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TokerCoughin wrote:Thanks for your input man, Much appreciated.
I'll definitely stay with logic, and i'll look into everything BUT m-audio products.

Another concern is, I heard the Akai units are good, save for their lack of playability on the drum pads , anybody have some insight on that ?

Oi! I've got a shitload of M-Audio products and they are great! I've had my M-Audio Oxygen v2 MIDI keyboard FARKING YEARS and it works just as well as the day I bought it. I also have a M-Audio PCI ASIO soundcard that works great. I don't know why people in this thread are bashing them, I love M-Audio stuff

TBH I'm actually kind of leaning toward the M-audio Axiom series, that or, Mpk25 from Akai. However, I've read up alot about the drum pads that people fix, due to their lack of easy playability.

Seeing as I've never used a midi controller before, and don't REALLY have access to try any in person, Where Should I start ?

Well a MIDI controller, as you probably know, is simply a way of controlling parameters in your DAW via MIDI signals sent from the unit. It just needs to have as many knobs and buttons to assign as possible so you can get the most out of it. It also depends on how you like to play - for example how important are drum pads to you? Are knobs more important if you want to assign them as LFO cutoffs? Maybe you want more sliders so you can change volumes of stuff or perhaps change a linear parameter?

I would put down in your head or on paper the specs youre looking for in a keyboard, and select a few that most closely match your needs. All the makes you have mentioned are well known, good brands so quality won't be a problem. Personally I can vouch for M-Audio MIDI keyboards, they feel great to play and work with most DAWs right out of the box. Some people really value the drum pads on the AKAI though, personally i'm not bothered too much with the pads because I rarely play the drums with my fingers, and if I do I can assign them to the keys anyway.

Got the M-Audio Oxygen25, lets see how this treats me And im trying to map everything out on logic and get a hang of this Anybody have any useful documentation specifically for settings on plugs / where to get the plugs ? also, perhaps some oxygen 25 specific logic tips / resources. Thanks all

Toker

Just tried out the also mpk49 today at GC.
that was the only thing I didn't really like. It's hard to tell if you actually pressed a pad or not because of their stiffness. Other than that it was one of the best ones I tried.

TokerCoughin wrote:Hey all! I've been getting progressively more and more into dubstep, and all around bass-heavy music, and I finally am ready to gear-up myself, and begin to create my own tracks.

My question for you is : Where do I begin ?

I've got a Macbook Pro, I've got a nice set of headphones, and I've got garageband + Logic Pro, and I've got a VERY basic turntable all-in-one, a Vestax Typhoon.
I am now looking into a midi keyboard controller, and was wondering what you guys recommend, seeing as I'll be using Mac-based DAW's, and that I'm also a beginner.

I live in Canada, So if you could help me pick out a controller preferably under $250.00, that would be ideal(also, I likely do not need anything beyond 25 keys, and the more compact / lightweight, the better. ) Note that I also have very limited experience with keyboards, as I'm primarily a guitarist.

Thanks in advance guys,
any input would be greatly appreciated.

Toker.

learn the basics

I had an axiom and it went out on me. I posted a thread about it here and alot of People hadthe same problems. It was a 2nd gen though I believe. I had an akai mpk49 now. It's all great. The pads though, they are playable, only on full level though (a button on the mpk) which makes hit at the hardest value. You can't really tap a drum beat on them without full level. You have to hit them pretty hard, which kind of sucks. But the mpk makes up for it with it's nice knobs and faders. Nice pitch bend and mod wheel. The keys don't feel as nice as the axioms. But they are vey playable and nice. And they also have after touch which is a nice feature. Mpk is cheaper than axiom I believe.

Why would a Mac running Logic be better than a PC running cubase/fruity/nuendo? I personally use a mac with logic, but that doesn't really make sense, surely its down to who's using it?

charliefoy wrote:Why would a Mac running Logic be better than a PC running cubase/fruity/nuendo? I personally use a mac with logic, but that doesn't really make sense, surely its down to who's using it?

true. doesn't matter what daw you are using as long as you know what you are going to be doing