Doepfer LMK4+ Black Midi Keyboard

First off - The LMK4+ is an absolutely fabulous keyboard.
I tried it out along with a Roland FP90 and a Yamaha CP4 and, for me, it's far superior than either of them but let's deal with the only negative first.

The key action is somewhat noisy. It is essentially an acoustic piano key bed and consequently there is a mechanical noise with every key down, hammer strike, hammer fall back and key release, just like an acoustic piano. It was very noticeable when doing finger strengthening exercises or scales, especially staccato scales but this was also true for the Roland and the Yamaha. For normal playing it was much less noticeable. For slow, quiet pieces it was there but only just and well in the background.

The solution I found was to buy a sheet of EPDM Neoprene Rubber sheet 1 cm thick on ebay for £15.00. and put 10cm. wide strips between the keyboard and the stand (I use a straightforward double X stand) and the stand and the floor. This cut the vibration and noise down by about 70%. I can still hear something when doing scales, but not much and nothing at all when I'm playing normally, even quiet pieces.
That is/was it's only negative point.

As a keyboard the LMK4+ is a delight to play. The action is solid, positive and has such a great feel and response that it just makes you want to play it. I found it far far superior to the Roland, the Yamaha and every other piano and keyboard I have used.
Every keyboard is individual and requires a little getting used to. It took me about a week to find my ideal settings and to fully adjust to the LMK4+. Now that I have I find it infinitely superior to any electronic keyboard/midi master I have ever used. Everything from the key size and spacing to it's response and playability is superb.

Something that contributes greatly to it's playability is the possibility to select the attack, response, and aftertouch curve for every single preset and keyboard split. There is a choice of 32 piano orientated and 32 keyboard/synth orientated options which probably cover the needs of any player. Another winner is the ability to adjust the response for black keys. Being shorter to the pivot point than the white keys the response of the black keys is different. The LMK4+ allows you to correct this. I don't know of any other piano or keyboard that does. Just play the scale of E and you'll understand what I'm on about.
Another great positive are the controllers which allow you to set up foot switches, pitch bend, modulation and a host of other features in practically any way you want. Very useful for string and synth sounds.

The electronics and programming possibilities are as exceptional as the keyboard action. I have two sound modules, a drum machine and a sequencer and with the LMK4+ pushing any/each preset button will call up different sounds on both modules and set the sequencer and the drum pattern ready for the song, and I can do this for 128 different presets. The communication with peripherals is excellent and I can choose bank and program on all 4 machines and change drum sound or pattern with a keystroke or footswitch. Also if I have a keyboard split (the LMK4+ can handle up to 8) I can set each split differently on all 4 machines and trigger them any way I please. Having two midi outs helps enormously, and no computer is required, although it does have a USB connection which is useful for saving all my set ups and connecting to a DAW.

I had to wait three months for delivery as demand for this instrument is high and they don't cut corners on the production line, but it's worth it for what is probably the best keyboard you will ever own.

One last thing - Many thanks to Richard Sansom, Mark Griffiths and Jo Sells at DV247 for their patience and help. Thank you.

Alan.