Topic: 61 or 49

Ok, so i'm planning on getting a midicontroller with keys. I already cut it down to two models: the Akai mpk49 and mpk61, which only differ (besides 4 drumpads) in the number of keys.

I'm no piano player, but i do want to follow some lessons in the near future. So besides messin' about with softsynths i would also like to use it for practice.

Do you guys think 49 keys is too few? Or will this do for basic synth action?

Heil CBS

Re: 61 or 49

49 keys is perfectly sufficient in my opinion. I actually use only 37 keys wink

It's perfectly fine for producing, but it can be a bit annoying though if you e.g. play the bass with the left hand and a melody with the right for jamming around. But for that case, you can simply split the keyboard (if the AKAI supports it, which I assume, but don't know for sure), map it to two sounds (or twice the same sound) but different octaves. I sometimes have to do that, but remember, I have one octave less. The reason why I chose it was because I wanted to save space and be able to carry it easily around when going to a live gig.

Re: 61 or 49

Thx zeha.. the 49 key doesn't support key split.. the new 61 key version does.. hmmm

Heil CBS

Re: 61 or 49

Check they've got dedicated octave switch buttons, you'll use them all the time on a 49 note keyboard.

Re: 61 or 49

61.
Actually, I can't live without 88 weighted keys... crappy me and the 8 years of piano lessons tongue

a.

Re: 61 or 49

Thx for the tips guys!

Heil CBS