That's what I'm doing right now, and that's the problem, there's so many. Some have sounds, some don't. Some have drum pads, faders, touch pads, some don't. Since I'm not a keyboard player, I thought someone might have experience with a particular controller.

I like what I see. I really like the Fantom, but I don't need the sequencer. Tim's link opened up a whole slew of Novation stuff that looks very hip, and Korg, Alesis, and M-Audio have interesting stuff, too. I like the automap feature some of them offer.

But I really like zum's controller the best.

Or find a cheap used keyboard like a Roland XP-10 and velcro something like a Novation Zero, or M-Audio trigger Finger (or both!) to it.

The green key accesses Har-Bal.

Well, I use a Kurzweil K2500X as a controller. I haven't used its sounds for a few years, but the keyboard is quite good. It uses a Fatar action. And it doesn't have cheesy drum pads on it.

Do you want a weighted or unweighted controller?

I have an M-Audio Keystation Pro 88 for a controller Sean. Think these are a real bargan for the $$.
Weighted action is a tad inconsistent... my only complaint. More assignable knobs, faders and switches than you can shake a stick at.
Comes with pre-programmed templates for working with Reason, B4 etc.
Doesn't make noise though.
Brent

I should qualify my remark about cheesy drum pads by saying that some of them don't let you do rolls with your fingers - they require a real tap to make a sound. For me that defeats the whole purpose - I need sensitive pads. That's my problem with the drumKAT, which I'm kinda ready to replace (even though I play it with sticks).

I just tried the Zendrum controller at NAMM and really like it. But it's expensive.

How about a Roland XP-80. You can find it for about $500 or so and it is somewhat expandable. It has ok sounds and you can add more. It has some sliders you can use for midi and it is 76 keys..

J

Well, what I'm finding is that there is no perfect controller/synth with everything I want at a low price. Duh.

The controllers with no sounds have the best integration with the computer, while the best sounding synths are not comprehensive controllers.

I think I'll go the controller route, and get a sound module. That way I'll have Reason and soft synths licked, and still be able to use it without a computer.

As far as weighted keys, that may not be important except to the real keyboard players that come through here, and they usually have their own keyboard. Thanks!