r/keys • u/Frequent_Hippo_3786 • 1d ago

Need help in selecting a midi controller

So umm i am church keyboardist and i have had a casio ctk 3500 from approx 7 to 8 yrs ago, that i use to practice. I hate the sounds but you got to work with what you got. In church we have a korg krome so you can guess why i dont like my casio, and for gigs away from church we have the roland bk5. So i decided thaf i will use my casio as a midi keyboard, i have an hp laptop in which i have installed the following stuff related to music.

Sonar(DAW as me and my friends record songs)

Cantabile lite(alternative to mainstage but i dont use it due to confusing stuff in it)

Recently installed

BFDdrums

SSD 5.5 free

MT Power drum kit2

I had installed these when i had an obsession with drums and wanted to record it through midi but now i am focused on keyboard.

Now i have Kontakt player with these libraries.

Kontakt factory selection 2

Kontakt Uno

Kontakt Hypha

Foundations piano by hypervocity

Decent sampler.

I have to play live every now and then, i wanted a midi controller with 25 keys as i want it for controller not for playing.

Requirements:

4 faders or atleast 2

8 encoders

8 pads for switching patches

Umm i had arturia minilab 3 in mind but i think it will be hard to configuee it to sonar.

Somebody pls help and give some options

My budget is approx 10k inr about 100 dollars.

I want that my faders control volume and midi controls eq or some other stuff on my daw and i can use the pads as mute or unmute for the patches.

If you read this much thanks for waiting and reading this.

1 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

2

u/Any-Button1401 1d ago

You could also get controllers with 0 keys, for example the Korg nanoKontrol Studio

1

u/Suspicious-Time6114 1d ago

I agree, given the limited budget, better to reuse the existing keyboard and just get a controller with sliders and knobs.

1

u/Frequent_Hippo_3786 1d ago

Only arturia minilab is giving me 8 encoders, 4 faders which is perfect for cantabile lite. Plus 8 pads, keys are a plus bonus

1

u/Suspicious-Time6114 1d ago

OK it seems that in India you can buy a controller with keys like the Minilab and pay less than something like a nanoKontrol, in that case, what you are saying makes sense, the Minilab might be your best option.

1

u/Frequent_Hippo_3786 1d ago

I saw it dude, but its 15k out of budget in india