I hate the fater tp100 lr keybed which is used in all of the auturia, studiologic and ni s88 controllers it is terrible. I have it in my kurzweil forte se. Just read up on it. But some may like it. I personally prefer the roland a88 mk 2 keybed it is so much better, but doesnt have aftertouch.
This is the route I took as well. I like having all the faders/buttons etc separate from the keyboard. I can pack up my Mixface, MIDI Fighter Twister and Line6 FB Express, connect to any MIDI controller at the venue, and I will always have familiar controls. I very much like the SL Grand and Studio models as well.
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Hello guys,
For me I go this route too.
I feel like Iâm never 100% happy with keyboards actions, coming from acoustic piano and mostly playing on them I just decided this :
Buy an ok keyboard (in my case the inexpensive Kawai ES-110 which action is ok) and control it with external controls. Sadly I bought the Berhinger X-Mini and the rotary knobs are not absolute so thatâs horrible to play, and I didnât have time to connect it to a PC with windows to change the knobs from relative to absolute.
I think indeed the MIDI Fighter Twister must be very good, are maybe the FaderFox EC4 (but very expensive).
This solution is very nice because when you go to a concert where there is backline, you donât feel lost if you donât have your keyboard etc. you just bring your laptop and âexternal controllersâ and youâre good to go. You just have to be sure that the keyboard on stage has a midi output or usb-midi output !!! (Check that before of course).
So many ways to go⌠Sometimes I regret my Nord Electro because if there is a problem on stage with GP (will there be one day ? 
), the only thing left Iâd have would be the Kawai ES-110 sound and⌠That would be messy I guess.
Thanks to the inexpensive Kawai I could buy a good audio interface, good jacks, Ableton Live Suite.
Hope you find your own solution that suits you !!
All the best
Then the Kawai VPC1 is definitely for you, but it is more pricy than an ES-110 and really heavy (I had to buy a foldable trolley and to build my own flightcase with handles and wheels in the right place to be able to move it alone and/or with the help of the first person who comes along and improvises as backstage staff 
Obviously there are no guarantees but Iâve been to concerts where they had to stop because one of the keyboards broke.
If youâre concerned about a computer failure, then bring a spare computer !
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Hehehe Iâve heard a lot of good of the VPC1, but indeed it is too heavy, and the feeling is never as good as a real piano, so I prefer to go for something cheaper and lighter.
Yes youâre right ! Well⌠My 2014 Macbook pro starts to old a little bit (battery is not so good and some ports donât work), so when the new Macbook Pro is out I think Iâll buy it⌠With rent !!!
I can not judge on the keyboard of the KeyLab 88, but the controller possibilities are really, really good (I own the KeyLab 61 MkII)
And, if you are also using the Arturia Plugins/Analag Lab you can switch between your user setup for GP and Plugin Control in Analog Lab mode quite comfortable.
Very flexible: 3 Banks of Knobs, Sliders + Buttons as mentioned above + additional button / transport controls.
BBB
Thatâs something you cannot say without trying it. I use it with the Ivory American Concert D. I donât sit in front of a soundboard, but believe me or not, thatâs the only major difference.
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i think the Studiologic SL 88 Studio has the same keybed like the keylab 88. The Studilogic SL 88 Grand has the TP40Wood.
That the reason i selected the Grand. I did not like the TP/100LR as used in the Studiologic 88 Studio.
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and you have this newâŚ
Yes thats correct, that is one of the only 88 note midi controllers that doesnt use the tp 100lr. Thats why i got the roland
Well, thatâs all completely subjective, now, isnât it? I have a trusty old Roland A-30, which is straight up synth action. I played that as my primary for a LONG time and then I got the Arturia KeyLab 88 MkI. It took quite a while for me to get used to weighted keys, but our church had a grand piano that I had the opportunity to play as well. I found the action comparable, although the MkI felt just a bit lighter. Last year I bought the KeyLab 88 MkII. It is, in my opinion, significantly improved over the MkI and the actionâto MEâfeels closer to a grand. Again, itâs taken some getting used to. But as a fully configurable workstation, I find the KeyLabs to be indispensable. However, I do suggestâas I do with any musical instrumentâthat you find one on display at a local music store and see if YOU like it. My MkI now stays in my studio for my to do midi work and recording, while both my MkII and A-30 are in my bandâs practice room and is my gig rig.
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There are similar discussion in nearly all instruments communities about the TP/100LR - some play it, some hate it. My Kurzweil Forte SE is also build on the TP/100LR. Itâs not the best keybed I can imagine, but it works and you can get used to it.
Most Kurzweil users love the TP/40L in the Standard Forte. Others hate the new Medeli Keybeds in the PC4.
You have to check and build your own opinion at the endâŚ
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I am using the LMK4+ from Doepfer - but only for rehearsals.
This fantastic - when you play Piano.
When you play Synth and Organs it is not optimal.
For Live Situations I am using S88 MKII and for me that is a good compromise of playability, weight and controller options.
All of the reputable, weighted keyboard controllers use the Fatar keyboard bed for their products. I am a life long professional pianist (55+ years) and, after auditioning several different controllers, settled on the the Arturia Keylab 88. I also want to note that Arturiaâs customer support is exceptional!! They have one of the best support teams in the industry. I have owned my Keylab for almost 2 years and itâs integration into DAWs and Gig Performer is seamless and transparent. To be fair the NI product is quite good too.
As a final observation, let me reiterate the fact that the actual keybed for most quality weighted keyboards is the same unit, manufactured by Fatar. Donât be fooled by claims made to the contrary.
I hope this helps!!
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Roland is a notable exception, using its own PHA-4 keybed in various 88-key pianos and controllers.
Definitely true that Fatar makes the keybed for a lot of todayâs controller, but there are some different flavors.
The TP/100LR in the Keylab 88 and the Studiologic SL88 Studio are the âlighterâ ones. They are physically lighter, and generally have a lighter feel than the TP/40 series of keybeds that show up in âpiano feelâ controllers like SL88 Grand.
The TP/40 series comes in a variety of âplayingâ weights, so the feel on say the SL88 (with a TP/40WOOD) can feel different than Doepfer LMK4+ (using a TP/40GH) or a Kurzweil Forte (using the TP/40L).
Itâs true most of them use Fatar keybeds, but if one wants to know if two different controllers really feel and play the same you have to look at which specific Fater keybed it uses.
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I have the Native Instruments S-88. I am very picky about the action of keyboards since I want it to respond as close to an acoustic piano as possible. This is a quality keyboard and I am satisfied with the action although I did adjust the velocity sensitivity.
Unfortunately, the NI is not good enough by itself for integration with Gig Performer. There are no faders, and not all components are accessible to Gig Performer.
I solved the problem by purchasing a Korg Nanokontrol which sits on top of the NI and supplies all the missing functionality I needed.
Iâm curious then as to why you have said elsewhere that âAgain, Cantabile is currently miles better than GigPerformerâ? What does it do that Gig Performer doesnât? Are we missing some key feature that we ought to implement sooner rather than later? We are striving for GP to be the best of course.
It was my opinion because Cantabile has background rack (in GigP 3 there was not such an issue) and automation issues on events that I was using very much. Like program changes on always loaded VST at song start, for example.
If you consider new master rack in version 4 and scripting, maybe you have same features.
But scripting means some programming skills, while Cantabile uses a classic event management with click and drag action.
I had a concert management in Cantabile that was fully matching my requirements, including audio and midi players.
Next concerts will be with GigP, in a month or two if we are going to play on stage, I will get a proper knowledge