For basic home studios, that only want something something small, versatile, and easy-to-use…. These pads have since become standards for making drum beats, and controlling almost any type of percussion-based virtual instruments. So for a cheap and simple option to pound-out some beats, I highly recommend the MPD Rather than needing separate controllers for both keyboard and percussion ….
And while most controllers these days have that feature as well, there are very few that have iOS connectivity for iPads , iPhones , and iPods. But the M-Audio Oxygen does. Check it out…. While MIDI controllers typically come in multiple sizes to accommodate different users….
In addition to the standard tools, the MPK Mini also offers:. Velocity response and aftertouch are good, though aftertouch feels slightly uneven on the black keys. There is a good amount of controls here such as pads, faders, and buttons, which unfortunately feel less premium due to their age. The SL does have the edge here, especially in terms of integration. Native Instruments is the biggest name in the business, and their plugins and hardware integrate well with each other.
Their new Komplete Kontrol S series includes semi-weighted keyboards courtesy of Fatar. Komplete Kontrol S The only major downsides to this keyboard are a hefty price and a limited number of controls. Kawai needs no introduction as prolific acoustic and digital piano makers, having been around since For the longest time, people resorted to actual digital pianos for that accurate replication of feel.
Options like the Akai MPK88 existed but never compared to the more professional touch of actual digital pianos. While getting an affordable yet well-reviewed digital piano such as the excellent FP is a valid option, you need to pay top dollar for wooden keys and responsive sensors. No faders, no buttons, nothing at all. The Kawai VPC1 has the best keyboard of the bunch and is worth the price of admission.
If you look up the price, breathe deeply. With the RM3II action, you get a simulated acoustic feel with graded hammers, counterweights on keys, synthetic ivory-textured surfaces, and triple sensor detection for repetitive key presses.
Each key is a solid piece of wood of similar length to a real piano, which combined with a seesaw action mechanism, offers an incredible amount of realism. A triple pedal setup also comes with the controller, providing soft, sostenuto, and damper pedaling in one package.
This is the best piano-style weighted key action you can get in a MIDI controller. Again, I recommend you check out our breakdown of all our top piano VST plugins to find one that works best for you. M-Audio Hammer It also helps that they cost less than half the price of the Kawai VPC1.
Roli is a company formed to tackle that issue head-on. Instead, they use the simple concept of aftertouch and add extra dimensions to enhance performance capabilities.
Perhaps even controlling pitch bend by moving your fingers horizontally! Touch is the name of the game here, and Roli even designed their own software plugins to take full advantage of their keyboard. The problem here is the price. The cheapest Seaboard Block is many times the price of other key controllers, and the Seaboard Rise key variant costs nearly as much as the Kawai VPC1!
However, this is innovation the way we like it. The Roli Seaboard requires you to significantly alter your playstyle, so what if you like your current keyboard? Well, a lot of other products act as accessories to enhance performance, rather than replace your current rig. These include the ring-based MIDI controller from Enhancia that reacts to movement dynamically, sending CC changes as you move your hands.
MIDI keyboards are valid practice tools for budding pianists and keyboardists. While the setup may turn some away, the cheaper price is a bargain. Our stance remains, if you want to learn the piano specifically, you need a good set of realistic keys and sounds.
Something worth considering when purchasing pedals for MIDI controllers is whether you require half-pedaling. Pedals with half-damper support cost a bit more but are well worth the extra price to enhance realism on supporting plugins like Keyscape. Korg DS-1H. This small pedal is built like a tank and will last you many years even if you chuck it around. Nektar NP If you decide that half-pedaling is unnecessary, your options open greatly. We recommend the Nektar NP-2 for its cheap price and good build quality.
The M-Audio SP-2 is a good alternative as well. While we stand by our stance that keys are the most important aspect, there are other factors to consider. As always, we recommend going into stores to test out your purchases beforehand whenever possible. A good feel is something we always look for and being subjective means that what we like might not be your personal favorite. Thank you for a great article. I have a question though: I there a way to use some other hardware instead of a computer to play with a midi controller?
Thank you for the answer! Hi Adam, thanks for your question. Plus, sample libraries available for mobile devices usually have a reduced size compared to full-fledged VST plugins available for computers. With that said, you can still find a lot of cool apps to play around with different sounds and effects. Garage Band would be a great way to start. Can you comment if there is really that big of a difference between the two in terms of performance and, given that I have an 88 note keyboard, if I could get away with the key model of either.
Thank you for your informative site! I love the information you present and your wonderful style. I am looking for a 88 key controller, but a piano feel is most important to me, so I am considering the Casio Privia PX-S instead of a controller which I tested at my local store today and really liked!
All in all, there are more affordable digital pianos that feel just as good or better than the mentioned controllers. Thanks for the great article. I am looking for a light and cheap 61 key solution for beginner practicing piano during holidays with a VST piano. Others say the new Mk3 61 keystation would be the best light piano replacement because of the half weighted resistence it offers, allowing better expression playing piano. Would you prefere the GX61 over the Keystation 61 Mk3?
How well does the Casiotone hold up for practising piano? While the 49 has an unweighted synth-style action, the 61 apparently has a semi-weighted action. Saw this while reading buyer reviews. Does your statement that the Nektar GX61 is more playable than the Keystation Mk3 refer to the 49 or the 61 key variant?
Calling them semi-weighted seems a bit misleading based on raw feel, as they feel similar to the pseudo-waterfall keys on the Yamaha NP and NP, which are just unweighted synth-action keys. Regarding the Casiotone, I personally liked it quite a bit as a budget practice keyboard. However, I still put the GX61 a step above in terms of feel. Having a good VST plugin and the comfortable keys of the GX61 feels like the best middle ground for cost-saving in my books.
Both the GX61 and the Casiotone work for practice. Do you want a straightforward experience, or the ability to choose your sounds via software?
I have now ordered and tried the Nektar GX So I ordered the Keystation 61 MK3 after all. And what can I say: Right from the start the feel and the velocity curve was quite good for me. The GX61 I could return. For the price it was certainly a great keyboard. Of course, this is always a question of personal preference and habit.
Good luck on your musical journey! Hi Lucas, Is the combination of a good midi keyboard with a good piano VST and good speakers a sensible alternative to a digital piano in a comparable price range? Casio and Roland offer probably comparable models. But what about the sound reproduction? Would studio monitors be able to produce a sound that is at par with the sound of a CSP or equivalent of other brands?
Or are such digital pianos still ahead in sound reproduction? PS: I just started supporting you through Patreon because your website provides quality information. I hope more people will support you as well. This also includes electric pianos, which might help if you want the added versatility.
With regards to monitor speakers, I think that a decent pair of monitor speakers will certainly sound better than built-in speakers on most digital pianos. With that said, your point of comparison was the Yamaha CSP series, which is one of the better sounding digital pianos out there.
Despite my love of MIDI keyboards, I still enjoy the physical sensation of hearing and feeling the vibrations of a digital piano, which adds to the realism factor. This is something slab-based pianos just fail to recreate. Hi Lucas, Many thanks for your insights. In the meantime I was reading about monitors and room acoustics. What do you think about these?
Would a subwoofer help with realistic sound reproduction? I am also thinking about some absorbers and diffusers to treat the room. I would find such a setup justified if the sound and feel would be clearly superior to the CSP I regard experimenting with a setup as part of the fun of making music.
Maybe you could give some insight on this? Do other brands offer this as well? If yes, which ones and which product lines? But I do not really know what is on the market in this field. Any advice here is very welcome. I saw there is arranger hardware e. Roland BK-7m but I could not find any software or apps that react in real-time to what you are playing. I only found solutions where you set up the chord progressions beforehand or chose a song to play along, which is nice as well.
Judging by your comments thus far, I think getting the CSP-series might be the right choice for you. The cool thing about software is that you can always dabble with it later on, using your Clavinova or any other keyboard with USB connectivity as a MIDI controller and speaker. If you want more sounds, the option is always going to be there when you need it. I will say this, if you really want to make your own songs, these auto accompaniment tools might feel a bit limiting. There are other limitations too, like the possibility of missing more complex chords diminished 7 passing chords for example.
Depending on how you play, and what music you listen to, you might find yourself hitting these limitations sooner rather than later. For me, I love having fun with these features, and I foresee myself wasting a lot of time with the backing band feature if we ever decide to review a supported Clavinova.
Oh, regarding the monitors. There are 8 assignable knobs and dedicated navigation and control buttons as well. If you choose to get a bigger version Launchkey 49 or 61 , another feature available to you are some faders for volume control straight from your MIDI keyboard as well as modulation and pitch wheels. That being said, it can be used with other DAWs. The Seaboard Block by Roli is a really different type of MIDI keyboard that has been astounding musicians and producers for a few years.
The surface allows you to glide your fingers along it, strike the keys, press down with your fingers, etc, to shape the sound of your instrument through five dimensional touch.
The Seaboard Block is both wireless and super portable , so you can take it with you wherever you go and connect it to your phone or computer. The Seaboard Block comes with software included are Noise, Equator Player, and Blocks Dashboard and you can purchase different instruments and sounds to play with the Block through your phone or computer, or you can use it as a MIDI keyboard with your DAW and bypass the included sounds.
For being as small as it is, it has some clever features that make it have a lot more functionality that you would be more likely to see in a bigger MIDI keyboard. The Axiom AIR Mini 32 has 32 mini synthesizer style keys velocity sensitive, of course and 8 drum pads. There are 8 knobs, 3 transport controls, and 5 navigation buttons. The controls are assignable and have front panel programming. There are also pitch bend, modulation, and sustain buttons on this MIDI keyboard.
The defining feature of this keyboard, and what I think makes it worth buying, is the fact that there are multiple banks for the drum pads and 10 memory locations for saving custom settings.
To me, this gives it as much functionality as a bigger MIDI keyboard that has way more drum pads, knobs, and buttons. This can be through the piano keys, where you play it just like a normal piano while using the MIDI information with an instrument plugin. A MIDI keyboard can also input information through the drum pads. Many MIDI keyboards also have knobs and faders, so you can also control the volume, pan, filter, etc, automation of tracks.
MIDI keyboards add a ton of functionality to your workflow and enable you to compose so much faster than writing in MIDI information note by note. Do you want to compose with it, or do you just want to use it to control your DAW? This brings me to my next point: MIDI keyboards come with different amounts of keys, and some are synthesizer style non weighted and others have weighted keys, like a traditional piano keyboard. If you want something you can play at lightning fast speeds, you might want a MIDI keyboard with non-weighted keys.
Really this is a preference type thing. Take this as a lesson. Akai has some of the most popular MIDI keyboards , especially for beginners or bedroom producers. The keys feel nice and the drum pads are sensitive. Novation was the brand I went with when picking my first MIDI keyboard, and I was pleased with their line of instruments. Spend as much money as you see fit. Many MIDI keyboards are similar and a lot of the cheaper ones work just as well as the expensive ones.
Check out our reviews of best budget MIDI keyboards to learn more. However, a lot of this depends on the features and what the keyboard was made for, since some are made mainly for performance and others are made for production.
Higher-priced MIDI keyboards will be ones with 49 to 88 keys, ones with LED screens, instrument presets built in, and an extensive amount of knobs, faders, and drum pads. The more features on the keyboard, the higher priced it will be. Really this is up to you. Are you already a seasoned piano player who is used to playing over 61 keys? Do you like the feel of weighted keys? I personally would suggest starting out with a or key MIDI keyboard that you can learn on first.
Select whichever instrument you want to use, and begin playing the keyboard. You might also need to change the audio input settings in your DAW to make sure everything is connected properly. Some piano keyboards have MIDI inputs on them. Some DAWs Logic Pro X and Ableton Live for example do allow you to use your computer keyboard as a MIDI keyboard, but usually in these cases, they only function as the keys of the keyboard and octave up and down buttons.
Stick to what you think would be the most suitable for you, and take time to learn about it. MIDI keyboards and controllers have a lot to offer, and if you really dig deep and learn how to use all the features and get the hang of performing with them, they can be incredibly useful and also very fun.
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