Experiences with Extra Deluxe MFG 61 Midi Keyboard Controller?

Elektron Gear
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Hey all. I’m considering this newish keyboard midi controller; the Extra Deluxe MFG 61, and would like to hear from people who have tried it, owned it, or currently own it and know what you think.

Yes, I realize it’s incredible sparse on features - I don’t need them (though yes it pisses me off there isn’t at least an expression pedal input!). Yup it’s expensive, and though I appreciate it’s tank like build, stunning good looks, I could be happy paying less for something a bit more utilitarian.

Now that we got that out if the way, my interest in this piece is primarily the hope and promise that it has a very high quality keybed, that’s also very well implemented. I want a keybed quality and feel that is great under the fingers, has a hugh dynamic range, and touch sensitivity, and can get the most expression out of my piano and orchestral/Big Band instrument sample libraries. Essentially, a joy to play. Space constraints unfortunately limit me to 61 keys, and while there’s plenty of controllers out there, most have pretty toy’ish feeling keybeds. There’s not much out there in that size in hq keybeds. However, sadly, even the big boy controllers: Doepfer, Roland, Kawai, Studio Logic, etc… which all use some version of Fatar’s upper end, fully weighted hammer action keybeds, all seem to have nothing but complaints about their feel, noise, and midi response. So very daunting… Are we doomed? :grimacing:

Does it live up to the its design goals as a great midi controller in terms of the keybed quality?

One member here, who is happy with it, did mention some have had issues with the velocity curve software… which is a concern…

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I’m reviving this thread because you helped me avoid repurchasing this controller.
Maybe this thread will come up for folks reading in the future, so here are my thoughts.

I am currently about an hour and a half away from buying this controller again because I found one on Craigslist locally and decided I missed my old one. I have a perfectly serviceable, newer, 61 key keyboard from Casio that does Bluetooth midi, it’s great. But I yearned for the HQ Fatar Keybed and the Pitch/Mod as well as some knobs to utilize.

Well, I can’t get myself to fully commit and reading your post reminded me why.
There is definitely an issue with the velocity curve on this keyboard. It’s tweakable with the Extra Deluxe software, but I never got it to feel right compared to most other mainstream controllers/synths. it was especially noticeable with electric pianos since they have a wide variation of velocity dependent sound. That was one of my primary uses, so it was rough.

the keybed does feel nice, and is good quality. If I could nit-pick, it’s a bit heavy of a push/a bit stiff. I think this has to do with how it’s mounted, but that’s just something I read. It’s a stiff keybed and was definitely something to get used to, but it’s not too far off from other fatar beds i’ve tried like the Udo Super 6.

Beyond that, I recall getting major stepping with the pitch wheel, and maybe that’s an issue of software as well, maybe it was a simple fix, but I never really ended up fixing it. Most keybeds are plug and play with the pitch wheel, but this just stepped the pitches in a weird, not smooth, way.
Similar issue with the BIG knob. The smaller knobs felt better and worked well, but the big knob didn’t have the same resistance, it was too easy to turn, felt cheaper and I would get Midi data stepping with it, didn’t feel it was smooth.

Ultimately, again, I was just about to rebuy, but remembering these issues is a good reminder that I don’t need this board and there are better options out there. Maybe not the same aesthetically, but better boards for the price. For what it’s worth, the person wanted $400, and that’s maybe not a bad price, but you have to decide if the price and feature set as well as the potential downsides will work for you.