I’m looking for a 61-key controller to integrate with my existing Gig Performer setup. I really like the Arturia 61-key KeyLab MkII but unfortunately this controller, and it seems most others (all?), have keys that are not the “standard” size that I find on an acoustic piano or an 88-key controller. I put “standard” in quotes because it seems there is not a consensus on what “full size keys” means.
Are there 61-key controllers that have standard size keys? All the specs I find only mention semi-weighted vs synth-action. The specs do not mention the size of the keys.
I already have a Native Instruments S88 MK2 as my main keyboard which I love. I wanted to replace my second tier keyboard (Yamaha MOXF8) with a lightweight 61-key controller that I use mainly for textures and lead lines using VSTs and Gig Performer.
Thought about it but the NI controllers have a limited number of assignments that can be made with Gig Performer. I had to purchase a Korg Nanokontrol to make up for what the S88 could not provide.
I tried many brands. Native are the best for key feeling, and for my tastes. Arturia are too soft. You can try Novation, someone like those. Or Nektar. I don’t know about the size.
I use a NI S61 and in addition, to get more buttons and at least one fader, i placed a Behringer XTouch mini on top of it.
On the Behringer i replaced the flat rubber stand-pads with some higher ones, so it can take place on the top left of the keyboard, partly covering the transport section which i don’t need when playing live.
Did NI end up allow the touch as a controller as in Kore?
I ended up using a script (prior to GP) with a timer callback and If I touched the encoder quickly it sent 1 event and if I held it >500ms I got another event
I stopped trying to use it for other reasons but I had asked because I know they were using some function of the knobs eg for accessiblity and didnt seem very interested…I guess the most excellent and brilliant Kore guys had left the building.
BUT
It also forces you to use it in midi mode and you lose KK (if that matters) and there is no middle road
The Native Instruments S88 is my main keyboard. I bought a Korg Nanokontrol to get the assignment controls I need.
I was hoping to have a 61 key controller with the assignable controls.
If the NI controller is the only 61 key with the larger keys I may have to go with that controller. No other 61 key controller has the larger key size?
I’m fairly new to GP3 but I picked up a Behringer MOTOR61 brand new for cheap ($100) and have really liked it at my desktop. I’ve just recently been setting it up in GP3 for live use for my wife and I.
The keys are close enough to full-size and I love the layout with 9 faders, 8 knobs, & 8 pads all of which have four banks of eight each though I still have a long way to know just how flexible/reliable they are.
HI, sorry about the delay as I’m new and had posted my quota (now fixed).
It was new. I purchased it from AltoMusic.com after hearing about it back in 2019. I haven’t since seen it that cheap, so I’m fortunate to have picked it up. There is both a 49 and 61 key version currently on eBay but at a significantly higher price. Sorry!
Novation Impulse 61 has full size keys.
The touch response is acceptable. Not perfect for an acoustic pianist, but as good as any keyboard I’ve tried and better than many.
Just a note along the same lines - some keyboards have keys of a standard width, but they are shorter. Worth checking, if that bothers you. (The Impulse key length seems to be equal with my digital Yamaha piano, and both are 5mm shorter than my acoustic upright Yamaha).
It looks like the Native Instruments and Novation SL MkIII both have the same size keys as the Arturia but these keyboards have a “better” action response. This is a subjective topic. All of the keyboards are semi-weighted but to me the Arturia has less resistance and the action is even lighter than the other two controllers. What I found is that the issue with me being comfortable is not so much the size of the keys but how the action responds. The Arturia is just too light.
