n
A VERY GOOD jack of all trades - Master at none
Context:
I purchased the Studiologic SL88 Studio controller primarily to use with orchestral sample instruments.
I went specifically for the "studio" version with the fatar tp100 keys as I wanted a middleground between fully weighted keys and a lighter action for organ/synth type instruments.
Overall:
The studiologic SL88 studio is a very good midi controller.
It has a simple and elegant design, it does not look nor feel like a plastic toy with disco lights.
The overall build quality is very good.
The metal chassis is very sturdy and inspires confidence.
Due to its simple feature set, there this overly complicated setup and no midi mapping to deal with, except if one wanted to map the joysticks with specific functions.
Keys and action:
The keys are very good compared to many midi controllers, they feel similar to the keys on my Nord Electro.
However they are on the lighter side and and have an odd springy feel once they are pressed all the way down.
Over time i have gotten used to the feel and it does not bother me too much.
Peripherals:
The controller features 3 joysticks in place of the traditional mod/pitch wheels.
The joysticks have a very short physical range and feel rather flimsy to the touch, I have no confidence that they will last with heavy use.
Due to the short range, it is very difficult to make finer adjustments, but I do not use them at all as I prefer a seperate fader controller for most types of midi cc.
The screen is very bright (even when usb powered) and has a very simple and intuitive layout for the active zones.
The menu is very pleasantly laid out as well with a simple hierarchy - as such there is not much "menu diving" and once the initial configuration is done, zones can easily be controlled from the main screen.
(This is only useful if the controller is used to control instruments outside of the computer, e.g. synths/drum machines)
The menu joystick feels a bit flimsy as well, but as it is only needed for configuration, I would assume that it will not be used often enough to wear it out.
Software editor:
Configuration software for the SL88 keyboards is available for download on studiologics download page.
Besides the obvious zone configuration (midi zones / splits, joystic CC values etc.), there is also an editor for velocity curves for the keyboard.
This is a very pleasant feature which allows to either pick and choose from preset velocity curves or to "draw" a custom velocity curve (using the mouse for example) inside of the editor.
Conclusion:
As mentioned a few times, its a very good controller (when compared to the current available offerings).
After using this keyboard for nearly 2 years I find that I works well for most tasks, being a lighter type keyboard it can be used for different types of instruments (e.g. pianos, synths, organs etc).
However it's versatility is debatable.
Having a lighter keybed I feel I have to work harder to achieve finer dynamics (expression) when dealing with orchestral samples such as strings and end up spending additional time on "mouse" adjusting velocity levels after.
Similarly the keybed is light but not synth light, and feels too heavy for playing synth instruments.
(I think this is a common issue with solutions which attempt to solve everything)
Despite these "issues", I am still using the keyboard every day.
If I had to replace the controller tomorrow, I would buy the "grand" version instead or any other controller with fully weighted keys similar to the TP40 type keys of fatar and a seperate keyboard with synth action.
But for anyone on a budget (or with budget constraints) this is a very good and versatile keyboard.
I purchased the Studiologic SL88 Studio controller primarily to use with orchestral sample instruments.
I went specifically for the "studio" version with the fatar tp100 keys as I wanted a middleground between fully weighted keys and a lighter action for organ/synth type instruments.
Overall:
The studiologic SL88 studio is a very good midi controller.
It has a simple and elegant design, it does not look nor feel like a plastic toy with disco lights.
The overall build quality is very good.
The metal chassis is very sturdy and inspires confidence.
Due to its simple feature set, there this overly complicated setup and no midi mapping to deal with, except if one wanted to map the joysticks with specific functions.
Keys and action:
The keys are very good compared to many midi controllers, they feel similar to the keys on my Nord Electro.
However they are on the lighter side and and have an odd springy feel once they are pressed all the way down.
Over time i have gotten used to the feel and it does not bother me too much.
Peripherals:
The controller features 3 joysticks in place of the traditional mod/pitch wheels.
The joysticks have a very short physical range and feel rather flimsy to the touch, I have no confidence that they will last with heavy use.
Due to the short range, it is very difficult to make finer adjustments, but I do not use them at all as I prefer a seperate fader controller for most types of midi cc.
The screen is very bright (even when usb powered) and has a very simple and intuitive layout for the active zones.
The menu is very pleasantly laid out as well with a simple hierarchy - as such there is not much "menu diving" and once the initial configuration is done, zones can easily be controlled from the main screen.
(This is only useful if the controller is used to control instruments outside of the computer, e.g. synths/drum machines)
The menu joystick feels a bit flimsy as well, but as it is only needed for configuration, I would assume that it will not be used often enough to wear it out.
Software editor:
Configuration software for the SL88 keyboards is available for download on studiologics download page.
Besides the obvious zone configuration (midi zones / splits, joystic CC values etc.), there is also an editor for velocity curves for the keyboard.
This is a very pleasant feature which allows to either pick and choose from preset velocity curves or to "draw" a custom velocity curve (using the mouse for example) inside of the editor.
Conclusion:
As mentioned a few times, its a very good controller (when compared to the current available offerings).
After using this keyboard for nearly 2 years I find that I works well for most tasks, being a lighter type keyboard it can be used for different types of instruments (e.g. pianos, synths, organs etc).
However it's versatility is debatable.
Having a lighter keybed I feel I have to work harder to achieve finer dynamics (expression) when dealing with orchestral samples such as strings and end up spending additional time on "mouse" adjusting velocity levels after.
Similarly the keybed is light but not synth light, and feels too heavy for playing synth instruments.
(I think this is a common issue with solutions which attempt to solve everything)
Despite these "issues", I am still using the keyboard every day.
If I had to replace the controller tomorrow, I would buy the "grand" version instead or any other controller with fully weighted keys similar to the TP40 type keys of fatar and a seperate keyboard with synth action.
But for anyone on a budget (or with budget constraints) this is a very good and versatile keyboard.
5
0
Anmeld bedømmelse
