Keystation online I quickly placed a phone call to Charlie my Guitar Center Dealer and he placed his LAST ONE(hint: they're selling!!) on hold for me. Before I went to the store I went to this website and read the first three reviews and it basically turned me off. However, I wanted to see for myself so I went to the store. I tried the one on display and was amazed!! I picked up a brand new in the box for $450 even and left to the studio.

*If this controller is going to your FIRST weighted keybaord then GET IT!!! If you are experienced on weighted piano keys then you might find a gripe or two. This is my first weighted keyboard but it is not the first one I have tried though. It's been a week now and I only have one compliant (I'll discuss that later)

The MIDI options on this thing are built for the professional MIDI producer!! You can basically control everything on your PC/MAC with this!! Also you can download Enigma to have unlimited storage for this controller!!

Well this will be short since there are no sounds in a MIDI controller. It comes with 9 different velocity curves for you to choose from however I do not believe that aftertouch is present in this controller.

I needed something like this last year when I finally bought Reason. I ended up with the Radium 61 and was going to buy the UC-33 but since the Keystation arrived I now use the Radium as a backup and I have all the controlls I'll ever need with Enigma of course!!

5 for expressivness: because you can choose to gruop controllers or instrument zones and the MIDI mute is a "must have" for MIDI producers.

0 for no sounds

I won't give a good rating here because this is my master controller for my permenant studio. Since I produce mostly Hip Hop, R&B and jazz this controller is unlikely to see any giggin. That's what we have D.J.'s for!! Feel me


However so far in the studio this board has been just bloody marvolous!!

f**k em' for now I'm satisfied!!

LOST: I'd rebuy STOLEN: I'd rebuy
Overall I give it a 9 for one reason i did not mentioned earlier.

When you use the MIDI mute on this device and adjust a controller I fell that the display screen should show the value of the controller I am adjusting so the we can get more precise valuse before disengaging the MIDI mute function. Instead the screen shows 'OFF' on;y showing that all the controller outputs are switched to OFF but does not show you the values of the controllers you are adjusting... big downside from a 10 to the overall 9!!


GREAT BUY!!

E. Kapone

The Programability is great. Lot's of knobs & Sliders.

Probably the best feature for feature midi controller period.

The keys are HORRIBLE! This plays like crap.

I can bet that the keys will break very easy if you are not careful.

After playing with it it was great for programming, but in the performance area this keyboard feel unbelievably cheap, especially the sharp (Black) keys. So it was returned.

I am 50-50 on this. Features it is amazing, but playing the board just plain suck. It's not for me, but I can really see the appeal for this board.

I just got this out of the box, and it's pretty straight forward. I'm new to the MIDI world with about 13 years of classical and jazz piano training.

Can't say without really having experience in the MIDI realm.

NOTE: This does NOT come with a power adapter and must be bought separately. You can use the USB cable though to power it up.

The feel of the keys are a little strange. Instead of a "weighted" feel of the keys, they're more of a "hammer-action." Check out musicman73's comments at http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=18;t=009922;p=4 for a more exact take.

I tested this keyboard at 3 different Guitar Center locations and found that they all had inconsistent feeling in their keys. It's a very subtle thing that I think only a person who's been playing a standard piano for a while will recognize. It occurs when you hit the keys firm to hard and you'll feel a "bounce" after you hit the key as though the counter weight in the unit is bouncing back into place from the force.

I'm not exactly sure what the reason for it was, but it would be more or less noticeable on different keys on different keyboards. There was no consistency! When compared to a Triton logic or a Fatar SL-990, the feel of those keyboards was much more consistent and "solid" than the M-Audio.

N/A

Here's the deal:

At my price that I bought from Guitar Center, what other options do I have available that has 88 weighted keys? The only other controller out at this time is the Fatar SL-990 PRO, but that doesn't have all the nobs and whistles and the action on that is a little more consistent (but I wouldn't say more realistic to a real piano).

For bang for the buck, you have to go for this if you're looking for an 88 key weighted controller. The Fatar SL-990 was $350 for me (only $50 bucks cheaper), and just doesn't cut it in comparison with the M-Audio 88. You'll never find a midi keyboard with today's technology that will be EXACTLY like a real piano. You just have to deal with shades of imperfection.

BOTTOM LINE: When you buy this, make sure you try out different boxes of this to find the M-Audio 88 with the best consistent action. Each keyboard has different keys that are much "springier" than others. Do it in the store if you can, so you don't have to keep coming back lugging the unit back. The differences are subtle, but are undeniably there.

If you have immediate questions, you can find my contact information at my website: http://www.JeffersonKim.com

Fairly easy to use. I'm using version 1.0
Editing patches is easy with the patch editor. What sucks is that it can only store 10 of them.
The manual sucks.

The keyboard action isn't the greatest, but it's ok. The keyboard can be split up to four zones, but unfortunately, there is no aftertouch. The AC adapter doesn't come with it. Duh

N/A, it's a controller

Not sure if it would hold up in a gigging situation. I've heard reports of broken keys.

Overall it's a decent unit. The action isn't the best, neither is the missing aftertouch and adapter. But at 499 it's still a pretty good value.