ProKeys 88 – 88-Key Hammer-Action Premium Stage Piano
ProKeys 88sx – 88-Key Lightweight Stage Piano with Semi-Weighted Action
M-Audio ProKeys 88 and ProKeys 88sx review
First of all, these pianos are NOT the same. Both are excellent piano, but for different people.
You can buy both, m-audio ProKeys 88 and ProKeys 88sx in Amazon, and if you look at the prices, you can tell the difference: ProKeys 88 costs $300 more than ProKey 88sx.
Both are great Piano, with excellent sounds, both have the quality and durability that m-audio always offer. Also, both pianos are really great USB MIDI Keyboard Controller, so you can use the built-in sounds or you can connect them via its USB port to your laptop, PC or Mac and play the instruments of your favorite DAW (Propellerhead Reason, Cubase, Sonar, Pro Tools, Logic Pro, GarageBand, etc).
Also, as a piano, they have terrific built-in sounds and excellent effects, great polyphony and 3 different velocity curves, so you can find the one that fix with your play-style.
And, of course, the fact of 88-keys it is really awesome, you can play everything without changing octaves.
¿But, how to choose one or another? If you want something lightweight (17 lbs. or 8 Kg.) and semi-weighted action keys is ok for you (for most musicians it is ok), then M-audio ProKeys 88sx should be your choice.
But, if you want hammer action keys, so you can get the feeling of playing a real piano, and you are trained to play it (because for those who are not, like me, those hammer action keys would be really a pain), then, you must have M-audio ProKeys 88.
These are the main features:
| M-audio ProKeys 88sx – 88-Key Lightweight Stage Piano with Semi-Weighted Action |
M-audio ProKeys 88 – 88-Key Graded Hammer-Action Premium Stage Piano |
| 88-note velocity-sensitive, semi-weighted action |
88-key graded hammer-action keyboard |
| 7 premium sounds accessed via dedicated buttons*: – Piano1: grand piano with 2 velocity layers – Piano2: bright grand piano – E Piano1: electric piano based on Fender Rhodes (2 velocity layers) – E Piano2: electric piano based on Wurlitzer (2 velocity layers) – FM Piano: classic electric piano based on Yamaha DX7 – Perc Organ: organ based on Hammond B3 – Clav: instrument sound based on Hohner Clavinet D6 *This product is not connected with, or approved or endorsed by, the owners of the Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Clavinet, B3, and DX7 names. These names are used solely to identify the instruments emulated by ProKeys 88sx. |
large 64MB sound bank with masterfully tweaked samples of 14 world-class instruments*: – Piano1: stereo grand piano based on Yamaha C7 – Piano2: bright grand piano – E Piano1: electric piano – E Piano2: electric piano based on Wurlitzer – FM Piano1: bright, classic electric piano based on Yamaha DX7 – FM Piano2: warm, classic electric piano based on Yamaha DX7 – Clav: instrument sound based on Hohner Clavinet D6 – Vibes: vibes with hybrid mallets – Organ1: percussion organ based on Hammond B3 – Organ2: rock organ based on Hammond B3 – A Bass: acoustic upright bass** – E Bass: fingered electric bass (including harmonics) – optional ride cymbal layer – Strings: orchestral strings – Warm Pad: warm, lush synth pad *This product is not connected with, or approved or endorsed by, the owners of the Wurlitzer, Clavinet, B3, and DX7 names. These names are used solely to identify the instruments emulated by ProKeys 88. |
| 126-note maximum polyphony | 126-note polyphony |
| reverb and chorus effects | 3 reverb spaces plus chorus and tremolo |
| pitch bend and modulation wheels | pitch and modulation wheels |
| volume/assignable control slider | dedicated volume faders for master, layer and split |
| advanced function button for programming |
dedicated button to instantly recall single-layer stereo grand piano dedicated remote MIDI controller buttons including: • MIDI Clock Stop/Start • Tempo control for MIDI Clock including tap tempo feature • Program Change • Channel • Bank LSB • Bank MSB • Local On/Off 12-key data entry pad with 3-digit LED screen |
| sustain, sostenuto and expression pedal inputs (includes SP-1 sustain pedal) |
sustain, sostenuto and expression pedal inputs (SP-2 sustain pedal included). |
| 3 velocity curves plus fixed velocity to optimize feel |
3 velocity curves plus fixed velocity to optimize feel |
| stereo 1/4″ audio outputs | stereo out (1/4” unbalanced) |
| 2 stereo 1/4″ headphone outputs on front |
stereo headphone out (1/4” TRS) |
| +/- octave transpose keys | +/- octave transpose keys |
| built-in USB MIDI interface | built-in USB MIDI interface |
| MIDI Out jack to control external MIDI gear |
MIDI In/Out jacks to interface with external MIDI gear |
| Mac OS X and Windows XP class-compliant for plug-and-play operation |
class-compliant drivers for Windows XP and Mac OS X |
| General MIDI compliant | General MIDI-compliant |
| self-demo mode | self-demo mode |
| includes power supply | includes power supply |
| 2-stage equalizer to easily optimize tone | |
| lightweight—just 17 pounds | |
| Size: 54 x 10 x 3.5 inches; 137 x 25.4 x 8.9 cm |
Size: 57 x 13 x 5.9 inches; 144.8 x 33 x 14.9 cm |
| Weight: 17.32 lbs; 7.86 kgr. | Weight: 48 lbs; 21 kgr. |
You can buy the M-Audio PROKEYS 88SX 88-Key Lightweight Stage Piano with Semi-Weighted Action and the M-Audio ProKeys Premium Stage Piano (ProKeys 88) in Amazon, on-sale.
See what others are saying about the M-Audio PROKEYS 88SX 88-Key Lightweight Stage Piano.
Good quality for the price
By Adam Perry (Seattle)
I’ve been using this keyboard for about a month now. I was pleased that it comes with a USB cable to let you port your masterpieces to your computer as well as a sustain pedal. The sound quality is surprisingly good: when you hit a high note, you’ll swear you can hear the hammer hitting the cord. If I have a complaint with this piano, it’s that the included pedal isn’t very responsive and will often fail to recognize that you are standing on it. Perhaps this is because I’m using it on carpet? In any case, the pedal was free, so I can’t complain.
Review Paraphrased for size – view original review here
See what others are saying about the M-Audio ProKeys Premium Stage Piano (ProKeys 88).
Awesome
By William (atlanta)
I had a casio with about 66 keys… i wanted something with awesome sound quality that i could take to a nice hotel and just set up and play…i also wanted something that could hook up to my macbook as a midi controller.this thing is awesome. yes the keys seem heavy, but to me it just feels like im really playing a piano…
Review Paraphrased for size – view original review here
I agree with the post above and I will grab more information from google google
hi, new to the site, thanks.
Hi! Come back soon!
Hello, I new yours frient on this forum)
I liked your article is an interesting technology
thanks to google I found you
how can I get the sostenuto pedal working? I bought mine barely a week ago, I have on the SP-2 pedal for the sustain inputs. how about the sostenuto? any body help.
Hi Isaac!
I read about that problem once. The answer was that the SW does not support sostenuto (not all SW support that).
But if you are sure about your software, you can check this link: http://forums.m-audio.com/archive/index.php/t-25299.html
Good Luck!
How do I get my computer ready to work with MIDI?
Hello! You need a program (we use the term “DAW” or Digital Audio Workstation).
These software usually came with digital instruments, a sequencer, mixer, effects, etc… I use Cakewalk Sonar (click to see the last version) and Propellerhead Reason (click to see the last version).
My favorite is Propellerhead Reason, because the amazing digital instruments they bring. I think that anybody that loves music, would enjoy it a lot!!!
Please, tell me if you begin to use it!!
como hago para actualizar al drive para windos 7 mi prograama ya esta obsoleto. m audio prokeys 88sx
Hola! m-audio prokeys 88sx es plug & play, por lo tanto no deberías necesitar ningún driver adicional, siempre y cuando tengas tu windows 7 actualizado. Si no funciona, puedes probar descargándote el siguiente archivo: http://www.m-audio.com/support/download/drivers/usb-midi-series-5.0.1
Aquí información respecto de teclados plug&play http://www.m-audio.com/kb/article/1706
Hello! m-audio prokeys 88sx is plug & play, so, you really don’t need any other driver, as long as your windows 7 is up to date. If does not work, you always can try with this file: http://www.m-audio.com/support/download/drivers/usb-midi-series-5.0.1
Here you can find information about plug&play keyboards: http://www.m-audio.com/kb/article/1706