Best Midi Keyboard Controller for Cubase in 2021

Hi everyone. I’m looking for the best options for a midi keyboard controller for Cubase. Is there a brand/model that has software which is pre-mapped to Cubase 10? One that has a quick and easy way of auditioning sound samples without having to wait to load each sound individually? I have been using an Akai MPK 261 but I’m curious if there’s one that requires less midi-mapping and is more updated for 2021. Any advice would be great, thanks!

That has little to do with the keyboard, but is a feature in some (not that many) software libraries, because it requires pre-rendering a file with a sound example for each sound preset. And that increases the required disk space.

For faster previewing/auditioning of sounds, the biggest difference maker for me was to put all my larger libraries on SSD. And even then, some libraries still load rather slowly.

Thank you Nico 5. Great to know. What midi keyboard do you use and did you need to map out all the buttons, etc?

I’ve used several midi keyboards over the years. Currently using a NI Komplete Kontrol S61 Mk2. It has some Cubase mappings pre-configured. But I did a lot of extra mapping using the Cubase “Generic Remote” feature. I also use quite a few other controllers on my desk - also highly custom configured using the Cubase Generic Remote feature.

Unfortunately I’ve never found any keyboard midi controller that didn’t need a lot of custom configuration for Cubase. So in the current Cubase ecosystem, I’m not sure there’s a way around learning a significant amount of detail when wanting to use external controllers in any non-trivial way.

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Thank you Nico. That makes sense! Are you available for a consultation at some point? I’d be happy to buy you some virtual cups of coffee to help me get my Akai MPK mapped to cubase a little better.