which midi controller keyboard?

[kingnimrod]

I have a mac G4 and will be using Logic or Cubase (haven't decided yet), plus Reason and may fiddle a bit with Live as well. I am looking for a good midi controller keyboard that will drive these applications as well as trigger an outboard synth module (darkstar xp2).

Here is what I am looking at:

M-Audio Ozone - I like the fact that it has the built-in USB audio interface, but it seems somewhat limited in size and I am not sure about quality. I have seen some negative reviews of the Oxygen over at harmony central, which makes me wonder about the Ozone. The guys at a local pro audio shop highly recommended it, though, but I'm not sure if that's because it was the most expensive option they had in stock.

Edirol PCR-50 - Nice that it has 49 keys, plus faders and buttons in addition to knobs. Not sure how it stacks up feature-wise to the Ozone in practice though. The Ozone keyboard felt slightly better than the Edirol to me. Also, the Edirol doesn't have aftertouch.

Novation Remote - I have only seen pictures of this online, and it seems to have an impressive array of features, tons of knobs, buttons, etc - but it's more expensive than the Ozone and has no audio interface.

I know all of these are plastic, and I won't be gigging - purely desktop studio stuff. I am looking for the best combo of features and price. Anyone had experiences they'd like to share? I don't want to end up with junk.

thanks

[ottokbre]

last time i saw Styrofoam (touring w/ The Notwist), he was using Live with the new Novation Remote 25. i am a Live user (iBook), and i've heard great comments from others about how well the Remote 25 integrates with Live.
I myself will likley just go with a Dofpner pocket dial, because i just need knobs. But if you are using soft-synths, like Absynth, the Remote 25 seems ideal. I'm not a Reason user, so I can't offer up much advise there.

If you are going to be using a lot of keys tho, I would look at something more substancial. Like a weighted midi-keyboard.

[xonlocust]

i have an oxygen 8 and a darkstar that i use together and play live. when i first got it, i plugged it in via usb w/reason and it was pretty slick. i was pretty impressed. that said - i don't really know jack about current keyboards and stuff over that, so there could well be something better out there. the 2 octave size is perfect for what i need it for, and it fit nicely in front of my computer when i was doing that stuff. i've got no reason to think it sucks, other than naivete.

[alienate]

i have an oxygen8 with reason also, and i've found good and bad.. it integrates with reason with barely more than plug and play, the wheels are automatically mapped, as are 4 of the knobs and the volume slide, and it's quite easy to get lower or higher registers (though you obviously can't play them at the same time).. i can't for the life of me get the other 4 knobs to map to the software.. could be a personal flaw.. also i've run into problems with the o2.8 unmounting.. no other fix than to restart.. this could be osx, or the o2.8.. don't know.. (the only variable i haven't tried is using the dedicated power block, i moved studios recently and it's still hidden somewhere. i've been using the usb bus power and the unmounting might be due to this)

that said, i do love how easy it syncs with reason, the usb interface and how small it is; i can put it right in front of my keyboard when i need it, it also fits in my laptop bag, so i can throw my ibook and the o2.8 in my bag on trips and poof, i can get work done wherever..

i know you're not looking at the oxygen 8, but you did mention the ozone, and one might liken the same company's products to have similar pros and cons.. or one might not..