Recommendations for controller to use in pro tools?

[tonyridino]

hey guys im about to start using Komplete 7 with my pro tools and I'm looking for a cheap keyboard controller to use the plug-ins. I don't know anything about keyboards, so any recommendations would help and where to get one. Thanks~!

[albee1952]

There's plenty of USB and MIDI keyboards around and you get what you pay for. Since I hate the feel of most of the sub-$500 controllers, I just bought an old Ensoniq Mirage keyboard/sampler. I just leave a disk in the floppy drive and use it as a plain controller(I don't need lots of knobs and buttons for my work). It cost me a whole $50 plus tax. You need to start your search by deciding what functions you need. How many keys? Do you need transport buttons? do you need lots of parameter control on the keyboard itself?

[aka21stCentury]

Depends: do you want to just play a chord and arrpegiate it to MIDI beat clock, or really play, not just program?

Fatar (made in Italy) New Hammerfall is a good choice. EMU first started using Fatar keyboards in the E-IV emulator. They bought Alesis... so I would not be surprised if this is not the same semi-weighted action Albee mentions. But this is the first generation Fatar action. They have improved. Possibly, I don't know, M-Audio AXIOM PRO (note Pro) might have a decent action as well. It has been improved over the old Axiom.

If you are using XP then you could find a new Axiom $125... Best Buy was blowing the old stock out. Don't know about the action...or drum triggers.

Akai (PRO?) is no longer owned by Akai but Numark and is no longer using Roger Linn's brilliant drum trigger. So don't expect a piezo stuck in with a broken cue tip and superglue to replicate his unique trigger... this type of stuff really tee's me off... however look at their reduced pricing?

Hammond (the new portable units are using Italian hammerfal action) and Hammond Players know best (real hammond B-3s have 9 gold wires that make contact all at slightly different times as the key goes down causing the infamous and highly desired 'key click'.

If you can trill (third finger and thumb) on one key like Jimmy Smith, Brother Jack McDuff, 'Blind' Eddie Bacchus... then the keyboard has decent action IMO. I hate that other garbage, don't care for weighted actions either.

DX-7, Yamaha dragged in a bunch of violin players and tested latency. They increased it to 9 ms for a note on to sound... to save money on a chip. Likewise they cut out MIDI Mode 4 protocol to save money.

You decide. Some keyboards are so frustrating for drum programming it really isn't possible without quantizing it to death.

When you installed Komplete did you install the VSTi versions also? Can you look in C: Program Files

tell us what the path is exactly where the VSTi's installed?

C: \Program Files\Common Files\Steinberg\ ????? ---> finish this path please.

For example: below is the correct path for Pro Tools RTAS plugins

---> C:\Program Files\Common Files\Digidesign\DAE\Plug-Ins\

Gracias.

(Only the Axiom Pro for W-7 64bit, not the older one)