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hi, i am happy with my soft synth setup and am looking for a digital piano which simply feels like a piano, to plug into my computer? is there something like this about? i do not really want to pay for loads of sample banks etc, maybe a few different piano settings but i will rarely play from the pianos sound output as i have a good SC and some studio monitor speakers. i am getting a little frustrated at not being able to play my keyboard as well as i can play a piano so i am looking at digital's. from what i can gather hammer action weighted keys are the best for feeling like a 'real' piano? are there any pure controller-only digital pianos about?

many thanks

mike

Studiologic by Fatar. I swore by mine for years. When I replaced it recently (after it was stolen), I decided to go with a fully contained digital, and while I like it (particularly the convenience of not having to set up the module), the action is a wee bit sluggish compared to the Studiologic.

I'm not crazy about the Fatar action, but you really don't have a lot of choices these days in terms of dedicated MIDI controllers. You might want to consider a used Roland A90.

I have no first hand experience in this area,
but I have a catalog that appears to
list at least 4 pure contoller-type
hammer action keyboards, that is,
relatively inexpensive "silent" keyboards
that you must connect to a computer or
other sound generating device in order
to play--these seem to be specifically
made for people who don't
own a digital piano with weighted keys
and just want a good weighted keyboard
to connect to their computer. The four
are: Studiologic SL-880 Pro (~400.00),
Studiologic SL-990 Pro (~450.00),
M-Audio Keystation Pro 88es (~250.00),
and M-Audio Keystation Pro 88 (~500.00).

Apparently, the M-Audio Keystation 88es doesn't
have fully weighted keys, hence the lower price, so
only the SL-880 and 990 and the Pro 88 would
feel like an acoustic piano keyboard.

Studiologic = Fatar action.

RE: M-Audio Pro88, I played five notes on it and found the action to be very strange. Action on weighted controllers is something that seems highly contested according to personal tastes, so I'll just leave it at that.

The A90 I ran across years ago, I was happy with the way it felt. Much better than the first generation Fatar controller I had (which was quite cute, very narrow and contained in its own hard case -- in other words, remove the hard cover, and it was good to go). Perhaps that's why I liked the Studiologic, because it was a vast improvement over the old Fatar.

If I came across an old Fatar today, I might just buy it for nostalgia sake.

M-Audio ProStation 88 has to be the best action I've ever played, exclusive of real grands. Of course, I took the one I played, since it seems actions are variable between models--I couldn't stand the Yamaha or Korg keyboards--the M-Audio was the only one that felt like a grand.

Timothy