O.k. but it’s a midi keyboard …and a synth ( you can control vst’s with any synth …just a matter of local on/off switching … )The nord modular is the best midi keyboard I’ve ever used and synth
! 
I’ll shut up now.
Yay, got my novation 25sl mkII for two days now… Feels like like I’m a captain of some kind of Star Wars spaceship…with all the lights on board… Kick ass! 
Seriously, the best MIDI controller (with keyboard) I have ever laid hands on…
My Axiom 49 is still for sale (€230). I’ve placed it on a lot of forums and until now sadly no reaction, it seems I need to start looking for people myself. 
Sold.
mine is KeyRig 49 - Easy-to-Use 49-Note USB Keyboard
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/KeyRig49.html
i cannot say it’s the best since it’s my first midi keyboard but i can say that it’s pretty good, at least i never felt it could be better
it’s cheap
I have to post a bad review on the Edirol PC[R]-## series…
I have a large paperwieght PC-50, and the keys all started to die on it at once about 3 years after I got it. Never really abused/bashed around, just sat in this room with a whole bunch of other equipment that never failed. The actual key action feels great still; same as the day I got it, but more than every second key either doesnt work at all or you have to hit it REALLY hard to get it to register. I remember I did a fair bit of research around the time I bought it in terms of spec, and unless they changed the design in the more recent batches, all the PC series have exactly the same key action, and it obviously must be pretty cruddy or else it would have started to wear out before it started to fail, and one would imagine the keys that copped the most abuse would be the first to go… Not the case however.
So yeah, steer clear of the Edirols is my advice.
EDIT: PS I’m in the market for something with 50 keys or less that DOESNT suck 
Korg Kontrol 49 here… An alternative to the MicroKontrol… Plastic casing and the knobs FEEL less stable but rest assured unless your going to be pounding the shit out of your keys its an AMAZING controler! the pads arn’t as effective as say… an MPC but your not really doing LIVE are you? overall the reviews i’ve read about this thing and my brief history with it… IT ROCKS… not AS COOL as dblues by far =(