Midi Keyboard for Renoise

Hey Guy,

I want to invest in a proper Midi Keyboard. What i am aiming for is to play some melodies with it and to controll some other functions like effect-parameters or maybe try out renoise’s live playability with some pads. but the latter is not so important. if i feel i would really go into this live-stuff deeper i would probably trying to find another controller just for live-purposes, since my live-keyboard-skills are not existing and i probably couldn’t use this part of the controller live anyway. or can you use the keyboard to trigger patterns later(maybe with redux)? then it might be of use aswell…
So i found some good offers for used ones, in particular these both:

-Roland A-300 Pro

-M-Audio Axiom 49

Both would set me back around 130€ (used) and apparently have pretty much the same functions (knobs, pads, keyboard). What i would want to hear is maybe some Experience from you, using either of those controllers with renoise, and what you think of the compabillity. are all functions in renoise easily attached to the controllers buttons? Redux just lists the Axiom 49 in supported Controllers (and just ‘limited’), is this a problem? Do i need Redux anyway?
What would you say in terms of quality? is there a big difference between those both companies? Or would you suggest me another similar controller of another brand? i also saw akai and novation with interesting products but akai are kinda expensive and novation seems to suck with renoise and midi (automap)…

So, yeah i hope i didn’t miss on any information. if you need more let me know.

Thank You!

Most midi controllers these days will work just fine with Renoise…though I’d highly recommend getting one with weighted or semi-weighted keys, and after touch.

Personally i like my m-audio oxygen 88, except the only thing is that it doesn’t have aftertouch.

I’ll probably replace my top keyboard (for the moment a cheap yamaha) for one that does.

Got a keystudio 49 here and its works fine (have to watch out to plug in and turn on ‘before’ i run renoise)

Maybe look at the Alesis Q and QX keyboards? they seem fine, and im looking at maybe a QX61 for future usage…

I feel that 49 keys is a bit of an awkward size. If you want to properly play on it, or learn how to, 61 or even 88 keys are better. If you just want to punch in notes, 25 or 32 keys are sufficient (and less bulky). Matter of preference, though.

My 88 died and I’m using my old (faithful) keyrig 49, and it feels really claustrophobic. Even if you’re just punching in notes, the freedom to go as high or low as you want without having to wrangle with octave up and downs is worth it, if you can swing an 88 key.

If you have the space for it, and can spare the cash, 88 keys is definitely worth it imo.

dont buy controllers for renoise, buy them for the future (bitwig) :walkman:

Yeah, it’s a matter of preference, no doubt. :) I first got 49-keys controller and felt it was neither here nor there, and too bulky for just punching in notes, so I bought a 32-keys one (Axiom), which worked better for me. If I wanted to really play on it, with both hands, I’d definitely also get one with 88-keys (and then I’d consider something that’s more than just a controller, but that’s pricey!).

maybe it would be better to simply ignore you, but I HAVE TO TELL YOU: your constant renoise bashing is annoying as hell!

…even in a thread about midi-controllers you have to do this, what’s wrong with you ???

you’re right. will stay calm from now on

nektar’s budget controllers look pretty cool.
http://www.nektartech.com/Products/Impact-LX49

the keys are not weighted at all, though, they’ve got the same action as standard cheap synths, but hey, for the price they’re quite nice.

I would prefer some 49 keys controller or upwards. Really, below it makes no sense, if you want to play chords and maybe some bassline next to it. And this will happen sooner or later.
If you want lot of keys but a small size maybe look for Korg’s Microkeys or a second-hand microstation. These devices have quite a good velocity, but the keys still feel cheap, but far better than Akai.

If you want to learn/or even can playing live, please realize that all these 1337 controllers like knobs, sliders etc cannot be used while playing with two hands :) Maybe you can move faster than I can do… The best controller still is a modulation pedal. That’s why take care that the controller has the proper input connector for these pedals (not only a sustain pedal, which is just binary on/off).

Very cool seem to be Novation midi controllers since they use a bundled software called “automap” that is responsible for a two-way controller value update. I think m-Audio also has a similar software/protocol, but I am not sure about this.

I also would highly recommend you to play these devices at your local music store first. Feel the device. Do not decide on abstract features.

Also newer is not always better. Often the opposite is true. You can get very decent second-hand master keyboards for low money (and if size doesn’t matter).

I just bought one of these, my first impression is very good, it’s my first midi keyboard though so i can’t compare with much else.
Edit: i love the velocity sensitive pads, awesome for drums.
Haven’t really figured out the mappings of the sliders and stuff yet, but i haven’t opened the manual either, so yeah.

Is it possible to map the macros to midi?

I’ve got the Nektar Impact LX49, and it’s a pretty good controller. The main thing that is an absolute PITA is that there isn’t any 5pin midi out, it’s USB midi out only, so if you are going to ever use any hardware and want to use it to control it, you’ve got to do all sorts of shenanigans with MidiOx and various loopback things. That said, for the price, you can’t expect everything, and I basically just wanted a bigger controller so that I could make more “musical” lines, and it does that. I’ve also got a Novation Impulse 25, and that is also pretty good, particularly once I got rid of Automap and just mapped things manually.

I haven’t tried mapping macros to midi, so can’t offer any suggestions there.