49 Keys MIDI 'board

[bharatbash]

Hello All !

After incessantly laying my hands on a not-so-portable DP, I have finally given it a good thought to get me at least a 49 keys MIDI controller/keyboard.

I anticipate some serious and experienced advice from my friends here at Keyboard Forums, since I being a complete noob.

Things I Need :

1) 'Decent' keybed/Feel of keys : I know can't expect much BUT I would play something which has horrible touch.

2) Portability : Something that doesn't have much weight/size to it.

I would most certainly be hooking that up with a Windows PC, so the ease of playing also is an important factor.

Budget : Not more than 200$

Kindly Suggest !

P. S. - I don't need no fancy knobs/pads/patches - Its just the keys and me !

Thanks

 

[happyrat1]

I used to own an M-Audio Oxygen 49 for my upstairs laptop but it crapped out on me a few months ago. I hated the cheapo keys on it.

I've since replaced it with an Alesis QX49 and I have to say it's pretty decent. Nice, semi weighted keys, real MIDI as well as USB ports and the price is way under budget.

Musician's Friend has it on sale today for $99.00

$169 below list.

http://www.alesis.com/qx49

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/keyboards-midi/alesis-qx49-midi-controller

It goes on sale often as that's close to what I paid for mine. I actually paid about $30 more.

I'd say it's the best you'll find for the most reasonable price out of all the controllers unless you wanna shell out $300 for an Akai MPK49.

Gary

 

[happyrat1]

Here's a youtube about it.

Gary

 

[bharatbash]

Thanks for the time and thoughts Gary !

Isn't the Alesis Q49 a watered down version of the QX49 ?

I think I could better get with the previous as it suits my fit. Not sure if they share the same key response though !

Also, how easy is it when it comes to 'plug-and-play' with Alesis ?

Thanks !

 

[happyrat1]

I don't really know much about the Q49 but in my case the price difference was so minimal that I splurged on the QX instead.

Also the QX has some nice features that I don't think the Q has. Real MIDI output capability for hooking up modules. Assignable sliders, I assigned one to volume in my setup. 7 Velocity curves. General MIDI patch selection from dedicated buttons. Pitch and Mod wheels. Brilliantly bright OLED display and it powers just fine from an ordinary laptop running on battery so it's not a power hog unless you want to run the MIDI port without a computer then you have to use the optional power adapter.

As for plug and play? I run it with Linux so it's Class Compliant USB MIDI. Windows loads drivers automatically. I didn't bother loading the Windows software because I run Linux, but it ships with Abelton Lite and supposedly it supports the automappiing control features of all the top latest DAWs.

I looked high and low when I had to replace my lousy Oxygen and this one was the best bang for the buck.

Gary

 

[anotherscott]

Samson Graphite has above average action, and it has aftertouch, too.