As Almost Everything in the Controller World. Is Junk. Made so Cheap. It is a disgrace.

Just an observation on your slightly off topic ‘review’... it is what the market demands from controllers. Think about early MIDI Keyboard Controllers, they were among the best actions you could buy, they were built like battleships, some weighed more than full synths, they were built for the long haul... the KX88 The mightiest of them all, was definitely over sixty pounds, weighted action, aftertouch, dual zone, ancient but the point being ...it is comments that you like an action but it’s too expensive, have driven controllers into the plastic/fantastic, make it as light as humanly possible, items you see today. ‘It’s what the market demands...’ KX88/KX76 stayed a current product for more than decade and out lasted most Synthesizers.

Who’s going to build a dedicated controller old-school style today, when it’s a race to the bottom? Just my slightly off topic, two cents.

You are completely Right. Bad MR.
And My comment about NI Controller being too expensive. Well that is for what you Comparatively get. Not about a. Very good controller being too expensive..
I just can not find a. Very Good Controller. Except The Fatar one. And I do not like Mapping. But...
A 88 key Hammer action Fatar top of the line controller. Is $100 less than NI's 49 key. And I just Want a Very good. 61 key Semi Weighted.
As far as I can find. No such Controller Exists. NI's Kontrol. I would grade at Good. The rest are junk.
So I may have to buy a Used Keyboard. To get a Decent keybed. That sorta Defeats the Purpose of a Controller.
And Lightweight combined with the $500 and below iPad Generations. Those are the people. Killing all the Quality in any music product.(Except flagships).

There are a lot of midi controllers not sold at Guitar Center. Controllers from other countries and smaller companies. Therefore the state of MIDI controllers as a whole cannot be judged by what Guitar Center sells. It does speak for what the mainstream is looking for. If you're looking for top-notch broaden your search. Be prepared to spend about as much as a more fully-fledged keyboard with built-in tone generator. I personally could not see spending that much for a controller versus just getting another flagship.

Did you try any of the Roland controllers? A lot of people seem to like those, plus they're one of the few controllers which support aftertouch. I'm probably going to order a Roland A-800 Pro ($399.99) 61-key, synth-action controller for my 88-key weighted Korg Kronos (whose action is a bit too heavy for fast synth lines). Though, I won't need one for my (future) Montage since I plan on getting the synth-action Montage 7. (I assume the Montage 6 and 7 have the same synth-action keys, and not "semi-weighted" keys?)

Roland Controllers. Roland is now just a Toy company.
And Has cut corners Everywhere. But Especially in the Key-Bed area!
Be very careful. They have the same Keybed as The FA series. I will just state the first fact.
The springs on the black keys. Are the same as the White key springs. This causes problems. When playing a song with.
A lot of Black key work. As There is Too much resistance. Compared to the white keys. Confuses the fingers.
Yes They feel fine in the store.
Now. I could Write Pages. About what Roland has pulled. But that is not what this post is about.
I used to be a Roland Person. But I would not buy 1 single thing they make now. I know way too much inside info. about Roland.

As for other Controllers. I need to Feel it. And see the sensitivity. I can not be ordering Stuff. I know nothing about. And Shipping it back.
Reviews are flawed. A iPad type person. May think it is great. But a Real keyboard player. Would laugh.
Rightnow
It comes down to KonTrol MK II or a Fatar StudioLogic.

Controllers for Apple Logic Pro X:

While I'm not looking for a controller for my future Montage 7, I am looking for one to control my 88-key Kronos and for Logic Pro X on my iMac (with which I've had inconsistent results with my new Nektar LX25+).

According to 9-to-5 Mac's 2017 article, "The best MIDI keyboards for Mac and Logic Pro," the author appears to confirm at least one of your recommendations: Native Instruments' Komplete MIDI keyboards and Arturia's KeyLab/KeyStep controllers come out on top. Also, according to the article, with the Arturia keyboard, " . . . not only do you get a solid USB/MIDI keyboard controller, but over 5,000 synths from inside the software included for the price. Recently the line was updated with 'Essential' models and even more sounds packed in. Whether you go with the KeyLab (25, 49, 61 or 88) or the new Essential model, you’ll be getting a solid keyboard that works with your Mac right out of the box."

That Arturia "works right out of the box" statement stands out for me since my Nektar LX25+ is one of the grayed-out KBs in my "add devices" dialogue box in Logic. It works fine with Logic's built-in Alchemy soft-synths, but for some damned reason it refuses to trigger my UVI Synth Anthology AU (Logic's musical typing "sees" the keys being depressed on the Nektar but the UVI AU refuses to make any sounds in its instrument track).

While the Komplete KBs support aftertouch (Sweetwater's category-filters aren't completely accurate), apparently the Arturias do not; though, the $249 Arturia KeyLab Essential 61 in white is one good-looking keyboard (plus you get all those synth sounds!).

Update: Another reviewer complained about Arturia's keybed and rated Roland's controllers much better. Also, after quite a bit of internet searching (funny how Arturia's product description doesn't "volunteer" this information), I was finally able to confirm that the Arturia board does not support aftertouch. Too bad. Nice-looking keyboard.

I just sold a Keylab Because. It just was not sensitive enough For the Montage.
The thing about controllers. They can play a Soft Synth in a Daw just fine.
But When You get to Velocity Sensitive instruments/Sounds on the Montage. The Montage expects that midi signal to be like the Key-bed's.
And That is where you find the shortcomings of most MIDI Controllers. The Controller midi signal is no where Close.
Sensitivity wise to the Montages Key-bed MIDI signal.
So You have to hit firm. When you should be playing soft. You lose Your playing dynamics.

Thanks for the head's-up on the Arturia board! I just assumed most MIDI keyboards had that covered. Surprising to know that the velocity-sensitivity is poor on some manufacturer's boards. The Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol S61 MK2 looks to be the best of the bunch, but since I don't own Native Instruments Komplete 11 Ultimate (the only version which includes orchestra instruments), it's of course less of a benefit. Need to figure out if I want to pony up $700 bucks right now just to control my Kronos and a few NKIs. So far, the only NKI I'm considering purchasing is SoundYeti's Collision FX (the only AU library I own currently is UVI's non-NKI Synth Anthology 2).

I wasn't planning to go full-soft synths since I own a ton of hardware synths (and love the simplicity of all-hardware set-ups). I wasn't planning to go full-DAW either, but as my first DAW, Apple Logic Pro X at only $199 seemed to be a great deal (including over 65GB of pretty decent-sounding instruments). Plus, I find Logic to be really fun and easy to use. However, its ability to find my Nektar LX25+ on a regular basis seems to be a challenge, but its auto-mapping to Logic is what sold me (I'm still in the return-window period for my Nektar). I bought the 25-key Nektar mainly to take to work to play with Logic during my downtime. Of course, for those who own any Komplete 11 libraries, the Kontrol S61 MK2 should be a no-brainer.

Fatar Key-Beds. Have 3 keystroke sensitivity switches. They determine Velocity. By How fast You Make the downstroke of a Key.
IE: How fast the Key passes through the switches. Since the Montage and The Kronos Key-Beds. Are so sensitive. I will take a SWAG.
And Say They Also have 3 switches.
Most Midi Controllers. Have only 2 Switches to pass through. Hence.
They can not have the Sensitivity of A Fatar or high end Yamaha or Korg Key-Bed.
Now I am not a Fatar fanboy. There are some that really love them And Some that hate them. That is a Matter of Feel.
Also. Fatar. Makes different Grades of Key-Beds. So You just do not know. Unless it is in a High end Keyboard.
The Fatar in the Korg PA3X/4X. Is a joy to play. Compared to the Kontrol. Which is Just Good.

*End user wise. Fatar is a Very hard company to communicate with. First they are Italian. Second.
They have Signed a lot of NDA agreements.
So Unless it says it has a Fatar Key-Bed. They probably. Can not tell You. Some Companies.
Want You to think. They manufactured the entire Keyboard. Other side of that.
Fatar. Does not want their name associated with. Really Cheap products. They supply key-beds for.

Thanks for that insight into Fatar KBs. Well, now I have a whole new perspective on VST/AUs, making the case for choosing the pricey NI Komplete Kontrol S61 MK2 keyboard a bit more relevant. Last night I finally got everything to work: Nektar Impact LX25+ → Logic → UVI Synth Anthology AU → USB cable → Fantom G (used as an audio interface) → Yamaha HS5 monitors.

Logic finally recognized my Nektar 25-key MIDI controller and my just-purchased UVI Synth Anthology AU plug-in. And . . . wow! I love this UVI plug-in! It actually makes me want to toss all of my hardware synths and have only a Montage (which I've yet to buy) as my sole hardware synth (where I would use its huge arp library mainly for song-inspiration, plus have fun playing leads with its superknob).

Although I just bought an excellent EXs orchestral library for my Korg Kronos 2 (WavesArt's Cinematic Suite), I'm incredibly impressed with Orchestra Tools' Metropolis Ark I, II, III VST orchestral libraries for Kontakt 5 (however, at $2,098, it better be impressive!). Add the €249 violin and €249 cello solo libraries, and that totals to a whopping $2,714.25 (just a couple hundred dollars less than my Korg Kronos!). If I had it to do over again, would I opt for the $2,700 orchestra VST library and a $700 NI keyboard instead of buying the Kronos, which cost about the same with its third-party EXs library? Not sure. But now that I've become a bit more acclimated to VST/AU market, my dream hybrid hardware/softsynth system would likely be:

• Yamaha Montage 7 (idea-generator, sonic scratch-pad, performance leads).
• Native Instruments' Komplete Kontrol S61 MK2 + Orchestra Tools' Metropolis Ark I, II, III + Toontrack Superior Drummer 3.

Again, after playing UVI's Synth Anthology, I would only really need one hardware synth—the Montage—and move to 100% DAW-based recording in Logic and ultra-high quality specialized plug-ins for everything else (e.g., strings, percussion, etc.), where the acoustic instrument sounds need to be as authentic as possible. In the Montage, I would have the most capable "live" machine on the market. Then, I would also have an NKI hardware-integrated MIDI controller with the Komplete Kontrol S61 MK2. Then, someday perhaps add a weighted, 88-key Kontrol KB for the Montage. To me, this would be the ideal system—best of both worlds

Holy crap! I just learned that I already own an awesome 61-key MIDI controller! My 11-year-old Roland V-Synth GT! The time-trip and D-beam controllers apparently work on VST/AUs. Can't wait to hook it up and try it out!

Hi
This post was originally about.
Using a Controller MIDI for/to the Montage.
Because of the Ridiculously Tight spacing of the Montage keys. I Can not play Fast on it.
Yes I have Big Hands. But they fit Every Major Keyboard just fine.

What You are looking at.
Is different.The Montage Has Excellent MIDI out. Kronos And The Fantom As well.

Looking to Control a DAW? These are Two Completely Different things.
The Main Concern is Mapping & The Keybed.

As far as What You have. Any of those keyboards will control The Montage playing wise.
But since the Montage. Is Sorta from outer Space Midi IN wise. It is best to use it As the Main board. With the MIDI out.

DAW and Soft Synths. Really We could All Get by With just doing that.
But it is Having a Computer and The Delays and.... As to why we prefer a Standalone Keyboard. That You just sit down and play.
No looking at computer screens and using a mouse ECt........
Anything That is a Distraction. From the Creative Flow. Is Bad.

Sorry, I went a bit off-topic there. I won't need a keyboard to control the Montage since I plan on getting the 76-key; though, I do need a controller for my weighted-action Kronos (if I keep it). I was also looking at controllers to use for my DAW. The main thing I want my controller to do is to have transport-control over my DAW (which my Nektar LX25+ does have). To me, reaching over to hit the record button in the DAW is the most workflow-killing act of using a DAW.

Last night, I played all of my hardware synths, and I agree it's a joy. Working with plug-ins at my iMac is definitely a different experience, but all of its inherent power and flexibility is really enticing. Not sure which way to go yet.

Lack of transport controls on Montage is certainly a wart I would like to see removed if possible. This seems to go against the grain of so many other design/usage goals of the instrument. In the meantime (maybe forever), using a controller for transport that has a MIDI-din connector can get you there while assigning these to Port-3 through the MIDI bridge (DIN to USB).