Last but not least the included soundware. NI bundles in Komplete Select, which comprises nine virtual instruments and soft synths—Massive, Reaktor Prism, Monark, The Gentleman piano, DrumLab, Retro Machines, Vintage Organs, West Africa, and Scarbee electric piano. An SSL-style bus compressor rounds out these goodies. The software is a bit confusing and there's not a lot of documentation or tutorials on how to use it properly

The S88 is built around a premium Fatar keyboard with aftertouch. Fatar keyboards have an outstanding reputation, especially at this high end, with weighted hammer-action keys.The MK-22 has dynamic resolution of over 32,000 values. Of course MIDI can’t reproduce that, but the idea is that every MIDI value that doesresult is uniformly close to the player’s intentions. (Analogy: Recording audio at a high sample rate has value even if most listeners will hear the song as an MP3.) For software pianos that can interpret it, the MK-22 employs CC 88 to transmit high-resolution velocity. The MK-22 Studio model senses Aftertouch. For the purposes I wanted the keyboard it is perfect - in fact way better than I expected for the price. In terms of getting good dynamics and therefore emotion out of your sample libraries, I easily had great success with this keyboard. It was one of those moments when you wanted to keep playing, as you were getting so much more life out of the sounds than previously. For all its complexity under the hood, the user interface is relatively simple and focused on playing dynamics. Via two front-panel knobs, the curve is continuously variable, and can be skewed to favor the bass, middle, or treble range. Then, the Dynamics knob acts as a sort of “compressor” relating finger velocity to sensed velocity. This may not seem as granular as a key-by-key software editor, but musically, it gets results as good and arguably more fluidly. Pitch and mod wheels are on hand, as is one assignable pot. Zoning for splits or layers? You’ll want to handle that on the receiving end. The keybed - it's a work of art. Fatar are very well known for making some of the most, if not the most realistic keybeds out there. The wooden keys with synthetic ivory feel fantastic to the touch. The keys are not too heavy, in fact they are slightly lighter than an actual orchestral grand, but the feel is essentially identical. Velocity response and aftertouch record flawlessly. It's an absolute joy.

Still, not everything is bad. You can set sensitivity of the keys, there's aftertouch, it's cheap, the build is not bad apart from being a bit noisey, and nothing broke so far. Or did it? I've got a problem with double midi notes being sent, that I could only solve by switching off one of the triple sensortechnology... The Studiologic SL88 Studio offers an 88 note hammer action keybed with an innovative editor for in-depth control. There are two main reasons to go for an 88-key controller. One is that your playing focuses on piano; specifically, a premium software piano such as Synthogy Ivory, Modartt Pianoteq, or the Spitfire Hans Zimmer Piano (reviewed in our May 2016 issue). The other reason is, if you’re a composer and/or arranger, 88 keys give you more than enough spread to set up lots of zones for splits and layers, so you can lay out all the sounds you need to craft your counterpoint right in front of you. The overall height of the keyboard is very shallow/narrow?! It feels comfortable to get your knees under and have your hands at the correct playing position. This would also be great for DAW setups where you want your QWERTY keyboard on top. Unfortunately, the huge data knob gets in the way a bit. I tend to use the software instead, even though it's a bit fiddly.Beyond the knobs and buttons, you’ll also get nine assignable faders, which makes a huge difference. Faders offer a different feel when tweaking parameters and are perfect for orchestral expression or used as organ drawbars. The only thing that might leave some players wanting? Although those knobs and individual displays are undeniably cool, you don’t get faders or drum pads as you do on the KeyLab. Still, the S88 is a stellar deal and a no-brainer for musicians already using Native Instruments software.