Anyone using the Native Instruments controller keyboards?

Drew_TNBD

They look lovely. To my shame, I've never spent more than a few hundred pounds on a keyboard controller. The most expensive one I bought is my Ableton Push!! But I'm feeling like I need some keys that are better than my current Alesis offering.

guitarfishbay

Do you have any piano/keyboard background or are you coming at this from a production background?

I've not played these but both the mod wheel/pitch wheel look to be pressure strips - that'd be a negative from a performance perspective to me, but probably not a deal breaker. I do like something physical to grab though when playing... otherwise they look great.

I own an older M Audio Axiom 61 and previously owned a Novation SLMK2 25 key. The Axiom was best from a playing feel perspective but from a production perspective the Novation had better sliders and pan knobs, plus displays and auto map.

Check out the Novations anyway see what you think

Snap

no. I'm after a new 61 key controller, as both my 49 and 88 have bust, so currently I'm stuiggling with a 25 key.

I look at the S Kontrol units, but they are so expensive and I can't think I would use many of the features. I think I will be getting a Novation Impulse tbh. Good value, good feel. The other thing I looked at is a ROland A 800 Pro, but I think its getting a bit long in the tooth, though it is set up to gel with Sonar, which suits me. Automap on the Impulse will be good enought though, for sure.

I'll probably be getting it towards the end of next month.

spark240

I have the Impulse 49...works fine though I dont use all of the functions...

Snap

spark240 said:

though I dont use all of the functions...

this is the thing - unless you are performing live, I don't think most of use would/do use the functions much. I tend to use mod wheel, pitch shift and a couple of sliders/knobs to do filter sweeps, but that's about it. As for operating DAW controls, sitting at my desk I've got my keyboard and mouse to hand.

Maybe its one of those things, that until you started to use a fully mapped controller you don't know what you're missing. Perhaps.

Apparently my good lady has agreed to buy half an Impulse 61 for my birthday, so we shall see!!

Drew_TNBD

I use Komplete, and the NI keyboards have really decent patch browsing facilities that supposedly are DAW agnostic. So that appeals to me. I had a Novation SLMKII once, and the who thing felt a bit janky. Too big as well.

Freebird

If I were buying I would get a Nektar Panorama P4 or P6.

Fretwired

I have two NI keyboards (we use one in the business as I write background music (wallpaper) for corporate videos.

They are pro-level in terms of feel and the weight of the keys and software is seriously cool - you can play a chord with one finger .. had I known I wouldn't have bothered learning to play .. :-)

If you use NI Komplete then its a no-brainer.

Snap

Fretwired said:

I have two NI keyboards (we use one in the business as I write background music (wallpaper) for corporate videos.

They are pro-level in terms of feel and the weight of the keys and software is seriously cool - you can play a chord with one finger .. had I known I wouldn't have bothered learning to play .. :-)

If you use NI Komplete then its a no-brainer.

mate, I don't need to hear that!! I've just shelled out on a Stingray, and I really don't need another well reasoned GAS urge for a pricey bit of kit.....

bloody hell, I can feel it brewing already......FFS

@Drew_TNBD you aren't helping either!!!

guitarfishbay

Looked at some stuff online - the AKAI advance might also be worth investigating if the browser and accompanying software works well. Certainly looks good anyway

Drew_TNBD

This is the video to watch:

guitarfishbay

Cool, will check that out later. 

Fretwired

Drew_TNBD said:

This is the video to watch:

Bear in mind with NI that video is out of date. NI have updated the software/firmware since 2015 when the video was made.

grammar

All of the features require you to open the Kontrol software first so bare it in mind that you'll be adding another layer..

octatonic

Do you care at all about piano feel?

Midi keyboards tend to be split into feature set vs feel.
The best feeling keyboards seem to be made by Yamaha, then Roland, but they tend to have a limited feature set in terms of integrating with plugins.
Novation/NI/Korg/M-Audio etc all have their own way of dealing with the modern feature set thing and that is only as good as the latest software update. I've had Novation and Korg controllers in the past, never owner an NI one, although I've had Complete since it came out and use their plugins all the time.

I currently have two M-Audio controllers on different computers that I use to tap in rhythms and do synth type stuff.
For piano playing I prefer my Yamaha P-255, before that I had an old Roland RD500.
I've not found a product that covers both bases adequately.

Snap

@octatonic - have you tried the Roland A800 Pro, or similar? That claims to cover all the options you list, but I think it is particularly focused on integrating with Sonar. I put it down the list because its a bit old these days, which would make me question compatability etc

Drew_TNBD

Still haven't managed to pick one, but I think the NI one might swing it. I just really like the idea of the Komplete integration.

octatonic said:

Do you care at all about piano feel?

Not massively no. I just want nice velocity response, which the Alesis Q61 most definitely does not!!

Fretwired

The feel of the NI is top notch .. you'd have to go for an expensive pro-Roland keyboard to get something better. I tried loads .. the NI integration is a no brainer

Drew_TNBD

Just ordered one! Had £22 in Andertons loyalty points, so used those to knock it down to £446. Got the 49 key one, which is plenty for me.

Drew_TNBD

Well it arrived, and it's pretty damn sick. I love being able to browse instruments in the Kontrol app, directly from the keyboard.

Fretwired

Drew_TNBD said:

Well it arrived, and it's pretty damn sick. I love being able to browse instruments in the Kontrol app, directly from the keyboard.

Told you it was cool ... wait till you dig deeper into what the keyboard can do .. ;-)