MIDI Controller_Keyboard Action Quality?

[mark4man]

Yo...

Played a CME UF8 MIDI Controller/Keyboard this afternoon at Sam Ash, along w/ an M-Audio Keystation 88. [my plan is to grab a Yamaha Motif ES Rack for sounds, in conjunction w/ a keyboard controller.]

Both of these units have weighted action...& I know which one feels better to me right now. But...I've never played keys in my life; & this will be the set I learn on. So my question is...(to the piano men out there)...which one of these units will help me to develop better skills over the long haul? (i.e., which one is considered to have a more professional or realistic action?)

Thanks,

mark4man

[DavidK]

Myself, I would go for the CME.

[cortexx]

The CME UF8 is superior in build , features and durability to the M-Audio unit in comparison . I'd pick the CME over the M-audio anyday. I didn't like the feel of the prokeys-88 when i played it and the keystation is pretty much the same keyboard. The CME board feels pretty good on the heavy side though but not as heavy feeling as a Fantom X8 .

The CME is getting great reviews on the web so google it and read, at the end of the day though this is just my opinion based on my preference. Your preference may be totally different to mine when you play them .

[The Green Hornet]

You will really get blown away by the Motif sounds. I have the keyboard ES 61 and the patches are top notch.

Have fun

Green Hornet

[mark4man]

Thanks everyone...

Well...there might be a change of heart in store. I went over to Guitar Center to try & beat the Sam Ash price; & tried a Casio Priva PS-110 while there. This thing felt like a million bucks...it seemed perfect for my (albeit clumsy beginner) touch. And the thing I liked about it was...it had tremendous response...the keys seemed to bounce back up quick (like it was weighted for Little Richard or Jerry Lee Lewis or somebody)...like it was built for speed. But the keys still had substantial enough weight...it wasn't like they were overly light to the touch. It felt like a great balance between weight & response....I don't know how else to say it (not being a piano man as of yet.)

So what I'm going to do is go back to Sam Ash where I know they have both the CME & the Casio...& perform a comparison. After playing the Casio, the CME felt heavy (this from memory.) Maybe it was just because it was a floor model & hooked up to a Motif rack; & had been hammered on by every kid rap artist & his brother in the store...I don't know. I guess there's no way of knowing if the response would be the same for a unit right out of the box?

[&...my sincere apologies to the serious hip-hoppers out there.]

But man...that Casio sure feels nice !!!

Thanks again,

mark4man

[noisewreck]

I am not surprised that the CME feels heavy. As a Pianist, I honestly do prefer the heavier action on controller keyboards as for some reason, I tend to hit less wrong keys on those. If you want to develop your touch, I'd say go with the CME. If you're more into synth/hammond type work, then a lighter keyboard would suit better perhaps.