Studiologic SL73 Studio

Nice, rock solid metal case (only sides are plastic).

Keep in mind that keys on SL73 Studio feels heavier than keys of classical piano, the action is viscous and if you want a faster and "lighter" keys it would be better to consider picking the SL73 Grand edition (or SL88). Otherwise, you will get a muscle training station :) I got used to it after tweaking the velocity curve, but obviously, the physical key return is still slow so it's not the best keyboard for the fast rhythmical same-key patterns.

What's good about the keys – their range of sensitivity is wide, I barely can hit the 127 velocity. What's strange is the aftertouch resolution which is very low, but I think that's not critical as it's rare to be used on the weighted keys. Quality of keyboard is good and I love the joysticks.

It works out of the box with Linux! It can send the program change MIDI events after configuring its program presets, so, I think, it's a nice keyboard to be used with Pianoteq installed on Raspberry Pi or similar ARM board.

Keyboard works well being powered from my PC's USB, I didn't notice any problems, so, no need to plug the dedicated power supply.

Conclusion: a rock solid, heavy, weighted keyboard in a metal case, probably, the best you can find for such low price. Want faster keys? Take a look at SL73 Grand.

+ Very nice and stylish appearance. + The keyboard is heavy like a real grand piano.

But there are also disadvantages.
1. In the first month of use, the sensitivity of one key became maximum. I solved this problem by lowering the sensitivity in the application.
2. It's hard to explain but. When playing the vst instrument, there was no sense of control over the sound, as for example on the Nord stage. Even playing on my lightweight Novation Launchkey 2 felt better. And I am a professional pianist.
3. When recording midi in Logic pro X - 2 notes are recorded instead of one. The problem goes away when you turn off 3 of 4 keyboard split zones.
4. Still not used to the XY controller.

As a result, I decided to sell it.

I might be alone on this but I just wanted a High quality Midi Keyboard that felt close to a real piano. Essential features like mod wheel / pitch bend - potentially dials for macros (which this doesn't have fyi).

I was really impressed with the build quality and the feel of the keys. It feels great, it's super high quality and I don't see anything breaking anytime soon (I've had it for over a year now).

Now the thing that I don't like is the firmware. It's completely unintuitive. It seems like there's a lot of inbuilt sounds? But they load into 4 separate slots?? I have no idea, I can't make sense of it and don't want to. Instead of changing octaves being a simple button, you have to go into the settings.

I now use it with Studio One and leave UA Luna only for mixing / tracking. It would glitch with Luna ALL the time. Randomly changing to "x soundback 456" or something random and becoming unresponsive. I would then have to turn it off and on again. It has worked fine with Studio One so far.

Again, great physical quality. But I really don't like the inbuilt firmware.

Pluses:
- good keyboard for low price
- natural tactile feel
- velocity curve editor
- bright, color and small screen
- light weight for types of this keyboards
- good quality of materials, well built
- good size for home studio and live concerts
- package included simple pedal

Minuses:
- main joystick is a not a good quality, some times you need push twice in process
- midi sticks in the left side of keyboard is a not really useable for fast work, small for fingers after usual pitch and expression that on other keyboards
- buttons near joystick are very loud for quite situations on concert

In fact very glad about this keyboard, and iam working in Ableton.