Best feeling midi keyboard for <$500?

I'm in the market for a new midi keyboard. I'm a piano player, pretty happy with my music room setup, but fairly new to music production. I want a semi weighted midi keyboard I can use for primarily synth sounds but also piano playing. Something that feels good, but that I can actually chuck in my car or move around my apartment unlike my big boy 88 key digital. I initially bought a Nektar Impact+, but was disappointed in the keys; velocity felt really inconsistent to control.

My main priority is key feel, then control knobs/sliders/features, then portability. I don't care about included software, I have software I'm happy with already (Logic).

I've been considering the following options, but not married to any of them.

Akai MPK 249/261

Novation Impulse

Novation Launch key mk2/mk3

Nektar Panorama P4

M Audio Keystation 61 mk3

Novation SL mk2

I should mention that I also see the Arturia Keylabs mk2 and Novation sl3 thrown around, but my true budget is actually <300, I'm just including items from the used market near me.

Since I can't go to a store and test these out for the obvious reason, I would appreciate any opinions people have on how these keyboards feel to play.

Posted Jul 6, 2020, 9:44 AM UTC · edited

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