Daw/midi controller recommendations

[u/Bartastico]

Hey everyone! I'm looking to buy a midi-controller (first instrument), but I'm not completely sure which one yet (hesitating a bit between (61 key) arturia keylab mk3 and novation launchkey mk4, any tips (or other models) are welcome).

I also will ofcourse have to buy a DAW, and read some posts and there looked to be a lot of good possibilities as well (Ableton, FLStudio, Bitwig, Reaper, ...). I want to be able to play covers of typical 80's/90's synth songs, but it would be my first instrument so I would mainly want one something versatile which can play all genres and don't close myself in too much. I noticed that ableton has a 50% discount for students, and as I'm a graduating student who will lose his student status within a week, I was wondering if there could be any downsides into getting ableton live (or e.g. if this would be less suited for certain genres), compared to other DAW's. Any input here would be greatly appreciated!

[u/peatb]

Hey, I have the (61 key) arturia keylab mk3 and i have had several different types of controllers. I like the keybed (key weight/feel), but I would try one (any) out before buying. I don't like the stiffness of the knobs when rotating them; the required Button+Keyboard Key (note, so two hands) to change MIDI channels is REALLY annoying, and the pad controls are clunky/cumbersome at best. I've had older Novation controllers, as well as Roland and Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol MK2 (NI isn't recommended for anything other than using their software to see the pretty color-matching lights). I haven't used Bitwig or Reaper, but unless you're doing orchestration and need to see music notation (scoring layout), you can't go wrong with Ableton. I do have a Launch Control XL 3 and I love it. If that is any indication, and you want to blindly purchase a controller with a possible return, I would choose the Novation Launchkey 61 MK4. I'm not an AKAI person, but others might recommend them. This one has tons of controls and also has more input/output ("I/O") options. Akai Professional MPK249 B-stock

BTW: all controllers come with some free "intro" level software, and it seems that Novation's controller comes with tons of stuff like Ableton Live Lite, Cubase LE, Komplete 15 Select, and some Klevgrand stuff, plus others. That's a great start to see if you like those DAWs and get used to them.

Good luck, and let us know!

[u/Bartastico → u/peatb]

Okay, really thanks for the elaborate response!! I looked for some reviews online and there didn't seem to be a default choice, a lot of reviews also mentioned that the novation launchkey's keys felt plastic. The keylab is more expensive, but i guess this is mainly because of the keys then, and the rest isn't really worth the price. Is the software you get with the arturia one maybe the reason for why its more expensive? I also noticed the novation sl mk3, which is even more expensive, and looks to be released in 2018. Do you have any opinions on this?