Would this be a good starter/learner keyboard?

[Wolfgeist]

Been a while since I've asked for advice here, been busy doing 12 hour shifts at work, numerous base exercises, and prepping for deployment. However, I've been on leave and have been talking with a couple of professional artists for advice. The overwhelming majority was to go with software synths for the mjaority of the producing, if not all. Well, after I get back from the big A-stan, I was planning on dropping some cash on different software, but in the meantime, I'm extremely motivated to do something NOW, and I want to learn the basics. Well, when I went up to Hannover for the Funker Vogt concert, we stopped in at Media Markt and saw this:

http://site.magix.net/english-uk/home/music/music-maker-12-xxl/

for 159,00 Euro. I know it's a very basic, stripped down MIDI Keyboard, but it has full version software included with it, and I figured it would be a nice learning tool. The OTHER option I have, and it's not a pretty one, is to go to the BX and buy what I call the "BX Special", and thats the Casio keyboards they have. So I figured before I spend $200 on either, which would be recommended for the time being. I know i've got a choice between two potential bad options, but bear with me, I've only got 3 months before I get on a C-130, and I'm restless.

(On a side note, if you get a chance to get the new Funker Vogt "Aviator" album, the special edition has a Bonus DVD which shows how they make some of their music, both hardware and software synths. And recording/editing vocals.)

[Dafydd]

Looks good enough. It has a pitch and a mod wheel, which is nice. Does it allow you to switch octaves though?

I've been trying this one out for some time, it's pretty nice. The two knob wheels are ideal for usage with e.g. Reason:

http://www.korg.com/GEAR/info.asp?a_prod_no=KSERIES&category_id=1

But if I were to buy a keyboard now, I'd try this:

http://musicthing.blogspot.com/2004/11/roll-up-midi-keyboard.html