It's an MIDI controller the sound is only as good as what you plug it into.

It has two MIDI out ports and has pitch bend and modulation wheels... It didn't include much, but the manual does have a list of the MIDI instruments and their standard numbers that I find useful. The keys feel pretty solid however. Nice feel to them.

I'm giving it a six. The first one I bought quit after a few days, but my second one seems to be working very well. Though I find myself being extra careful with it. (Ie. Making absolutely sure I do not try to turn it on when the power plug is not in it.) Other then my paranoia from my experience with my first one it seems rather solidly built. There is one issue that I'm not sure if it's the controller or my software. I think it's my software, and that is that GarageBand ('05) won't layer two different instruments at the same time.

Is a good value. But the Alesis QS8.2 Synth workstation looks like it has most of the same features plus a built in sound library and better interface for 2x the price of this one. But considering it's rather basic interface I can't quite say this MIDI controller is a great value.

I've never need to use support directly.

It's a practical addition to my setup. But the keys do look rather nice. They look more like piano keys then the little slabs of plastic I've seen on cheap keyboards that are about half the price of this MIDI controller. I would prefer it to be white and silver to match my Mac mini better but other then that it's fine.

Hobbyist probably. Attempting to work towards my goal of operating a music recording studio.

Rock, Jazz, a little country, New Age, mostly my own compositions and style.

It doesn't make sounds

Pretty poor features

Pretty easy before it completely stops working

A total piece of crap

Good price, but for something that stopped working after 3 or 4 months

Noin existent...the 90 day warranty covers the life of the instrument. It lasted about 90 days

Looks good, but is no good

Engineer, Musician, Songwriter, Producer

Eclectic/Singer/Songwriter

N/A

It's a keyboard controller with minimal features for integration with your MIDI environment. Awkward to use with a sequencer. The user interface is antequated: 7 buttons and 14 red (off/on) lights. It required to many button presses to make any changes. There is no display of what your current settings are: patch, transposition, keyboard mapping etc. No MIDI Thru. Supports Channel After Touch. Pitch and Modulation wheels have a nice feel to them

I've owned two. Within several weeks, the electronics failed on both. On both, the control buttons stopped working completely. On one, the MIDI NOTE ON messages sent were incorrect when playing a repeated notes at high velocity e.g., I would play 6 notes but only 4 would be sent. I used MIDI-OX to confirm this.

Due to lack of reliable of the electronics, this product is not worth buying at any price.

I was unable to reach them. The only support appears to be from the reseller.

As I've said above, the keyboard has a great piano-like feel but the user interface is antequated and unreliable: like something out of an old SciFi movie---not even an LCD.

Hobbyist

Jazz, Classical, Ethnic

It has no internal sounds, but has a good piano feel. Not spongy like cheap controllers.

Very spartan as far as controls and user interface. Does not have control parameters to access features in softsynths. But as far as a straight controller, has enough features like splits and zones to be useful.

Setting parameters is not intuitive, you must scroll through many up and down buttons, and it has a simple LED interface. Once set up, all you have to do is play it.

In general it is a well built unit. There is one common problem, the power on reset does not work well on some units, IE you have to turn it on a few times before you can play it. However, there is a simple fix, listed on the web, I performed it on mine and not had the problem since. I did have one key that did not sound (velocity=0), but again fixed it. Mind you, this is a 4 year old keyboard, the new ones probably fixed these issues.

At the current price, under 400, I would buy it.

I have not contacted them yet

It is not the sexiest and flashiest piece of gear. But if you want a good piano feel and response for under $500, this would be a good choice. I would not recommend it for heavy gigging, but nice for a studio or living room.

Desktop Musician

Old time Folk and Light Rock

n/a

One of the worst most mickey mouse interfaces I have ever seen.

This unit broke down after 2 mos. of use. The velocity sensing stopped working properly. It is heavy, virtually impossible to move without help or a wheelbarrow!!

Horrible, practically non-existant. They expected me to ship or tote this heavy unit to their only repair facility near San Francisco, San Jose!!

not too many features

the key action is simply beautiful!! I dont think it could be any better.. they are fully weighted and play JUST like the real thing

I rated this a 5 because i can't get the midi to work in my cubase.. plus this thing has no sounds.. but IT FEELS AWSOME 10+++ for the realism of it..

not too many features for the cost.. has 4 zones, etc.. it doesnt come with any drivers.. and it has no USB out

Seems sturdy to me, plastic but sturdy.

could be cheaper.. maybe if i get a chance to use the thing i'll feel better about spending 600 for it

I would like to use support if there was a NUMBER IN THE MANUAL.. the manual is in like 5 different languages.. including english.. but there's no number that i found anyways maybe ill look harder.

I wanted a realistic feeling midi controller.. this is the best feeling keyboard i've felt so far... as far as sex appeal goes.. i give it a 5 because it doesnt even have a digi display.. just a bunch of LEDs that light up