Studiologic SL-990 XP

Very easy to use, theres not a whole lot of bells and whistles attached so there isn't much to mess around with.

Key action is extremely good, it reminds me a little of the Kawai AWA IV action(which costs about 5x more...). It's not as good but its nice all the same. Some people say the action is very heavy, I would disagree, it actually seems light compared to a lot of actions I have played on (i.e Steinway acoustic grands).

It's important to note the key differences between the 990XP and 990PRO. 990XP does not have velocity adjustment, although that does not matter since you can just use Synthogy Ivory or NI Akoustik (I use the latter) or something along those lines to adjust that. The XP also appears to have the graded hammer action. I believe the 990PRO does not, although I am not 100% sure of that.

You are going to need a MIDI to USB if your sound card does not have a MIDI slot. I know mine doesn't so I got a converter for it, those usually cost less than 40 bucks.

There are no sounds.

But, the action like I said is one of the best actions you can find. It makes the M-audio Pro digital pianos that cost more than 2x more look like a joke. I also personally like it more than the other models like Yamaha P (digital piano line, not to be confused with the synths or clavinovas) as well as Casios and Williams, etc. All of those which cost usually 2-5x more (except maybe casios, but the action on those are terrible as well).

It is not as good as the clavinova line of action or the Kawai Action, nor is it as good as an acoustic. The roland action is a little better as well, depending on the model. However, its pretty much just about as good, so its hard to compare. Anyways its up to you to decide what action you want anyways, like everyone says. Besides, all of those models mentioned in this paragraph are like 1000+ anyways.

I'm going to give this a 10 because of the raw price ratio. You seriously can't get better action than this for the money.

I've only had it for a few weeks so I don't have much to say here.

However, I have noticed that some of my keys make a bit of a springy noise when I press them although it's hard to notice unless I disconnect all sound devices and just hit the keys. This doesn't seem to have any effect on their action or sound production though. I don't know if its a defect, but if it causes any problems I will return it for a new one.

Not applicable

As long as the device does not fail on me then this is the best investment possible as far as a digital piano is concerned.

If you want to play piano music, and you have the software, then take this thing. It costs 300 bucks new right now from all the major online retailers, I'm sure you could probably find it locally as well at guitarcenters and samashes and that kind of stuff.

Only reason I don't give it a 10 because I am somewhat skeptical on the durability (due to the springy noise some of the keys make)

The SL-990 XP could not be easier to use. You plug in the power, plug in the MIDI connection, and turn it on.

Well, I suppose it could be a little easier, in the sense that there are a few transposition functions that you have to set with the keyboard instead of buttons on a control panel. But I never use these functions, anyway.

The SL-990 XP is not designed to have a lot of features. It has a hammer-action keyboard (which is terrific). It is designed to replicate a piano.

I would have thought that there would be dozens of manufacturers out there producing this sort of thing -- a solid, hammer-action keyboard MIDI controller, with 88 keys, and no frills.

This is 2007 -- we are living in a new digital age of audio software that runs on an ordinary home computer. There are recording programs that are free on the internet (Audacity, Krystal), as well as basic versions of pro software for around $100 (Cubase, Sonar). There are excellent samples out there for everything from a Steinway to a didgeridoo to an entire orchestra! But every other keyboard manufacturer puts out these massive synth stations, which are really just artifacts from the 1970s and 1980s.

The only features that matter to me are the quality of the keyboard action and the general reliability. In both regards, this controller is excellent.

It has no sounds. It is a hammer-action MIDI controller only.

The action, however, is outstanding. I have never found any other that I liked as much.

So far, it is 100% reliable. It is mostly metal, as far as I can tell, and weighs a ton.

Never used customer support.

I love it. If it were lost or stolen, I would try to find another one ASAP.

I've been playing piano for 20 years, but am also very interested in recording. It is virtually impossible to record a real piano without expensive microphones, a studio, and a few qualified sound engineers, so a digital system is the next best thing.

I plug the MIDI cord into a MIDI box that converts the MIDI signal to USB. I wouldn't use a USB connection for an audio signal, but for MIDI, it is fine.

I have a computer that I assembled myself, but most modern computers are perfectly adequate for audio work. The key is a quality sound card. I use an M-Audio Delta card. The Delta 44 has two pairs of stereo inputs. The Delta 1010 has 8 pairs. Some people use Firewire audio interfaces, which they like, but I have never used.

I installed two hard disks -- one for the system software and the applications, and the other solely for samples. I may set up a second computer altogether -- one for generating sounds, and one for recording them.

I use a cheap semi-weighted keyboard for triggering most sounds other than the piano. But when you want to play the piano, you need a realistic hammer action.