Studiologic VMK 188 plus

Version 3.1. This ones much simpler than my edirol to program. Cant do sysex at all. But thats ok for me cause makes simpler to just get to a cc number and be done with it. There are no sounds in this keyboard. Oh, and there aint a patch editor software. But the lcd is good and makes it easy.

I use the aftertouch alot, its smooth. The action is good, a little faster and snappier than my old yamaha p-90, but a similar weight. I use the transport with DP, and i dont kno how I lived without it. Saves my wrists when tracking multiple takes.(Like when I keep getting the part wrong, I have it mapped to undo and rewind...) Wish it had Sysex dump.

The velocity response is good, its the best ive tried for rhodes, and pretty good for piano. But I have a piano in my studio, so I am a little spoiled.

Gig with it and do sessions with it without back up.

First time I called, left a message, took them a day and a half to call back, but they did call back. 2nd time I had another question and sent email, got immediate response.

Its the best action if you dont want to lug around your actual piano (or in shape rhodes!)
Very inspiring, like the ad says. Better than most cheapo controllers, you can tell by the metal frame. Wish I could save my fave templates to computer.

Version 3.1 was the software release I believe. As a Midi Controller it doesnt have internal sounds. Editing patches is simple and the manual is pretty straight forward.

Some parts of this controller are built very well. The case is made of metal and the keys are nice and solid. The buttons on the front panel however are cheap and yield a toy like click when pressed. I would have kept this unit if not for 2 MAJOR problems. Im going to give Studiologic the benefit of the doubt and assume I received a defective one. Here are the issues I had. The data encoder was buggy. Lets say you want to dial in preset 7 and your on 3. No problem, just move the encoder dial a few clicks over. The problem was the dial wouldn't always increment correctly. It would go from 3 to 4 then back to 3 again. Then when I found the preset I wanted it would take a full 5+ seconds to switch over. This was totally unacceptable as I need fast access to my presets during a performance. The second issue was even though the action of this controller was very good, the velocity of the white keys were inconsistent (would decrease as I hit multiple notes on the same key). The black keys would generate higher velocities than the white ones, and this was noticeable playing. These were the two issues that made me take this unit back. Possible defects but here are some things that weren't: no velocity presets or adjustments, No zone splitting and no transpose (Ill forgive transpose. I dont use)

No sounds.

I must say Studiologic was very good about getting back to me with my questions.

My story goes: owning a Macbook Pro with Logic + softsynths with a Motif XS workstation seemed redundant to me. So I sold my Motif XS and used all that dough to get an 8-Core Mac. I needed to shell out a bit more money for a good controller to use on the go with my laptop. It was really too bad I couldn't keep the VMK I tried really hard to but, I "may" have received a defective one. If so then by all means give this controller a look......Hachoo!!!

Once I got used to the editing functions, they are pretty straightforward. Nothing too fancy, but it was easy for me to create a general patch that I can use with multiple programs (Logic and Reason in my case) and save a lot of reaching for the mouse.

One Word:
ACTION!
The action on this blows away CME, and M-Audio's action is a joke. Studiologic is Best in class!! I wish that this keyboard had midi splits, but those are pretty easy to create in Reason anyway...
Also wish they provided a computer editor for the presets.

Best velocity response and expressiveness. Aftertouch reacts well. NOTE: No built in sounds.

Have toured with it extensively

Customer support took a few days to get back to me when I had to ask a question about the presets. But eventually they answered the question!

Would buy it again, cause there is no better action, and if you are a real player, that's what it's all about.

This is a 88 keys midi keyboard without any sounds in it. It has weight hammer action with a lot of extra knobs/sliders. After a short dive into the possibilities of the keyboard it started working. There are preprogrammed presets and user definable ones. I guess there are enough possibilities for average user. As I said when it worked I did not look any further. I am using it with The Grand 2 and that is working fine. (I am playing classic piano3-4 years)
I was looking for a stage piano, and I am EXTREMELY choosy. When I say it is working fine, it really is ! Only sympatic string reasonance with pressed keys while playing harmonically related keys is not working, but I think this is a shortkoming of "the grand" software. Also I am not totally convinced about the sound when playing some chords. Sometimes I find the sound fluctuating just a bit to much. I think this is also related to the grand software. I should mention that other people don't seem to notice this.....

No sounds, no effects, lots of user assignable sliders/knobs who induce midi controll messages. All works fine. Midi out and usb connection.
Keys have aftertouch, sensitivity can be changed etc. No modulation/pitchbend wheels but some kind of joystick contraption. I am not impressed with it, but I also am not using it, (so don't take to much notice of that last remark). Important feature : IT IS VERY VERY HEAVY. I think it is at least 20 kilogrammes. I hope that is a sign of quality, otherwise I am breaking my back on this thing for no good reason.

I can controll the grand software very well. I am impressed even with the shortcommings of the grand software. My pianoteacher when confronted with one of my recordings on CD recognised a steinway piano and asked me when I recorded on a steinway. After that I was more convinced. Naturally this is all no match for my Yamaha U5 or any other decent piano. Yes yes yes I am very picky....

So far so good. I have it half a year now. I am not gigging. Think it would be OK .

Not a very extensive website.

I it was stolen, the purp would put in a day's honest work lugging these 20 kilo's around. If you were to lose 20 kilogramms and do not notice it you are in the gym way to much !!! Get a live, get a hoby, get a girlfrend.. ect. If lost I would buy it again. I have not begun to discover all the options, so I do not have a need for more options/ features.
I can recommend this keyboard. Try it out and you will be surprised !
Try it with good piano module/ software. Only hitting a key without really listening to it will not convince you of the power of this thing.