This is the keyboard I bought when I first started playing at church and put my rig together. I was trying to build a rig on a budget as I wasn't sure how much I'd be playing. That was about 3 years ago. about 6 months in I bought 2nd one to donate to our church.
Thanks for the balanced review. I did quite a bit of research prior to deciding on the Hammer 88. I absolutely love it. Out of the seven keyboards I own this is by far my favorite. The main reason is that it feels as close to a piano as any I've played. It is extremely well built and feels like it was designed to last a lifetime. There is room for my Korg nanoKontrol2 to sit on the right side and a large volume knob connected to my laptop sits on the left. While it's at home I use the built-in stand. When I take it on the road, I use a much more substantial projector stand for my Windows 11 laptop with Ableton Live 10 Suite and Sunday Keys 2022.
@@bartbannister394 I found this information: Keyboard is not sensitive to Aftertouch. It should be noted that the fader, mod wheel and expression pedal can all be assigned to send Aftertouch messages - the keyboard itself is sensitive only to velocity.
Nice review David. We have a Hammer 88 along with several other 88 key keyboards and my wife (piano major) actually prefers the Hammer 88 for use with Sunday Keys. Evaluating the keybed action is similar to comparing a Steinway vs Yamaha grand piano. I think the Hammer 88 is a good balance between a realistic feel but fast enough for synth and string runs. (One of our other keyboards is the Nord Piano 3 which has the triple sensor action that is designed for super quick retrigger on key presses and the Hammer 88 performs well in a head to head test.) While the top is curved, there is still plenty of surface to place a NanoKontrol 2 on top with no need for velcro or adhesive. I would never trust it with a laptop or iPad due to the limited space. Finally, the Hammer 88 is built like a tank. The case is all metal and heavy plywood. This does contribute to the weight of the unit but mine has also endured drops in shipping that would have shattered other keyboards with plastic cases.
I totally agree with everything Henry said. While I have not played the SL88, I was also a piano major in college and I LOVE the feel of the Hammer 88 (I also prefer Steinways). I’ve never used Velcro on my NanoKontrol but I did put little rubber feet on the bottom of it (which you have to wipe off with a damp rag fairly often to remove any dust so the rubber feet grip better). Now I want to try out an SL88 to compare…..but I don’t think you can go wrong with the Hammer 88!
Ahh M-Audio Hammer 88. I love this keyboard ❤️. I can place the NanoKontroller on it, I also place a mini LaunchPad on it to handle tonic and trigger keys. Easy to map. I have one at church and use Audio KeyStation at home to practice.
Thank you David, for indeed sharing such a balanced review while still being honest with your preference for the SL88. I've heard great things about the SL88, and yes everyone talks about the adjustment of the heaviness in the hammer action. You are the first and ONLY person/reviewer that was able to adequately explain and clarify the "heaviness" and "lightness" of the two mentioned keybeds. For someone like me who isn't able to easily access these to try them for myself, and who relies heavily on reviews, feedback and product information, I found other reviewers just used those words as best they can, meanwhile i'm there trying to decipher what they mean because of course its a weighted instrument; its suppose to be heavy to a point. But you were able to give context and clarity (however seemingly small or difficult) which REALLY helps in making the decision of which kind to chose. You are also very right in that keyboards are highly subjective. Its always interesting to me how we can all like different things and lowkey believe our preference is the legitimate one lol (i know you were not doing that). You like the SL88 but some people actually prefer the M Audio (and in some instances they've played the SL88, how crazy right?) I think what was also great about your video and explanation was that I was able to recall my experiences of playing Yamaha, Steinway & Kawai grand pianos, as well as other 88 hammer action keyboards and filter which ones resemble your keybed description and comparison. Think that's sometimes what gets lost in translation with review videos; we know and accept not all midi keyboards are the same but we forget that not all grand pianos are the same i.e. have the same keybed. And because a person played a piano doesn't mean that's how all pianos feel and by extension how all weighted keyboard controllers should feel. Long and short lol, your video was SUPER helpful. Thanks again! Very surprising to see the vast amount of comments in favour of the M Audio. Funny thing is that I too like Steinway and have been made to understand the M Audio mirrors this type of feel. Will still like to try the SL88 at some point. Nothing beats a try
I use the m-audio keystation 88 which I bought several years ago and absolutely love it. It has additional buttons on it that allows me to move from song to song with ease. Love the feel of weighted keys like a piano.
I use a hammer 88 at home. Bought it a couple of years ago open box for $400. Even at $500, you can’t go wrong. It has a pretty good key bed and it’s comfortable to play and practice on. M-Audio released a pro version of this keyboard, which has pads and faders. Would you be able to review that one? I’m curious if there any other features that the original hammer 88 doesn’t have
I purchased the NI S88 which has the Fatar keyboard. After about a year, many keys became very nosy. This keyboard looks interesting but I am concern about the Fatar keyboard.
How do you think this compares to something like Kawai ES110 electrical piano with weighted keys which can be used as a MIDI keyboard only? I know ES110 also has speakers and sounds but the price is nearly similar and the action is very good but lighter than real acoustic piano.
We forgot to mention the specific weight, the Hammer 88 is 38.5lbs, compared to the lighter 30lbs of the SL88 Studio. That extra 8.5lbs does make a surprising difference and it does feel like you are lugging around a heavy keyboard.
I bought a used one from Reverb, and it has an extremely dull and lazy action. I don’t know whether the instrument is defective or that’s just the way they are designed. I can’t find a music store that has a demo model for me to compare it with. As it is, the action and feel are much more inferior than even a cheap digital piano, like a Yamaha P-45.
In my humble home studio, I have gotten used to the light feel of my (go ahead and laugh) Casio Privia 100. It feels great to me. (Im a songwriter who only plays a little piano). As a rule, I prefer to use vsts in the studio as much as possible so that I can change tones later if desired. So the Privia is perfectly fine to me. Problem is, my pianist HATES it. He prefers the ph4 action found in a Roland RD88. I however found the RD88 to be EXTREMELY heavy and tiresome to play... and its $1300 plus tax. So I tried a studiologic like yours (at Corner Music in Nashville) and LOVED it, all but the pitchwheel issue that you mentioned. Honestly, the studiologic felt almost identical to my Yamaha 6' acoustic grand. Would you say that the hammer 88 would be a good compromise, having a pitch wheel? Or will my pianist liken it to the action of my Privia 100?
Speaking about the action: how deep in the instrument is the fulcrum for the keys? If you press white keys near the fulcrum, do you need to use a lot more force to move the key?
I bought one earlier. I like the feel of the key bed. However, i always get error messages when i try to download the accompanying software manager. Any ideas?
Great Review Dave, Can you please check out the M-Audio Hammer 88 Pro. We got two a few months ago... and our Keys Players are so happy with it. I wonder how you guys will find it.
Hi Ronnie, not sure we understand the question here - we do use a stereo interface. But if you system is mono, then there is also a mono button in Sunday Keys that will sum everything to mono so you don't lose signal.
i know its a midi keyboard but are you able to use it by itself I mean if you just wanna have it just to play it without all the daw's and piano softwares
It's only a midi controller and doesn't have any built-in sounds, so while you don't need a DAW per se, you would need some tone generator like a rack-mountable sound module or something for this keyboard to trigger via midi.
@@SomebodyPickaName do you know any alternatives to this that is both a midi controller and have built in sounds? if not that scool thanks again anyways
Sorry but I would have to disagree The Studiologic SL88 studio with a FATAR keybed and aftertouch is a better option (that’s the same keybed that is in the Arturia 88 key at more than 3 times the price ) it’s around $380
HI - I purchased the NI S88 which has the Fatar keyboard. After about a year, many keys became very nosy. This keyboard looks interesting but I am concern about the Fatar keyboard.
@@RokSivante it should’ve said £380 uk not US, because at the time of writing that’s what I paid, the SL88 grand with the wooden keys and graduated keyboard was only £599 uk at time of writing. Current US price at Swetwater is only $499
@@hozzer68 ah yeah, that makes sense. Is the Grand that’s $1399 CAD, Studio $799. Would be interesting to get hands on to compare all three. Thinking the Hammer 88 probably best value at this point, though curious if the extra $200 would be worthwhile for the SL88 Studio…
But, m8, it looks more like a electronic piano rather than a MIDI controller... no chance to control anything! no display, not a single command button/slider/whatever. I am not referring to those funny lighted pads and miriad of assignable controls but to the basic controls that allows you to control modules via the 5-pin MIDI. Not a word about multitimbricity, or ability to split and layer. Unless they assume you will use a computer editing program... but if using the keyboard alone, doesn't look at all possible. Regards
Ok keyboard but its bulky and has some triggering issues .It will self trigger and turn down sliders un-expectedly. Got to watch this keyboard when live.
We would always recommend checking what your local music store has to get a feel for the different keybeds from different brands if possible. Happy to help answer any other questions you may have about this or other keyboards that we have experience with :)
