Hi I'm new to this board & new to the game. So new I'm not even there yet.

Background:
Been a pianist for a long time, developed an interest in "electronica" over the last few years. Had a brief stint with a band where I was forced quickly to learn MIDI and Reason. I bought the M-Audio Keystation Pro88 which I've now sold because of it being too heavy.

What I want is a setup I'll be able to play live in clubs / bars / parties.

Being a pianist I've pencilled in getting the light edition which is the same 88 beautiful keys (i think) for half the weight. it just doesn't have the multitudes of knobs.

I'll run it through a laptop which'll probably be running Reason (although i'm interested in other software like Live). For a soundcard, i'm thinking of getting the E-Mu 1616. It seems quite a limited market for professional standard pcmcia/cardbus soundcards??

Now, here come my questions:
Firstly, I want another MIDI controller for rotary knobs, pad buttons & loooooads of sliders. I haven't looked at the market at all I admit, so don't have a clue as to what's out there. My wants are that it is as portable as possible and USB-powered.

Secondly, I'll need an amp & speakers for playing gigs. I don't really know what I'm looking for though? A few people I've talked to suggest going through 15" subs & tweeters? I don't have any idea.

anyway, thanks for your time,
J

Make sure you try before you buy or know the return policy when looking at keyboards. Light is great. But there is always compromises. You may hate the action.

For a midi controller with knobs I like the M-Audio axiom.

Fran recently got a keyboard amp that he likes. Lots of people on this site like the Bose system.

I second that. Always try before you buy. I went through hell looking for a portable remote keyboard to use with laptops and portable rigs. Used a Roland AX7 for a while but it didn't have knobs and had the most user unfriendly interface ever. M-Audio stuff came next and I've used Oxygen line keyboards for a while too but hated the keyboard feel. Finally had enough portability so to speak and just carried my DX7 around. no knobs, it is a MIDI imbecile but it has a good KB feel and nothing beats that.

Anyway, I needed something smaller for my office as I'm done with road life yet at the same time don't want to have to go to my basement and power everything up every time I just want to play soft synths and try out another idea in Logic.

I went to the store and checked out a whole bunch of controllers. Only one brand got my attention. CME UF series. THey seemed very well built, had usable aftertouch, lots of knobs and faders and most important of all the keys felt good. A bit stiff comparing to a DX7 but it actually felt like playing a pro keyboard and not some cheap junk. Drawbar mode worked right away with NI B4 without any extra tweaking. User templaates were easy to dial up. THe pitch and mod wheels felt just like the wheels on the DX. Anyway, it felt good, played good and so I bought a CME UF 48. Right now it is hooked up to my iMac 24 in the office and I'm a very happy camper.

-ED-



[This message has been edited by 3351 (edited 01-27-2007).]