Studiologic SL88 Grand

I have had the SL88 Grand for a few months now, and I am very pleased with it. I use it at home, playing rock, jazz and classic, and for gigs playing rock. I use it as a controller for piano sounds (PianoTeq), and organ module (KeyB Expander), and sometimes other sound modules (Rolands).

My main observations:
- The keys are awesome (yes, I know, top model from Fatar), I really like the ivory feel and the interaction. I grew up with an acoustic piano, it just makes a difference.
- Configuration is unlimited, more or less. I can easily prepare a gig, having the entire set list available and just switching to the next song, then having everything set up as I want.
- I had issues with the midi in and the expression pedal, turned out to be my Viscound DB3 that did not work well with the midi signals, and my Boss expression pedal did not work well either (I strongly recommend the Yamaha instead). Studiologic helped me with information and suggestions on this to identify the problems.
- The three sticks for CC messages works very well, however, I miss the opportunity to send PC messages. When you select a program (Studiologic term for setting or song), then it is possible to send one PC message, but I would like to be able to have the possibility to do this during a song to turn external features on/off. This is the resason for only four stars for features.
- Input and output. There are all you can ask for regarding connections, and I use most of them. Especially the possibility of sending output to different connections is an advantage, I don't have to make the long midi links using midi thru, and also the Roland sound module insists on listening on all channels, making separation an issue. But not on SL 88, as I just assigned on output connection solely for the Roland.
- It is heavy. The SL88 Studio is only two third of the weight, however, the keys are different, so it is your decision what you need.
- I am a little concerned about the knob and the sticks during transportation, but so far it seems to work fine. I consider making a small layer of some kind of foam to protect it, though.

Sadly my enjoyment of using my new SL88 Grand was shortlived! While the keys themselves are a joy to play, there are other serious issues that has to be adressed before me or any professional user can trust this product 100%.

The memory is erased every time the SL88 is powered down! I have tried over and over again to program some zones but all my efforts are wasted as they are not stored properly.
The SL Editor may look good but has some serious flaws. First of all I have to establish the USB connection everytime I launch the program. I can?t understand why these setting can?t be permanently stored.
As far as I know the patches in the project I download from the SL88 can?t be edited directly. I must first open a project file on the left hand side that matches the memory of the SL88. Then I can edit the patches. But after that I have to transfer the edited patches to the NEW project with the downloaded patches from the SL88 on the right hand side and then I must upload them to the SL88. This is very frustrating and makes the whole process a real hassle! Dragging a patch from the left side to the right will not even replace the patch I am dragging it over to. It just assign it to a new patch.
After a couple of days use the joystick/rotary knob on the front panel of the SL88 startet to get sticky in one of the directions and the whole unit feels very fragile and prone to failure.

I bought the SL88 Grand two years back, when I needed a proper 88 keyboard, to emulate a piano-like playing experience. I use it in its most simple way: Take a MIDI cable, connect to a Nord Electro, and play piano/electric piano on the SL88. I had Studiologics before, so I knew they are not very "roadworthy" (external power block, cheaper materials).

The keybed, with its wood keys and triple sensor technology, is a joy to play - so far, so good.

But after a year of - light - use I noticed the first "stripes" on the TFT color screen (where the light cells don't work properly anymore). By now a second row of cells has gone, and it is basically waiting for the TFT panel to break down completely.

I can't comment on the quality of the software, but I can't recommend buying this keyboard any more, given the quality issue I have. Imagine you want to use this as a proper master keyboard and are depending on the screen to work ...