I've been using the Arturia Keylab Mk2 for a little while now and it's... pretty good. My main complaint with it is that the black keys are actually narrower than any other board I have tried and slightly domed such that I find my fingers slip off more easily while playing fast. The build quality of the keys themselves is also a little iffy. Not terrible, but there is a bit of wiggle to them, side to side. Better than the Essentials model, for sure, but not perfect.
I just got the Novation SL Remote Mk2 and I was really hoping that this would finally be "the" board. I have heard people rave about the action so much that I assumed I would love it... And unfortunately I don't. I understand that some of these Fatar boards come in a variety of weights, even for the same model. I can now see that even though it has the TP/9 bed in there, that it is probably the weighted version of it. I can already feel the thing giving me carpel tunnel after the first day. And the aftertouch is disappointing. The build quality of the keys themselves feels overall better - the keys really feel locked in to their vertical position and don't wiggle at all. It feels sturdy, but the action is just too stiff for my liking, and I have tried all the available velocity curves and not found one that I actually like.
So at this point I'm kind of lost. I could continue to use the Keylab and be reasonably satisfied, but it kinda sucks to have to settle on something that isn't ideal. My ESQ-1 keyboard is perfect, but doesn't have aftertouch. It's also a little rickety due to age, but the actual feel of it is amazing. A more modern board with that action continues to elude me.
[link] [comments]