Anyone know anything bout CME (UF5) keyboards!??

ok.,..a friend of mine has a CME UF5 and hes lookin to sell it to me,,,ive never heard of this brand but may get it..I have an mpc1000 and am wondering if i could use it alongside the mpc..I have never worked with midi and dont have a clue how it works...Would the keyboard provide the sounds, and the mpc records the inputs along with my drum tracks, then loops what i just played?...or does the mpc1000 provide the sounds, and i use the keyboard to play these sounds, then its stored on the mpc...

please take a look, cause i really would like something to do my basslines on besides the mpc...please help..
BTW,,is this a synth, or a midi controller or what the hell is it?!


heres a link to this keyboard
http://www.arbitermt.co.uk/cme/cmehome.htm

Most of the CME UF line are midi controllers, so no, no sounds...just midi data. Your MPC or other sound device would house the sounds, and your MPC or other device would serve as the sequencing/compositional tool....where the CME acts as just a midi input/control device.

If your MPC is your sequencer and sound device: CME out into MPC via midi, to play basslines or whatever else -- or alternatively to any other sequencer.

They're built pretty good, these CME units, not "pure plastic" like most of the others (MAudio, Edirol, etc), but definately not mainstream workstation or stage piano contruction quality --- reasonably. There have been some issues with drivers and build in the past, but I think they've been sorted out, from what I hear.

I have used, but don't own one though.

great info man,,,the drivers issues keep coming up thru this evening or research...

what do you think they are worth,,,like what should i offer him,,,keep in mind he "didint pay for it", nor does he know shit about keyboards...so hell either think its worth ALOT, or charge me only a little not knowin what he has.. It looked to be in pretty good condition.

I think they're worth what they're charging, retail, or a little less....especially if what the other brands are charging is a supposed benchmark. I think they're probably worth more than most of the other brands, especially if they sort out whatever issues users are experiencing. I usually opt for workstation keyboards personally, like ASR10s or such, but that's simplly because I have no real need for the non-keyboard controls (faders, buttons and knobs). But, if you do need the extra controls of a dedicated controller, they're really good devices to have (controllers generally).

What to offer him? Well, if you can get it for pennies and won't feel bad about robbing a friend, by all means do so! I would, and then I'd tell my friend how crazy s/he was. I'd give 50 US cent as my first offer even, if I thought I could get away with it.....and would walk away with the unit too, if they fell for it.

If not, just try to get a comfortable price....not retail price, but not too cheapo. I wouldn't pay anything within a hundred (USD) of retail price.....I'd atleast try to get a $500 keyboard for $300-$350, or a $300 for $150-$200 or such....or even less. If you find any dents and scratches, I'd drop even further. It's really up to you, and how much your conscious works for or against you.

If he tries to charge a lot, pass on it.

cooll thanks alot..

ok,,now how would this work with my mpc...ive never used midi

would the keyboard "use" the sounds off the mpc but be stretched across the keys as different notes?..damn this midi crap is confusing,,,i been makin beats for YEARS without usin midi, but I reallly need a keyboard to do my basslines and compose more stuff instead of samplin everything. Or would i be able to use a program on the computer for sounds, then run thsese sounds with the keyboard, and put them direcly into the mpc without the sounds originaly being on the mpc?...was that clear? this is hurtin my brain