Master Midi Monster by M-Audio 
by Christopher Paglia from Byfield, MA, October 2008
Music Background:  Musician, Live and Recorded Sound

I needed a master keyboard for the studio. I wanted to be able to use it to control Reason, but more important - as the main keyboard, I wanted pianists to be able to come in and have the full range and feel of a piano. Unfortunately, I don't have the room for a piano, but with the plug-ins out there now who needs one! The week I got the Pro 88 I had a couple of sessions booked with a keyboard player. So I didn't have a lot of time to be on a learning curve. In the end the toughest thing about setting it up was taking it out of the box and putting it on the stand (get a GOOD double braced stand - this is a couple of pounds). The second hardest thing may just be determining how many parameters you actually want to control - the options are endless!!!

  Good product Bad manual 
by GaKnew Roxwel from LosAngeles, Ca, September 2008
Music Background:  Producer/Emcee/audio repairman

If the manual wasn't such a waste of paper, there wouldn't be so many bad reviews. The sky is the limit as far as a controller goes. If you use reason live, it gives you all the space you need to be creative. Buttons, knobs, faders, oh my! I just wish the manual thoroughly explained how to use the functions. If anyone figures out how to set up 4 different instruments in the 4 zones, PLEASE POST!

  It just works great. 
by Ray from North Idaho, September 2008
Music Background:  Musician

I've had this keyboard for over 2 years and never had a problem with it.
The knobs and faders feel great and the buttons are soft rubber.

The keys feel good but can not be compared to $3000 workstations.
For the money you cant get anything better then this.

  What a wide range of review ?? 
by Guclu Melek from Izmir,Turkey, August 2008
Music Background:  Amateur Piano player, Band member, Hobbyist

I just tried it at the dealer and in my opinion, it's a fine instrument with all the stuff that offers at such price..

This must be considered as a good support device for a piano player using an acoustic or high end digital piano. On the other hand, this is the GOD for electronic music use only... Way better than CME & Roland equivalents by means of benefit/cost.

The problem is that everyone in this forum wants to have both full piano action & great composing/ arranging attributes with this midi controller..
Well, there awaits "Korg Oasys" or "Kurzweil 2600" just for you...( Around 6-7 grands I suppose.. )

Come on people, this is nearly 1/10 price of those "mobilized studios" . If this was that successful on both ends ( piano feel/velocity & synth effects ) why would it be sold for only $500 ?
Don't expect Toyota Yaris to be better than Mercedes CLK600 :))

Regards,

  Love this MIDI Controller 
by Manuel D. Alfas from Summerville, SC, May 2008
Music Background:  Eletronic Musician, Composer, & Producer,

I brought this MIDI controller since the day they come out. All I got to say It's the best MIDI controller for any Electronic musician using Reason, Garage Band, and Live. I like the feeling of the keys, knows are great, and the look is awesome. I had use other MIDI controllers in the past and if you're a Piano player and want to do electronic music using softsynths then this is your keyboard. I had this keyboard for a while and from all my keyboards, this one is my baby of all my toys!!!!!

  Not for Piano Players 
by Tom C from CA, September 2007
Music Background:  Worship Leader, Recording Musician

As others have said, it's a great bargain. HOWEVER, there's no free lunch. :)

First off, I have NEVER gotten the sliders and pots to interface with Logic, no matter how much I've talked with MAUDIO and posted on various lists. Maybe Logic 8 will behave better. Oh well, I can live with that.

The biggest disappointment is in the velocity response, as others have said. It is simply IMPOSSIBLE to play piano with any type of feeling. My keyboard (don't know if it's endemic to the entire line, or just mine) will register all Fs (F1, F2, F3, etc.) with about a 25% higher midi velocity value than any other key!! In addition, as others have mentioned, playing mp-mf-f is an exercise in frustration. There's just no sensitivity, no matter how much you try the different velocity presets, and tweak your softsynth settings. Very disappointing.

  What Are People Talking About 
by King Of Harvey from Havery Illinois Yokohama Japan, August 2007
Music Background:  PRO...HipHop and RNB Producer Rapper and always student

The reason i bought this is cause i had seen so many on stage musicians using this playing it like they had no issues. It was these bad reviews that threw me all off not to buy it
it Had been 2 years already and i seen one more person using this keyboard live on tv and i noticed. it seems that only sweetwater customers have problems with it then i got the board my self man stop tripping all these wack midi controllers out i have the cme uf 76 and i feels great i use this one and with a little programming works to perfection the keys may feel lame and i agree on that but all this whinning about playing i think thats on you ive learn to cope with the lame key feel in 4 days and i have made some crazy tracks with it nothing stopped my flow on production at all i think most 85 percent of the people on sweetwater that complain about what they buy.... A. dont know how to use it B.not making money making music.
and C.dont make good music
So cut the Crap the Keyboard is great just as many other....... ive seen people make music with the most stupidest things and the music turns out great, people been making great music for years with lesser keys on a keyboard and horrible reaction stop complaining music has never been so easy dont blame your productions skills on the keyboard
Azo Out.........

  Bad action, good control 
by Chris Plante from Amesbury, MA USA, August 2007
Music Background:  Pro Musician, live shows, film scoring

I used the keystation pro for the last 2 months controlling my rack of modules and virtual instruments. The good side of this peice is that there are tons of programmable controllers and they are really easy to program. The other cool thing is that you can set up 4 zones on 4 midi channels and do nice layering and splitting of your midi sounds. The bad news is: the action is really bad. Overly weighted, unrealistic, "did I just hit that note?", break in the first 2 months, black notes feel different than the white notes, stuttering when you play fast, just bad action. If you are a serious pianist/keyboard player and want realistic feel dont get this keyboard. If you are someone who is putting parts into a DAW and dont need realistic feel, than this keyboard is probably the way to go.

  Got what I paid for - Completely satisfied 
by Steve B. from USA, August 2007

I recently purchased the Keystation Pro88 and have been working with it now for about two weeks. I am very satisfied with my purchase. The keyboard is actually more impressive in person than it appears in the pictures. It is nice quality and does not have a cheap plastic feel. It has a nice quality construction and mine has performed flawlessly. No stuck keys, no latency issues. It has done what it says it will do. It is big. It is fairly heavy...but that's what I wanted and that's what was delivered. You probably need to make sure that your computer is up to the task of handling MIDI instruments, musical software etc before you purchase any of this kind of equipment. If your computer is not designed for this kind of stuff you could have problems. (My original computer couldn't handle stuff like this, and I blamed poor performance issues on the musical equipment. After I upgraded to a DAW type computer, all of my equipment worked flawlessly. So make sure you have the right, compatible equipment first.) So, if you have the right computer, I don't think you'll be disappointed with the Keystation Pro 88. (I am not a performer, or biased toward a "real piano feel" so I can't speak for doing live gigs, or to how real piano players will feel about the feel. But as far as using it as a MIDI controller to record music and work with MIDI software, it worked great, and to me it felt really good.) I am very pleased with my purchase, and would recommend the product. The operations manual could be improved a little. (It comes with a quick start guide and a more advanced version on pdf. It has a few typos and could have been written a little better, but it's okay. You just have to read it a few times and play with the keyboard.) I am sure you can pay a lot more and get something even more spectacular, but for the price, the Keystation Pro 88 is completely worth it. I am 100% satisfied and was pleasantly surprised. It was better than I expected. Thumbs up.

  Read before you buy this 
by Leo Rizzo from hewlett, ny, July 2007
Music Background:  Pro Musician

If you plan on using this live, there are 2 important things to know about this keyboard. #1 the entire bottom of the keyboard is made from a hard pressed cardboard, and the rest is made from a thin plastic that won't hold up very well. #2 and probably most important is you can only store 10, Yes 10 PRESETS.
so if you're using it live and need more than 10 different patches of splits/layers etc. you'll have to lug out you laptop or desktop to upload more sets of 10!!!! I don't know what the hell they were thinking when they decided 10 presets would be more than enough...

  Decent Hammer Action that plays really well. 
by Namin Nooman from New Delhi, India, July 2007
Music Background:  Composer, Engineer

I just recently happened to play a Kurzweil 2500 semi-weighted action keyboard and found to my surprise that the action and the Piano tone was one of the worst I had ever played. When touch really matters and the way you want to express with these keys, it is definitely a serious activity. Of course, its a personal preference an I have to say that the Keystation Pro 88 does feel great when you play it with the Grand, or the Steinway in Garritan Personal Orchestra or the Combinator Piano and ordinary Piano in Reason. You have to play it to beleive it to notice the difference.

I actually didn’t like it that much when I had bought it to tell you the truth and wanted the Kurzweil SP88X instead but now I really do like this one, I mean the money I have saved in a digital piano and my move to total software integrated recording. Its almost 2 years that I have been using it that I have come to the conclusion but also after comparing it various other Yamaha Clavinova and of course the recent Kurzweil 2500 semi-weighted action.

My friend and I both were not really inspired with the Piano tone on the Kurzweil (its too bright for our tastes) but then when we controlled the Combinator Piano tone in Reason, it brought a really good smile on his face. You have to compare and try it to believe it. The velocity curve might not be exactly what pianists wants but its a matter of time to get used to. If the velocity was also great I would have given this keyboard 5!

I recently opened mine and cleaned it and now it looks brand new and plays and looks very well, maybe I will change the paint colour to black later as the silver gray is kind of out of fashion these days. Anyway its been two years and I am happy with the purchase and Sweetwater is a fantastic place to buy goodies from. Extremely kind and supportive. oh yes, Mark Isham also uses it. If Mark Isham can use it for major films why not me?

  How could you go wrong with this? 
by sonicj from Appleton, WI, June 2007
Music Background:  part time pro

For the price, I think you would have to be a person who enjoys complaining about everything to criticize this board, with the exception of those who have had mechanical malfunction. This is very subjective, but I think the feel is excellent. I also own a grand piano, but I needed something more portable. It's really light compared to my piano, and feels almost as good. I'm playing a Kurzweil pc2r and a Korg Trinity with it, and it works perfect for my styles, which are rock, prog rock, and classical. After reading some of the other reviews, I might be a little concerned about breaking keys, but I bought the extra two year warranty and I can replace it whenever I need. I don't hear any spring noise or knocking, thumping, etc. Maybe I just got lucky, but if you've been around a while, you realize that anything and everything breaks, no matter how expensive or high end it's supposed to be. As far as the touch sensitivity, I think the options are an excellent start, and from there I adjust the velocity on my sound sources as needed. I've had other boards that are more expensive with no velocity options at all, so no complaints. There is so much talent out there, rich and poor, so I'm glad to see that there are professional choices for everyone. I wish everybody could have an $8000 K rg, but that's not the reality for most. I need a car and a house more than a keyboard. Thanks M Audio for keeping us all in mind, not just the spendy trendy ones.

  Happy Dad! 
by Mark Quigley from USA, June 2007

I bought this keyboard for my son who is an aspiring musican. He was using the 49e to start out with. Tells me he needs 88 ok I did not have a couple K to go buy a piano. Well this was an afordable option. I, like the other gentleman, it came with a stuck key. Was a real bummer for my son seeing that this was a birthday present. I am a electrical tech so I tried to fix it my self and did. I agree with some previous statements that it is cheaply made. But wait... it is a cheap keyboard. You pay for what you get. The other thing is you plug it in and it just works. That is if you are using a mac and OSX. The other thing is that the free download of enigma the config software is awsome just drag and drop and send to your board bingo it is set and you can save any cofig you want. I have to say take the good with bad but all in all you get alot for a little bit of money!!!

  Keystation "Pro" 88 
by Chris Peck from Los Angeles, CA, July 2006
Music Background:  Percussionist, Composer, Programmer

If you are looking for a good all around controller Keyboard with weighted keys for all your VI's, you won't find anything else at this price point that really compares. But, if you are looking for a controller to use with your favorite piano library, then the Keystation pro may not be the best choice. The velocity curve presets do not allow for very expressive playing at all, no matter how much you adjust the velocity response of plug-ins. Basically, the keystation emits mf-fff with almost no effort, while playing any dynamic softer requires far too much effort. While the overall weighted feel of the Keys is not bad, they do feel a little too resistant on initial key strikes. If you mainly use soft-synths, then the array of knobs and faders will allow you tweak parameters to your heart's content. After using this for the last six months, I would strongly suggest researching higher priced controllers such as CME's UF8 or any studiologic controller. I'm beginning to think that I should have just kept my old Alesis QS 8.

  Compatibility 
by Alex from nightmarehalo@hotmail.com, July 2006
Music Background:  engineer, producer, studio musician, composer

great feel of keys and great preset velocity curves. the 24 knobs and 9 faders ensure that you will have more than enough control over most compatible midi devices. however, there are only 4 "zones" so only 4 different patches/voices can be layered and modified by this keyboard alone. very incompatible with the Korg Triton Rack, so incompatible in fact that it cuts out the sound from time to time.

Great feel 
by Matthew from Wise, VA, April 2006

This keyboard is nice, it is somewhat bulky. The keys are a little on the light side, but this is still a nice instrument. I love the action. It has a lot of buttons and knobs which come in handy for real-time controling.

Great controller - pianists will be disappointed 
by Six from Fort Wayne, IN USA, October 2005

Overall this is a great product, and a bargain at $500. With the stunning array of knobs, sliders and buttons, plus the ability to program how each one behaves, this has become one of the most used pieces of equipment in my home studio.

That said, I can also understand why some people hate this unit. If you're looking for a digital piano controller you'll be sorely disappointed.

This keyboard is high quality and every inch of it feels that way, but the keys (though hammer-action) do not behave the way piano keys do. Yes, the velocity curve is adjustable digitally, but there is no way to adjust the pressure curve of the keys to make the keyboard feel more natural.

I've been playing piano for ~20 years and I know what a good piano feels like. It's not that the keystation's keys lack expressiveness (as some others have commented), but that they don't behave the way piano keys behave. The Keystation's keys follow the same pressure curve no matter how hard or soft you're playing.

If you want a better idea of what I'm talking about, go to your piano and play something FF. Notice the pressure exerted by the keys when first struck, during depression, and when fully depressed - that's what the Keystation feels like except that pressure curve doesn't change no matter how hard or soft you strike the keys.

Typically when I'm using the Keystation I'm working on something more electronic, so I don't mind that it doesn't feel like a piano. I can understand some people's disappointment with this unit since the description makes it sound like a great digital piano controller, but overall it is a very nice unit and those of you not looking for a piano replacement will love it. However, if you're a pianist looking for a digital piano controller, this thing will drive you mad.

An exercise in trade-offs. 
by Nathanael Davenport from Rexburg, ID USA, October 2005

Let me just first of all say that this controller really is a bargain for what it does at $499. That is indisputable. The feature set and the weighted keys make quite a bit of bang for the buck.

Now, it definitely has a problem with the feel and it's velocity sensors. The black keys consistently feel lighter than the white keys, but this is a subtle difference. Anybody who is very well acquainted with acoustic pianos and high-end controllers will be able to sense this. The velocity curves they have supplied are somewhat disappointing. The linear curve is not linear, as most of the notes that it outputs have velocity values of 100 or more with little effort. I usually use C8 or C9, but it's a disappointment to only have two usable curves out of 9. The only way I have been able to get acceptable results out of this thing is to lower the velocity input to -15 or -20 inside of Logic for each channel.

Having said all this, my board was shipped with a stuck key, so I am going to try to exchange it for a StudioLogic controller. I'll miss the convenience of direct USB connection for MIDI and power, but I won't miss the controls. This is not a board to use as a control surface for mixing and editing. It was not designed for that, though you can do it (technically) with a lot of know-how and tweaking of your DAW software. I am purchasing a dedicated control surface for that purpose.

However, if you play rock piano and organs and stuff like that, this board won't be bad. Control of drawbar parameters with the 9 faders is flawless and easy to use.

So you decide. Piano people, beware though.

"pro" 88 
by Gerrit Zwoferink , April 2005

I own this thing now for three days, and I'm very unsatisfied. I contacted M-audio tech support for the problem with velocity, the only thing they could think off, was sending me a page of the owner manual regarding velocity curves, as if I can't read, and tried all of the so called velocity curves allready. Like the guy from scotland already said: this thing lacks expresiveniss!!
other thing that came around today: some of the keys are generating "click" sounds when you play it, and that was not the case when I played it for the first time. I think this thing is BAD!! tomorrow I go and try to persuate the dealer and trade it in for Studiologic.

Excelente equipment for its Price!!! 
by Jaime Acuna from Santiago, Chile, April 2005

I just bought one of this controllers. So far I have no complaints other than its single Midi out Port, when compared with Rolands A-37, A-33 or A-90. One other thing, it also has too much sensitivity when playing piano, rhodes and such.

But Hey!!! look a its price! it doesn't get any better, with all its control possibilities.

It's big, but what can one expect with an 88 weighted note board? The feel is OK.

I insist, given its price It's a very convenient MIDI Controller. I give it A+

bye

Hard to beat 
by Anonymous from Brattleboro, Vermont, April 2005

I needed an 88 key controller with weighted action for playing and a ton of assignable midi controls for electronic production and real time performance. Got what I wanted and more -- While I enjoy the freedom of programming my own knob/slider/button setups, I'd love to have access to more presets, and perhaps some visual templates for quick recognition of which K/S/B does what -- so many options, it's hard to keep track of. That said, the configuration of the controls make it quite easy to organize, particularly for mixer controls. All in all, highly recommended!

Must own piece of gear 
by Planet Guitar from LA, CA, March 2005

Just brought this home. I am using it with Logic Pro 7.1 and Mac OSX.
It works very well. 9 Sliders!! Many knobs!! Keyboard feels great. Inexpensive- it is almost to good to be true. A bit big, but who cares.

velocity Keystation pro 88 
by Gerrit Zwoferink from Netherlands, March 2005

I yesterday bought myself a new controller for my piano sample (Vintaudio Yamaha C7, played in Native instruments Kompakt player with DFD extension, works fine)
Obviously the best choice you can make today is a USB controller combined with Midi, so you can change whenever you need, but primaraly for home use you think: well, only one usb connection for power and connection to my computer!

Indeed everything works fine, except for one very important thing:
Velocity response is very very sensitive, I can barely play PP to MF, with normal touch it's already Forte or more.
I'm surprised to hear from that guy from Scotland, that with him it's the other way around.... he says he can only play from PP to MF...
I thinks this might be a hardware problem maybe..
I contacted M-audio technical support, but just an hour ago, so I don't have a response yet from them.

I'm very interested in the opinion of other players about this problem, so when you have any suggestion you're welcome!!

Pro's: fine touch
looks great (in my opinion, I heard others who disliked the look)
very much possibilities for connecting up software via midi or usb.

Con's: very velocity sensitive
pretty much noise when a played key falls back into the normal position, I hope this will "wear out" with use

it rocks 
by aaron from coppell, tx, January 2005

The Keystation 88 totally rocks. I was hating my digital piano... I needed to control my software - Native Instruments b4, elektrik piano, sampletank XL, etc... This thing can control EVERYTHING about my software synths and keyboards. It even has transport controls! I was recording to Pro Tools straight from the keyboard. Rock and roll. Highly recommended. Easy to use. The weighted keys are so-so... they don't really feel like a piano... but unless you're doing piano all the time, I wouldn't think you'd want super heavy weighted keys for doing organ, synth, etc. Anyway, it gets an A+ from me.

best for the buck and better than those that cost mucho bucks 
by Anonymous , December 2004

this keyboard wieghs less than many of its kind with the weighted hammer action. with its control features it is more than just a midi keyboard it is a daw controller. i cant see how anybody would give this keyboard a poor review. no complaints here.

Decent 
by Anonymous from Chapel Hill, NC, November 2004

I've struggled to get a feel for synth keyboards since I was raised on an acoustic piano. My interests are with the action and the size of the keys on the keyboard as well as having 88 keys at the lowest price I can get. To meet this need I have chosen to use midi controllers with sound modules instead of integrated units as my budget is limited. My needs are minimal and I was satisfied with the old studiologic that I bought off Ebay which served me well with a good sound module. I beat up the StudioLogic and must have it repaired so the only thing in my price range I could replace it on very short notice (I had a gig that night) was an MAudio Pro 88. I went to the retailer and tested out this beast.



I bought it and took on a gig that night. Biggest complaint is the weight and size. I have since researched the features and it has a bunch with a USB connector and software. That's the way things are these days. The feel of this keyboard was superior to a number of the higher end keyboards I tested at the dealer. So inspite of how ugly this thing is, and in my opion it is ugly, it plays as good as anything eletronic I've put my fingers on. I have no idea of the quality and the support. I love the feel.

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