Well, I ordered a Akai Pro LPD8. I still need a keyboard, but first I wanted some knobs to fiddle. Music instruments must be like audio gear. Every one that gets me halfway interested will have a couple reviews where people are screaming about how much some feature sucks, and that you should walk away and get something else.
At least with audio gear I'm entrenched enough that I know if something that someone is complaining about will bother me or not. It's been so long since I played keyboard (or piano) that I'm unlikely to be bothered by the key feel (all my previous keyboards either had from bad down to horrible keys). Still, complaints about not being able to properly trigger different velocities makes me think twice.
It does seem there's no universally well reviewed MIDI controller out there. Although, for $50 everyone does seem to agree that you can't go wrong with the LPD8.
