As I decided to get back into recording this year and set about making my PC a home studio so what I needed was to get a small midi keyboard that would fit nicely on the pull-out shelf of my compter desk.Having looked around I stumbled on and decided on an E-MU Xboard 25.
http://www.dv247.com/invt/froogle/27466/
Not really enough keys for some people but them I'm not a keyboard player so layering sounds and octaves is easy with computer software anyway so that wasn't a limitation.
I bought it because it was advertized with a program called ProteusX LE and several CDs with studio quality samples with it.
Little did I know just what a bargain this software and samples were.They are worth way more than the cost of the keyboard.
There's more drumkits and drum sounds than you can shake a stick at.Same for strings/synths/Brass/basses/pianos/noises etc.
They are all of,"Extremely" high Studio quality IMHO.
You do require a program like Mixcraft for the software to run but it integrates itself into Mixcraft easily as a VST so you can call up any sound/kits etc that you want and also the ProteusX LE software also allows you to edit all the parameters of any of the called up sounds even from within Mixcraft.
Here's a demo of the Mo-Phatt sounds that come free,
http://tinyurl.com/5x2rz4
but the Standard,"Composer" set that gets installed is awesome.Also the Protean Drums CD/Set and you get the Planet Earth set as well,
http://tinyurl.com/6kgcgz
Having looked at some sample sites selling CDs this bundle is an absolute bargain so if you are in the market for a midi keyboard with mega sounds check it out.
This is just a personal opinion and I have no affiliation with E-MU or any vendors.
My Best recent buy :)
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