Midi Controller vs. the Korg M50 - Do I need something less bulky?

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danconnolly
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Midi Controller vs. the Korg M50 - Do I need something less bulky?

Post by danconnolly » Mon Nov 22, 2021 5:39 am

Hey guys,

I'm new to creating production music and I'm wondering about the Midi controller thing. I have an old Korg M50 which is great but it's definitely a dated synth at this point. Anyone getting forwards using one??? Just wondering about getting a Midi Controller and things like capability, cost, number of octaves, etc. Is there a key issue I should focus on when looking at them? Any feedback welcome.

Thanks
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Re: Midi Controller vs. the Korg M50 - Do I need something less bulky?

Post by Ted » Mon Nov 22, 2021 8:53 pm

I'm not familiar with the Korg keyboard, but I have an old Roland XP-80 "arranger workstation" that I used to use a long time ago--probably similar in function. It was a great piece of gear when it came out but I haven't touched the thing in ages. Maybe I should dust it off for the heck of it.

I had thought about using that Roland as a MIDI Controller with my DAW, but it was pre-USB and has the old MIDI connection only. I did buy a converter cable, but never ended up using it. I found that I could use my Yamaha Digital piano as a MIDI controller so that's what I used for a while-- I later bought a cheapo 49 key M-Audio MIDI controller that was more portable.

At this point in time, I think using a MIDI controller to play soft synths in a DAW or standalone is the way to go. You can get a decent MIDI controller for not a lot of money and some nice sounds for free or cheap-- and you can end up spending a lot on soft synths as you go (I'm starting to fall into this category).

Last year I bought a super nice Native Instruments S-61 MIDI controller and it was pricey but nice-- though I didn't end up using a lot of the extra features. This year I decided that 61 keys were not enough, so I bought a cheaper Arturia Keylab 88 Essential MIDI controller with 88 keys to use sometimes, but I like it a lot and it's taken the place of my more expensive S-61 which is now gathering a bit of dust.

https://www.arturia.com/products/hybrid ... 8/overview

(the price is $429 but a lot of online suppliers carry them for about $379)

Before last year I'd only used the free sounds in my DAW (Logic X), but over the past year and a half I've bought a lot of software synths (and sample libraries) from companies like Native Instruments, IK Multimedia, and Arturia, etc-- and I find these sounds really inspiring and conducive to my creativity and they make me want to plug in and play and write and record.

I'd say maybe use the Korg as a USB Midi Controller for a while if you can and try out some software synths/libraries. Then maybe buy a dedicated MIDI controller keyboard if you can later.

Things to consider are weighted vs semi-weighted keys. My old Yamaha digital piano has fully weighted keys like a piano so it was a nice option for playing piano parts-- but not the best for synth parts. I was using "synth action" MIDI Controllers for a while and they worked for me fine-- but my Arturia is "semi-weighted" so it's somewhere between a piano and synth action and I find it kind of the "best of both" to have in one instrument.

For me, the biggest thing ultimately was number of keys-- and I got tired of switching up and down in octaves when trying to play piano parts so I ended up with 88 keys-- I sometimes wish I hadn't bought the expensive 61 key controller but just would have plunked down more for the nicer 88 key model from the start. Also if you use libraries with keyswitches, and mapped drum instruments on a keyboard, it's nice to just have the 88 keys so everything is where it should be and is easier to navigate and use in my own opinion.

Of course an 88 key controller is not very portable either. So if I had to advise myself starting over, I'd buy the nicest 88 key controller I could for my studio and then a cheapo 49 key synth action controller just to have something I could travel with if needed-- I also have a tiny M-Audio Keystation Mini 32 key board which weighs almost nothing and uses a mini USB and fits into a backpack of whatever-- it's nice to have something like that too.

As far as selecting a MIDI controller, a big value factor for me is "does it come with any bundled software and how good is it?" Part of the reason I bought the Native Instruments MIDI controller was to get some of the bundled Komplete software-- so that was part of its value. When I bought the Arturia, one of the things that made it stand out to me was that it came bundled with Analog Lab V which really appealed to me.

https://www.arturia.com/products/analog ... v/overview

I ended up liking Analog Lab V so much that I bought the Arturia V Collection 8 when I found a half-price deal on it and I am competely overwhelmed by how awesome it is. I just got a deal on their Pigments software synth and have been playing around with it and it sounds so great.

My Arturia Keylab 88 Essential I got for about $370 and the software it came with, I would have spent $200 on anyway, so to me it felt like a steal-- like I was getting the board for about $170. This board is more of an entry level board compared to their more expensive MK2 but the quality and aesthetics of it exceeded my expectations and surprised me-- and I really love it. My Native Instruments S-61 has a premium Fatar keybed which can't really be beat-- but the semi-weighted keys on the Keylab Essential feel pretty good to me. It has a lot of assignable faders and knobs-- I personally don't use them much-- and I guess this one of area of the keyboard that feels slightly cheap-- the feel of the knobs and faders compared to the higher end models-- but it's not a very big deal to me.

The one negative about this particular board was reviews saying there was a velocity difference between black and while keys-- that almost put me off buying it. And sure enough when I bought the board and first plugged in, there was an odd subtle difference in loudness between black and white keys. However, I immediately did a firmware update that corrected the issue completely.

Sorry for writing such a long reply which pretty much ended up being a review of my new MIDI controller-- I'd been planning on writing a review of it anyway. But maybe it will give you some help in looking around at different MIDI controllers and you'll find something that works for your studio needs.

Cheers,

Ted

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Re: Midi Controller vs. the Korg M50 - Do I need something less bulky?

Post by Telefunkin » Tue Nov 23, 2021 2:15 am

IMHO you don't 'need' another keyboard. You have midi out, so you can already do the most important thing that any keyboard controller can do, which is to act as a 'dumb' keyboard to trigger all the soft synths/VTSs that you care to buy. You also have the option of still using the internal sounds if you really want to, plus a self-contained unit that you can take out and play.

Its the sounds you choose and the way you use them (plus compositional and production skills) that will get you the forwards. The extra knobs and pads on a controller might help with controlling certain features in some sound sources and could also provide additional ways of controlling some DAW features, but none of that is vital and you might also be able to find a software driver that allows your Korg to do some of those things anyway if you're convinced that you really them. Basically though, I wouldn't stress about buying a controller unless you're desperate for the Korg to go. I'd wait until you know what you really want.
Graham (UK). Still composing a little faster than decomposing, and 100% HI.

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Re: Midi Controller vs. the Korg M50 - Do I need something less bulky?

Post by cosmicdolphin » Tue Nov 23, 2021 8:03 am

danconnolly wrote:
Mon Nov 22, 2021 5:39 am
I have an old Korg M50 which is great but it's definitely a dated synth at this point. Anyone getting forwards using one???
As Graham alluded to it's not the synth that will factor heavily into whether or not you will get forwards. LIke Ted mentions a dedicated midi controllers can integrate better with your DAW or certain VSTi's if that's your thing, some of them integrate quite deeply. The sounds from it are proabably not worth using, but the keyboard itself looks like it will serve you well.

Mark

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Re: Midi Controller vs. the Korg M50 - Do I need something less bulky?

Post by danconnolly » Fri Nov 26, 2021 4:46 pm

Having the extended keyboard is a great benefit and I'm familiar with its set up at this point. The gear itself is fine but I just wasn't sure how people operate these days. haha! It sounds like the Korg should be fine for where things are currently.

Thanks all for the feedback.
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