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Posted 20 hours ago

Studiologic SL88 Studio

£9.9£99Clearance
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In terms of getting good dynamics and therefore emotion out of your sample libraries, I easily had great success with this keyboard. It was one of those moments when you wanted to keep playing, as you were getting so much more life out of the sounds than previously. The keyboard is not, strictly speaking, a piano-like action. It certainly is weighted, going beyond the usually euphemistic sense of “semi-weighted” to what this term shouldmean. Like the VAX-77, the feel is in the sort of “expensive weighted synth” territory of classics like the Rhodes Chroma and Yamaha CS-80; which is to say, substantial and extremely expressive. An optional triple pedal unit supports una corda (soft), true sostenuto, and half-damper sustain behavior, and is hefty enough that your foot won’t be chasing it around the floor. The assignable controls start with eight rotary knobs and eight buttons. These controls take the Hammer 88 Pro from being just a great piano controller to delivering a hands-on workflow for synths, orchestral patches, etc.

Overall, if you're someone that can play the piano and is looking for a professional grade master midi controller that feels like a real piano, this is a very, very good choice. And even if you can't play the piano but enjoy how a real piano's keybed feels, this controller will satisfy that itch. A huge bonus is Thomann's absolutely amazing customer service and prompt delivery. I'll definitely be buying more stuff from here.

A Superb 88-key Controller from Studiologic

One important note for people that buy this keyboard - in some DAWs, you might notice that when you record midi often times when a key is hit, two notes will be recorded, with the first one being the shortest midi note possible, followed by the actual intended note. This happens when you have multiple zones enabled in your controller. When you turn off all unnecessary zones the double note problem is resolved. It's a quality construction and the action is more than adequate for any use. I'm using it now exclusively and haven't felt the need to switch to my stage piano to improve piano part performances.

The S88 is built around a premium Fatar keyboard with aftertouch. Fatar keyboards have an outstanding reputation, especially at this high end, with weighted hammer-action keys. The SL Studio features the Latest hammer action keybed technology from industry leaders FATAR.The result is a touch that's lighter than most which makes it really easy and fun to play. What happened was that I got this one instead so I tried it out and then of course I had to buy it instead of getting the Studio version. The SL88 Studio looks more like a stage piano than a typical MIDI controller, and that’s no coincidence. It has a sleek yet incredibly robust body, making it an ideal keyboard controller for gigging. Korg D1 4.5The center console has an elegant 320x240px TFT color display, and the control knob is actually a multi-position selector and Enter key when depressed. The SL88 has memory for 250 Programs, and each program has four programmable zones for splits and layers of your instruments. As you can see from the image below of one zone, you can easily set bank select messages (along with program changes and MIDI channel) for each zone. Such a simple little detail that is overlooked in so many controller keyboards today, yet it is essential for sending program change messages to MIDI gear containing multiple banks of sounds. With its compact profile, the SL88 STUDIO is an extremely portable professional controller. Thanks to a perfect integration with the TP/100LR keyboard, it weighs less then 14 kilograms. The SL88 STUDIO is studio and stage ready with a rugged full metal casing. Sculptured endcaps made of a highly resistant synthetic material help shield the premium TP40 wood keybed perfectly and provide a safe grip when handling and transporting. I had to upgrade from the terrible Arturia Keylab88 since the action on it was horrendous. The SL88 Grand is quite heavy all around but I don’t mind since it sits at the center of my music production studio. Taking inspiration from some of the non-weighted M-Audio controllers, this model comes with 16 velocity-sensitive pads. The Hammer 88 Pro is also one of the few weighted controllers with fantastic aftertouch. It also features a built-in arpeggiator and new modes like Smart Scale/Chord. Okay, I am not a serious piano player, but I have had an opportunity to play Steinways and high-end Yamahas. I wanted to replace my small midi controller with something that I could use to trigger various VST's that would help me avoid inadvertant triggers caused by my heavy-handed clumsiness. This keyboard is my solution. The action is much firmer than the typical plastic, spring-action keyboards and certainly cannot be mistaken for a cheap toy. I use it only in my home studio, as I no longer do anything on stage (that was only from the 60's through the 80's). We used to lug a Hammond B3 organ with a Leslie speaker to gigs, and while this is much less awkward, it is still heavy enough that I wouldn't want to drag it around.

For all its complexity under the hood, the user interface is relatively simple and focused on playing dynamics. Via two front-panel knobs, the curve is continuously variable, and can be skewed to favor the bass, middle, or treble range. Then, the Dynamics knob acts as a sort of “compressor” relating finger velocity to sensed velocity. This may not seem as granular as a key-by-key software editor, but musically, it gets results as good and arguably more fluidly. Pitch and mod wheels are on hand, as is one assignable pot. Zoning for splits or layers? You’ll want to handle that on the receiving end. It may sport a fully weighted 88-note keyboard, but the Studiologic SL88 Studio is delightfully portable. Thanks to its lightweight Fatar TP/100LR action, it weighs in under 31 pounds - which is very much appreciated by gigging Sweetwater keyboardists. The SL88 Studio is also thoroughly professional caliber and built like a tank with a rugged all-metal casing and impact-resistant synthetic endcaps that protect the keybed and provide a sure grip when transporting. Velocity Curves: 3 default velocity curves + fixed curve with programmable value, 6 editable user velocity curves The middle points, or what the trade offs were that allowed SL to get this very nice piece of gear to you at this price.Still, not everything is bad. You can set sensitivity of the keys, there's aftertouch, it's cheap, the build is not bad apart from being a bit noisey, and nothing broke so far. Or did it? I've got a problem with double midi notes being sent, that I could only solve by switching off one of the triple sensortechnology...

It may sport a fully weighted 88-note keyboard, but the Studiologic SL88 Grand is quite portable, weighing in under 46 pounds - which is very much appreciated by gigging Sweetwater keyboardists. The SL88 Grand is also thoroughly professional caliber and built like a tank with a rugged all-metal casing and impact-resistant synthetic endcaps that protect the keybed and provide a sure grip when transporting. TFT color display for total access From the controller itself, we could select different velocity curves, name/save our patches, and assign them to different named groups, but some of these tasks, plus others, were more easily configured via the accompanying software editor. First a big round of applause for anyone who can ship this amount of functional gear at this price point.

Setting the keyboard up is really easy with their PC/MAC software abit basic but good enough for my needs. For the purposes I wanted the keyboard it is perfect - in fact way better than I expected for the price. The S88 features multiple smart modes that allow you to play arpeggios, complex chords, and progressions from a single key. You can also highlight specific scales and modes using the built-in light guide. The Komplete Kontrol S88 Mk2 is the flagship model from Native Instruments’ premium smart controller range. It may sport a fully weighted 88-note keyboard, but the Studiologic SL88 Studio is delightfully portable. Thanks to its lightweight Fatar TP/100LR action, it weighs in under 31 pounds – which is very much appreciated by Millionhead keyboardists. The SL88 Studio is also thoroughly professional caliber and built like a tank with a rugged all-metal casing and impact-resistant synthetic endcaps that protect the keybed and provide a sure grip when transporting.

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