I'm on the look out for a midi controller keyboard to trigger some soft synths.
Does anyone know if there is a good control keyboard out there which has not only 61 or more keys, BUT that also has a bunch of midi knobs or/and sliders that I can assign to different parameters on my soft synths?

Maybe I should've made the title of this thread, "What's the best midi controller keyboard?". But hang on! -there's just one thing. I'm wondering... do I even NEED a midi control keyboard in the first place!

Now that I think of it... most of the pro midi control keyboards are quite expensive and so far, I've not seen any with the features I've mentioned. WHY NOT SIMPLY USE THE MONEY TO BUY A CHEAP SYNTH INSTEAD???

-one that would have full midi functionality, a few knobs to tweak and so on. As far as I can make out that would do everything that I would want from my *dream" midi controller AND, as a bonus, it could also double up as a cool synth in its' own right.

Am I right here, or have I missed something?

The best MIDI controllers are ONLY available from DOEPHLER . All the rest are either cheaply made or have none of the features you mentioned . The DOEPHLER gear is modeled after the controlers that KRAFTWERK have built . It's doen't even matter if you are a KRAFTWERK fan , the fact is that they were using computer control and controlers long before MIDI and long before the rest of the world even knew how to turn on an APPLE or ATARI computer . Check out the website for DOEPHLER , you will find what you need and want .

Flippin' heck!!! You weren't kidding!

That thing's the bloody Hulk Hogan of the midi control keyboard world!!! I'm getting shivers up my spine just looking at it!

-shame about the price though.

http://www.doepfer.de/lmk_e.htm

Infact, forget about the midi control keyboards! Have you seen the synths these guys make!!!????
http://www.vintagesynth.org/misc/a100.shtml

Totally RIDICULOUS!!!!!!

I told ya ! DOEPHLER is no joke . The prices are high , but , you get COMPLETE versitility . They make awesome equipment .

The name is DOEPFER

you said doepfler twice

The Doepfer A-100 system is nice, but the prices are insane. Same with the Technosaurus Selector.

Even the smaller pre-configured A-100s are expensive as hell for what they can do. The nice thing is, once you get started on a system, you can keep expanding it forever.

-tek

I don't know why I keep putting the L in .

Actually, in the world of Analog Modular synths, the Doepfers are pretty affordable, actually on the low end of the cost scale. Check out www.wiard.com and www.synthtech.com - another affordable and quality modular is www.synthesizers.com. In the doepfer form factor, there's also www.analoguesolutions.com and www.analoguesystems.com ... but anyways, back to MIDI controllers... :-)

No. They're pretty damn expensive.

-tek