M-Audio ProKeys 88

Exemplary keyboard for the performer. Every company should have a keyboard designed along these lines--a dozen good sounds, with several basses and split possibilities, plus an added ride cymbal. Perfect. A jazz pianist's dream. Instead, we get "work stations," useless effects (what if a Steinway or Bosendorfer came with hundreds of "effects"? (duh!), hilarious samples ("Take 6" samples are as hokey as it gets), rhythm machines, recorders, complete songs, USB connections, MIDI manuals of 300 pages, stuff that would require a lifetime to learn, yet I hear very few performers uses more than a couple of sounds on their RD-700 or whatever. What a shame that only M-Audio is the only option. Either that or a jukebox with keys, or a keyboard requiring an advanced degree in audio engineering. All electric pianos are "toy pianos," some more disposable than others.

Features are perfect, except that for performing 76 keys is sufficient (and I own a Bosendorfer). If there were more playing musicians, manufacturers wouldn't have to add the weight and extra keys to impress the gearheads and techies. Also, weighted action isn't necessary for playing gigs, especially if you plan to use organ sounds. In fact, they weigh you down. Make a basic keyboard that a musician can carry in a gig bag! This one is too heavy for its purpose, but for some unfathomable reason M-Audio's lightweight version of the Pro88 reduces the number of sounds by half and eliminates the split.

In terms of electric pianos, I haven't heard anything close to the old Kurzweil K1000 (before the company was bought up by Young Chang and moved from Japan to Korea). Triple strike was a strike-out compared to the home runs of the K1000. The M-Audio could use a couple more basses and organs (for Jimmy Smith fans--not pop church stuff).

Of course I would use it without a back up. Who's going to carry extra keyboards every week? But reliability goes to the level of support, and M-Audio is more distant from their keyboard line than Kurzweil, Yamaha, Roland. They're more like a middle-agent for a mass-produced product. Losing a single key is tantamount to losing your ax, and without repair and support close at hand, you're screwed.

I've tried a couple of emails and gotten no response. Amazon sells the ProKeys88SX but with the ProKeys88 description--totally misleading. I've pointed it out to M-Audio and Amazon, but the wrong description for the wrong piano is still there. I ordered the ProKeys88SX because of the weight (light keyboard) plus the description, which was for the ProKeys88. Didn't discover the mix-up until the keyboard arrived. The 88SX is no use to me because I need an axe I can use when no bass player is present.

I wouldn't buy this piano again, but I'd buy a ProKeys88sx that had the same features as the ProKeys88. I'm going to continue watching M-Audio's product line (they make a number of USB pianos for the "virtual," GarageBand players, so beware. I'm waiting for a company that will make a piano to the customer's specs. Either that or a dealer who will program a customer's list of requested set-ups included in the purchase price, in which case one of the Kurzweils would probably be the best best. Unfortunately, Kurzweil no longer appears to make a 76-key weighted action piano, and the stuff is becoming more complicated than ever, making it difficult to understand the difference between, say, an SP3 and a PC2. At the other end, or the electronic "furniture pianos." No one is making a decent player's piano--something that could be picked up one day and used with splits, basses, pianos, organ, vibes, and a layered ride cymbal (coupled to walking bass lines) the next day. Performing music, learning 2-handed technique, mastering the Great American Songbook is hard enough without making computer science out of it, but then whatever happened to music?

I love the weight and feel of the keys.

Simple layout easy to use.

I haven't used it too much on studio recordings. There's a reason behind it.

It splits and duals. As you can tell I have very short answers until later.

This thing would be a great unit if it didn't have any problems. I have went through 3 prokeys already due to the fact that notes would stick (not the keys just the note ringing out), or play random notes like the 2nd board did. Now this time the key is sticking again (exactly like the 1st board). I haven't had this board for 2 weeks now, and it took almost a year for me to realize this is not the keyboard for me. If you want an honest opinion, don't get it. I will never buy this unit ever again, even if it was the last keyboard on earth. I had problems with another unit (keystation 88es). The velocity would stand at 127 after a while. M-audio so far has terrible keyboards. But as far as monitors, midi interfaces and audio interfaces, they are great and had no problems with them. But as far as keyboards, if they don't get their act together, BEWARE!!!!

I guess its pretty straight-forward... however i had a lot of trouble trying to reset it to its factory settings... (can you believe the manual doesn`t show you how?)... pretty stupid, huh?...
Probably the only cool thing about it is that its pretty simple...
i mean, anyone can get it going in a few seconds.
Anyway i cant give this piece of crap any more than a 6...

So this is a stage piano... of course you have polyphony and pressure sensitive keys... though effects are limited (chorus and reverb) they sound pretty bad as well. Should i mention that the keyboard came with problems right out of the box... i took it out of the box, plugged it in and it started shutting down all by itself (besides, the power supply is a joke!!!)that cost me like a 100$ to get it repaired... one month later the leds on the front panel went ballistic... some of them dont light up... ANNOYING!!!
Yesterday (this is what made me write this review) i was rehearsing with my band and the sustain pedal failed... can believe this piece of crap?...

Instruments are NOT very realistic, or good at all!!!, i would never use its sounds for any serious recordings!!!, it has a decent E.piano,some Vibes and a Pad, other than that , forget about it!!!
Its action is not that bad, but im a guitarrist, so i cant tell that much. It still works as a decent controller though!!! It does react to velocity and aftertouch...

I would never use it on a gig... and could never depend on it again... M-audio is like the new "Behringer" so if i were you... Never ever get anything by M-audio... they make useless gear (i also have an "oxygen 08" and it broke down as well) to hell with these people!!!

As i said... i had to write on their forums to get support and answers came pretty fast... i guess its ok...

Completely hate the thing!!!... try Korg, Yamaha, Roland or Kurzweill,,, whats cheap, comes expensive at the end!!! so forget about M-audio.
I`ve seen and played other keyboards and they defenitely play and feel much better!!! Don`t waste your money!!!

This is a very easy instrument to use..Just open the box plug-in and play!! I didn't ever look at the manual.

Polyphony is nice but as you cannot use this keyboard as a sequencer, it could have been 32 sounds polyphony and still you wouldn't have any major effects while playing.
3 velocity curve is a nice addition, and also layer/split modes are nice.
However key action is extremely bad. Maybe it can satisfy some beginners but even for a beginner, it will be boring and even irritating after a year or two.

Sounds are limited but nice.
It has comparably one of the best voice package onboard, for stage piano models less than $1000 range.
Wurly and Rhodes sounds are amazingly fine for such a cheap board. Of course it does not offer a Kurzweil K type workstation sound but if you have a budget over $3000 for a piano, then why are you reading this product's page anyway???
There's -with no surprise- no aftertouch or velocity at all.. If you are looking for a reliable piano/keyboard action in both home and stage use, then maybe you should look elsewhere..

Unfortunately you can not...

It's as heavy as it is a cheaply constructed. Not suitable for a gig..
Also there's no M-gear keyboard bag for 61/76/88 key pianos on the market so, you are going to be tortured each time you carry this...

Compel Ltd. is the distributor of M-Audio in Turkey. And they were very helpful and kind, right from the beginning.
But I wish M-Audio itself was intense in building this product as good as Compel's support service..

This is the MUST READ PART!!!

I bought mine in August 2008, but it had some problems with the transposition. For example I hit "C" on the key but the voice was actually "C sharp". A half tone transposition false!!
We could not resolve it with the Customer Support ( even tried to have factory settings..) Then they sent a brand new one. I tried and there was no transposition error.
HOWEVER, when I tried to play something, THIS TIME SPLIT and LAYER KEYS DID NOT FUNCTION!! Can you believe this ??????

All in all this is a new product just got out of the box and....TOTAL CRAP !!!

Now I am going to give up with this product and will send back to Compel and receive the money I spent..
However, there's a global crisis as you all know and US dollar is getting higher against all currencies ( like our Turkish Lira ).
As a result, I will receive my money in Turkish Lira but to buy another keyboard, I have to face the prices in US dollar..

I am now stuck because I am not able to replace it for a Kurzweil SP2X or some product of that range, as their prices has been doubled at the moment ( because of the dollar's high evaluation nowadays )

I think I will have to wait until the economic turmoil ends.
God knows when :(((((

Regards,

Very simple and intuitive.

Do what we pay for: I need a digital piano, I have a digital piano.

Very, very good!

Mine is a brand new.

No need, so far.

The best cost/benefit ratio I could find.

Beh, this is 'user-friendly' to the point of unfriendly.
It's inflexible and practically unprogrammable: just as well it works as a decent, cheap controller.
Irritatingly, the buttons and sliders can't be set up in any meaningful way for controlling software, as they send (mostly) plain old CC0 messages. All this would take is a minor software update to the m-audio driver for the majority of buttons and sliders that do send data.
Don't hold your breath.

Cheapest available 88-key weighted action 'stage piano' type midi controller. I'm using it as both a controller, and an (emergency) audio source.
A plasticky type of thang, with push buttons, 3-digit led, three sliders, mod wheel and pitch bend, and the lovely added bonus of a decent piano-ish footpedal.
Here a small range of onboard sounds with boggy bog-standard midi effects complement a fairly basically featured keyboard with preferable action (in my book) to the lower end models by other manufacturers. It does feel 'different' to other weighted action keyboards, though.
This can't be USB powered, sadly, but it can send midi by USB.

The sounds are tonorously non-GM, thankfully. Nothing to blow your mind, but good for a cheap set of keys, and Praise be to Allah for sparing us the idiocy of some hundred-odd useless 'samples' of standard GM fayre.
Onboard effects are the boggiest of bog-standard, however.
This is where things get subjective. I went from playing an upright, and using a synth controller to this, and I prefer its action to that of other low-end controllers.
The keys have a slightly unpredictable bounce reminiscent of a cheap upright piano with dodgy felt(rather than the wholly artificial wannabee grand feel of other budget keyboards), but this does have a problem in that its high velocity response is just miles off the real thing. It's here that the lack of proper hammer action is felt.

Ideally, if money permits, don't gig it. Get a really good instrument before you share things with others.
If needs must, and the devil drives, you will find this surprisingly light and manageable.
It's also reasonably durable for a lump of plastic, my only losses being a single led and the ring around my right output jack.

M-Audio have no interest in dealing with the minor software issue that would make this a much better controller keyboard. In fact, they haven't responded.
They have, at least, released a Vista driver....

Frankly, if you want a cheap stage piano, get an old knackered Wurly or Rhodes.
If you need midi and can stand the worse polyphony and similar lack of sounds, get one of the older yamahas second hand.
If you need a midi controller with no sounds, get a Fatar.
In the unlikely event that this is the only option that fits your needs in your budget, then do rest assured that it's no better or worse than other 'stage piano' efforts at the bottom of the ladder: I, for one, prefer its action.

Well, this keyboard is a controller with some high-quality sounds. The operation is ridicule, easy a lot. It has 12 buttons, 7 for the sounds, 1 for chorus, 1 for reverb, 1 advanced function, 2 buttons to assignabile functions. The manual is prestative, but you will just nedd help to the MIDI functions. The MIDI part are simple too, it's a simple controller, with a few real time controllers. Modulation and pitch bend wheel (the modulation wheel are assignabile). What else, 2 audio outs (R and L), 2 phone outs, DC in, MIDI out and USB (to host).

The polyphony are high, 126 notes. It's too much to play alone, but it's a nice complement. It has an chorus and reverb effects (3 levels and OFF). No expansion capabilities. The MIDI controls are de modulation wheel, the slider and a couple of butons; The keys are nicre, not hammer action, but semi-weight. No sequencer or edition possibilities. It's a simple controller, the features are simple too.

Piano I - A nice piano, i use a lot this sound
Piano II - A bright piano, for mu is fine, but don't use much (the pianos could sounds better with a band)
EP.I - A nice Rhodes simulation, i like that. this soung need some bight.
EP.II - Wurly. Ohh, that is nice, the simulation are great.
FM - I don like it, but FM pinao is useless to me.
Clav - It's OK. Nice but could be better (i dont' use this sound)
Organ - the percussive effect are nice, but i miss a leslie simulation. Whith some chorus and vibrato you culd have a nice organ.

Well, in a gig i coul use this controller with some VSTi. If you need some good pianos this is the rig.

Until this moment, n problems. The M-audio assistence are nice i guess. No opinion for that.

It's a nice Stage piano, usefull like a controler butt without many real time controllers. The sound are nice, with a band could be better. Just an advice, never plays in a MONO configuration becouse it sound sux. League the 2 audio outs, an STEREO out and be happy. This is not a piano simulator, or a digital piano. It's a stage piano, to play with a band and use with a sound module or a VSTi. For the price, i think it's a good acquisition.

Selecting sounds is as simple as pressing the button corresponding with the preset sound you want. It doesn't have onboard speakers, so you will need to hook-up to speakers or headphones.

126 note polyphony (Maudio lost 2 somewhere), reverb, chorus. I don't think it has any expansion capability. It has MIDI in/out and USB interface. Pretty much all the features you'd expect form something in this price range.

Horrible, horrible action!! People looking for realistic piano action (why else would you but a hammer action keyboard!?) should avoid this. It has some initial resistance when you press a key, then gives way to bounce down in a very un-natural way. I found the piano sound to be quite harsh & electronic, although to be fair it was being played through a mono keyboard amp. Played through better speakers, in stereo may have given a more pleasing piano sound. I can't comment on the other sounds.

I just played it in the shop, so can't speak for it's reliabilty. It does feel sturdy enough though.

I went to the store to try out the model below this - the Keystation 88, however the shop didn't have any of that model in stock, so I played the Prokeys 88 instead. I very quickly decided that I wouldn't be purchasing either the prokeys or the keystation based on the poor action of the keys alone. The Keystation shares the same keybed so I would expect it to be just as bad.

I own this piece of ... gmmm... equipment for little over one year. I used it very carefully, never abused, never dusty and it has 3 (Three!!!) failed keys already! I am not keyboardist (I do play guitar) and whatever I played was far from elaborate passages of Chopin or Saen-Saens ;).
The feel of the keys is VERY heavy. Playing a song of one minor, one major and one dominant chords is a WORKOUT. The keys bounce back unevenly, with poor return velocity so even 16th notes to be played like a drum with a horrible knocking sound.
The action is SO high, and the back path is SO uneven it is impossible to play any meaningful arpeggio even on lightly moderate tempos.
It was my first purchase in keyboards and I was naive hoping that relatively inexpensive keyboard will be useful in the same way as inexpensive guitar. IT IS A MISTAKE!!! This is a bad keyboard and it affects your ability and you DESIRE to play it. Do not buy this trash.
Needles to say I'm not happy to drop this review as it is my admission of wasted $500 that is good money. If you want my advise, do not buy keyboards from M-Audio as apparently they are not competent in that field. They buy parts and assemble them but they do not have even near understanding and experience as Roland, Edirol, Yamaha,Kaway or Korg. I have their Axiom 49 that they call "best midi keyboard" as well as they call this piano "premium" and it is useable but very low quality keyboard. I have M1 keyboard from Edirol, that is cheap $150 keyboard, none of m-audio's is even near the awesome quality and solid feel and touch of Edirol! It is entirely possible that these m-audio products are premium articles among chinese peasants, but these are substandard trash by Western Civilization scales.
I am sorry that I have now to cash out more to buy a real thing. The resale value of it is zero.
One more word about sound quality. The sound of this keyboard is marginal at best. It is empty, shallow, lacking of presence. I do not compare it to some lush expensive units or multi Gb software samples. I compare it to most basic sounds from Casio, entry level Roland or Yamaha. The sound has very annoying modulation artifacts that becomes VERY apparent on decay.
If you are beginner, this piano will screw your techniques and defeat the inspirations.
If you are an advanced player, the artificial sound and horrible keyboard will be revolting.
If you are a musician who plays primarily another instrument but needs a MIDI keyboard that has some sounds for easier scatching it will let you down in all devisions.
Sorry but it is very poorly designed, substandard, low quality, heavy as a hell peace of "premium piano" for third world. This trash does not fit here in US.

This is an addendum to my previous review.Putting these sounds in mono or playing only one channel will not work. Piano sounds were made to be heard in STEREO so you must pan each output totally to the left and right accordingly at the mixing board. Then add real effects and you have a really decent sound.