Studiologic SL88 Studio 88-Key Hammer Action MIDI Keyboard Controller - Lightweight & Portable for Home Studio, Live Performance & Music Production

First, I grew up playing heavy action grand piano (which I am still playing 60 years later). The key bed has an action on the heavy side and I like it. This should not be confused with sensitivity, however. The keyboard has a great sensitivity and the heavier action makes it easier to more consistently play soft and quiet passages. In another perspective, playing fast passages is actually quite easy and here the heavier action facilitates my finger control, allowing me to be more expressive and not overplaying my phrasing (in this case I was playing Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart passages when I first set the keyboard up).If you are used to playing a real acoustic piano, you will probably be comfortable with the key bed on this rig. On a side note, this keyboard has a solid metal casing and should be set on a solid mounting or table. The good news is that, when set up this way, you can play as aggressively as you want, or as gently, as well.Moving past the key action, which is the first thing you encounter with any keyboard, the controller aspect of this rig is simple, clean, but highly functional. The center color TFT/LED display is controlled with an encoder knob that has push down selection action, plus three menu level control buttons. With this, you can set several keyboard options and projects such as dividing the keyboard in up to 4 zones of play. This can interface with your DAW (Logic Pro here). Through the USB interface into your computer, you can also modify keyboard parameters such as velocity, sensitivity, et al, using the StudioLogic SL Editor.I like the simple yet effective control interface. It is easy to use and with a little practice you can have a tremendous range of presets and control capabilities that you can access quickly with a couple of knob twists and button pushes. I can see this utility for live performance, but it also makes sense for studio production if you are wanting to move efficiently between standard presets. I like these controls.I am honestly ambivalent about the joysticks compared to jog wheels (the SL88 Studio uses joysticks) for expressions, gliss, etc. I like either one and the SL88 joysticks are just fine and easy to use.If you are wanting a good 88 key controller with a solid piano action and efficient menu control, this is a very good proposition. The price is even more attractive given its quality and it definitely punches above its weight.