Roland A-49 Lightweight 49-Key MIDI Keyboard Controller, Black

This is the no-frills, zero BS, solid action keyboard Ive been searching for. The size is perfect for my desk, and the keys are some of the best I've experienced on a midi keyboard (and at this point I have owned MANY). If you're looking for a controller without all the extra knobs/ faders/ pads/ etc this is the one. I like the joystick (versus the traditional mod/ pitch wheel), but d-beam will probably be of minimal usage for me personally. Keep in mind this keyboard does not have aftertouch, but that aftertouch can be assigned (to d-beam or expression, i believe).My only complaint is that it doesn't come out of the package as "plug and play" as with most midi keyboards I've owned. You need to either need to install the driver (from the site- because lets be honest, who has a CD drive anymore on a modern computer) or turn off the "advanced midi control" by hitting function + adv + the "minus" button.

Excellent controller. this is for the price a great buy. I bought mine Used excellent condition, it could be as advertised given as a gift. It was still in the original wrapping,and stapled in box apparently unopened. The Synth is very intuitive,very well made. took the supplied Ableton,Ignite,and Garageband very well. No problems with latency,sound,aftertouch. The D-Beam is so cool, all worked great. The guide that is included tells all the information needed. There is always also YOU-Tube presentations abounding, The better the apps used,the better the keyboard works to deliver a very good sound.

I have several Roland products. My favorite keyboard remains the A-37, which is long out of production. This keyboard has a roughly similar feel; a bit less weight in the keys, and a bit more spring tension. It is a lot better than other similar-sized keyboards you'll see for sale right now. Very worthwhile keyboard! All the features I need, and then some.

The package delivered had the wrong s/w included on a cd. As I was not aware of this and that the keyboard did not turn on it was decided by Amazon rep to replace it. The replacement did not work either until I went onto the Roland website and downloaded the correct MIDI s/w. Also the first unit was returned as instructed but never updated on my account as received. The date for return is expiring and I have no update after almost 2 weeks.

Fantastic feeling synth-type action. Solid, fast and quiet. The build quality is very good and feels like a pro level controller. I was VERY pleasantly surprised for the price. I'm using it as a controller for iPad soft synths. There is no noticable lag or latency issues. Highly recommended if you just need a portable controller with full size keys and doesn't feel "cheap".

UPDATE 5/8: The drivers for this are terrible terrible garbage, using any of the advanced settings are a waste of time. Completely unintuitive, and it won't reinstall on my iMac. I've updated the drivers and ensured that the Mac registers the device, but it won't show up as a midi option. Oh, and you want to get the keyboard to register as USB? Well you have to hold down Assign-Pitch-Function while plugging it in, otherwise it won't accept USB power (which is bizarre since it has no other form of power?) Not buying another product from Roland again. Completely terrible user experience for an overpriced keyboard that has two midi knobs. Go buy a Nektar or an Akai for $100 cheaper and get a bonus 16 midi knobs/pads that this one lacks. This company is in the stone age.Not very impressed. This is my first midi keyboard, I use it in Ableton Live 9. One of the two knobs just doesn't work with Ableton period, and mapping is ridiculous. For such an expensive keyboard you would expect some sort of premium ease of use, intuitivity, etc, but mapping on this is completely atrocious. It's a solid product in terms of build quality, so if you take it at face value you're dealing with a midi keyboard that will probably last a decent amount of time. However at $180, you can get midi keyboards the same size, with pads, knobs, and plenty of other usable features. Also the "D-Beam" thing is a bad joke as far as I can tell.I really do like the pitch bend / mod wheel all-in-one knob, though. All in all it is a very solid keyboard for keyboardists or people who don't need midi channels, but it is pretty expensive at this price point.

I wanted this to be better than it was. The features and compact size seemed perfect for my needs, for a semi-mobile project studio. The first positive thing that impressed me was the quality feeling of the keys. The weight, springiness, and shape of the keys was just right and felt completely 'pro' to me. But everything else had drawbacks: 1) The two knobs have a smooth rubberized sort of finish that tended to slip under my fingers, and they are unusually small as well. 2) The mod stick has a short throw from min to max and very coarse resolution (0 to 127 in about 35 steps, with some increments of 4 or 5), which makes it unsuitable for fine musical control (for example, sample libraries which use mod wheel for continuous dynamics, or synths with filter sweep control. The stair-stepping was often plainly audible). 3. The D-beam is interesting but I was frustrated by its touchy, abrupt response. I was hoping to achieve smooth 'Theremin' type expression but could not. 4. Despite the great feeling keys, I felt that the velocity response was slightly different between the white and black keys, which is not the case on some other controllers I have used, even cheaper ones. In the end, I returned it, mainly because of issue #2.

Looking at previous reviews, not sure why everyone had a challenge with Mac. Plug in, installed driver from Roland site - done! Works great! So far worked with Reaper and Logic Pro and amazing keyboard with enough functionality and midi controls to do some pretty awesome effects like bends, slides, etc.Great product. I bought at a replace to my MK249 as it doesn’t support big-Suhr. Works great!