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Ask HN: What MIDI micro/nano keyboard(s) do you like? (Electronic music)

57 points by tom-thistime ↗ HN
I've tried CME Xkey 25 (the USB wired version) and Korg Nanokey 2.

The CME device would be my dream micro-keyboard, especially at the price (US 125), with full-size keys and even per-key aftertouch. (Key travel is minimal; it's a low-height device.) However it has had some reliability problems with a key, and eventually with the USB cable. I'm finally admitting that I need to replace it.

The Korg is incredibly tiny, cute, and works fine ... but the keys are just buttons. But it's ideal for carrying around with an iPad, super cheap, and so far reliable. The velocity sensitivity is good enough to be usable.

So I need to replace the Xkey 25. What other highly portable keyboards have people enjoyed using? I'm hoping for something not much longer than the width of a laptop. Thanks.

70 comments

[ 4.4 ms ] story [ 196 ms ] thread
LinuxBender
I have a bunch of these [1] Namando mini slim keyboards connected to firewalls/routers. They are cheap but have 64 keys and are backlit which is useful for router closets. That said I am not a fan of mini keyboards. My brain is wired to use full size so mini's really slow me down.

[1] - https://www.amazon.com/Namando-Compact-Keyboard-Portable-Com...

wahnfrieden
midi
LinuxBender
Ah sorry I thought that was a typo. The only keyboard I've had that could do MIDI was a full sized crazy over priced thing that by today's standards would be an antique.
keybored
Can these things be used as general computer input methods?
tarentel
I don't own one but the arturia microlab looks like it's similar to what you're looking for. I own a few other arturia products, including the keystep 37 and pro and they're both great. My only complain is I wish the pitch bend and modulation were physical controls rather than the touch but I don't use them so much that it's really an issue.
tiniuclx
I've been using my M-Audio Keystation Mini 32 for a few years now, and it hasn't dissapointed. The keys are small & don't feel amazing to play, but it packs two and a half octaves in a package just over the width of my laptop. You don't need more if you're programming MIDI melodies.
mikewave
Same here. It's barebones, but it's also cheap and plentiful on the used market, has enough functionality to be useful without being overwhelming, and fits easily in a backpack. Did some noodling around with it connected to my iPhone on a plane recently, no drivers needed if you get that Lighting-to-USB adapter, phone powered it fine, and I was able to drive Korg Gadget and make some shitty techno.
tom_
I've got a AKAI MPK Mini, version 2 I think - had it for a while. (Looks like they sell a version 3 now.) 25 little keys. Not expensive, doesn't weigh much, size of keys fine for experimentation, seems to be a standard MIDI-over-USB sort of device so it works with everything, and it has some dials and pads as well as just the piano keys. A couple of arpeggio-type options too.

I really didn't get on with the velocity sensitivity, which to my mind requires far too heavy a press to get max volume, both on the keys and the pads.

Marazan
You should be able to adjust the pad velocities with the Editor.

The keyboard might be able to be edited with the same trick as the mk iii.

Hold down Full Level for 5 seconds and you can then edit the curves usong the knobs.

midislack
My latest buy is a Kurzweil K2000s. I can recommend it, affordable used.
wwweston
The K2000 is probably not what someone asking for micro/nano keyboard recs is looking for, but it is a deep and remarkable instrument. :)
midislack
Wanted one in the 1990s, this one just came to me. Probably better than a mini.
hecanjog
I like Akai's MPK Mini, I've spent time with the korg nanokey. The MPK has a decent scaled-down two octave keyboard that feels pretty good to play. The korg nanokey got me by for years, but I always thought of it as a stick with a bunch of shift keys on it.

A friend has the arturia keystep pro 37, which seems pretty nice. I'm considering a switch right now so I was happy to see this thread actually. It has aftertouch which is unique for a portable midi controller, though the aftertouch isn't polyphonic IIRC.

jerrysievert
I have a keystep 37 and love it, and don't even use all of its features.

one feature I do make use of (and the primary reason I bought it) is the CV/Gate output at 1V/Oct.

highly recommended, great hardware.

jnovek
Keystep 32 is also excellent and even smaller, and also has CV/Gate as well as velocity and (!!) aftertouch.

I don’t like the touchpad mod wheel, though.

jerrysievert
I keep hitting that too - I think that's probably the worst thing about it, which definitely isn't a deal breaker for me, just makes me need to be more cautious compared to the wheel.
Marazan
That Akai MPK mini keyboard, out of the box, is absolute garbage. Unusable. Almost returned it.

Amazingly the editor software does not expose the keyboard velocity curve for the keys (unlike the pads which are fully customisable).

However if you hold Full Level for 5 secs then the display shows the curve as 4 values and you can twaek it into something useable.

There is no documentation for this so the numbers are totally opaque and it will take experimentation.

hecanjog
It's really not garbage out of the box, it's a better-than-average MIDI controller, but if you hate it that's cool!
tmaly
I have the AKAI MPK Mini. It fits your criteria for size, and it works well as a midi source on Ableton 11.
LoveMortuus
I've got Akai MPK Mini and I'm quite happy with it, it does the job and doesn't restrict me while I'm doing my job.
rcarmo
I have KORG (nanoKONTROL Studio and nanoKEY) and love them. I get that the keys are weird, but I also have an Akai MPK mini and tried a few other keyboards (ROLI Bluetooth ones, etc.) and nothing quite came close.

Something you might want to look into is getting a Yamaha Reface (I recommend the DX or the CS, which are the ones I have) and use them as a keyboard. The keys are excellent, and velocity sensitive on all models -- and you get a very nice standalone synth to play around with.

pimlottc
Seconded on the Yamaha Reface series [0], they are widely regarded as having the best mini keys on the market. One note on the velocity sensitivity, though - while they all have the same keys and send velocity data when used as a MIDI controller, the built-in sound engines on the YC and CS models don't actually use the velocity. Just something to keep in mind.

Anyway, they're quite portable, solid and well-made. It feels like a real piece of kit and not a cheap plastic toy synth. They're really ideal for a great-sounded keyboard that you can just sit down and play without needing anything else.

Unfortunately, they've been unavailable for months now on the retail market but you can find used ones on Reverb [1] for a modest markup over retail price (USD $400)

A budget options is the Yamaha PSS-A50 [2][3], which has the exact same keyboard as the Reface series, but it's definitely more of a plastic toy and the sounds are just okay. But you can still use it as a MIDI controller if that's all you're after and it's only USD $100 at MSRP.

0: https://usa.yamaha.com/products/music_production/synthesizer...

1: https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=Yamaha%20Reface&make=ya...

2: https://usa.yamaha.com/news_events/2020/yamaha_pss-a50.html

3: https://reverb.com/p/yamaha-pss-a50-37-key-mini-keyboard

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least
A few months ago I was contemplating the same thing since I was out of town for a long stretch of time. It's unconventional and doesn't have quite all the features that most traditional keyboards have, but I ended up purchasing a Launchpad Pro [1]. While it does not offer a traditional keybed, it is surprisingly playable and feels very musical in its note mode. It also has a chord mode that makes building up chord progressions and riffing on them. It also has a reasonably featured 4 track midi sequencer built in. And of course it can be used as a drum pad and can launch clips in Ableton and Logic (and I believe there is a script for deep integration in bitwig studio as well?).

[1] https://novationmusic.com/en/launch/launchpad-pro

yata69420
Related, the Launch Control XL is pretty much the only sensibly priced and well built box of knobs, sliders, and buttons.
kuon
Yeah, I use it to control my stream, it works very well. (I use it with ardour on linux)
wahnfrieden
Not as “sensibly priced”, but I’ve replaced my LCXL with the Teenage Engineering TX-6 and am very pleased
munificent
Arguably not as "sensibly priced", but if all you want is knobs, I really like my FaderFox PC4.
Gordonjcp
I have a Novation Xiosynth 25, which has full-size keys, a semidecent audio interface, and a very nice synth engine.
turpialito
Akai LPK25, but I miss having pitch bend and modulation wheels.
jancsika
It's a decent device for testing and demos, but the keys are stiff.
mortenjorck
I bought a Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol M32 a few years ago as a secondary keyboard, and after two moves, still have yet to unpack my full-size MIDI keyboard.

NI markets the M32 as a controller designed to integrate with their software, but I don't even use any of it – the real selling point of the M32 is its build quality (and to a lesser degree, a rather nice default mapping in Ableton).

The M32's mini-keys have such a nice feel that when I bought a competing keyboard for use with my iPad, I had to return it because the NI had spoiled me. Everything else in the price range feels spongy and plasticky after using the M32.

I don't even use the encoders that much, but they too are significantly higher quality than the competition. Not only are they capacitive (touch a knob and the OLED display will show the name of the mapped parameter), they're higher resolution than most, meaning they're closer to the feel of analog potentiometers.

The only caveat is that you won't be able to use it with an iPad without an external power adapter, as the M32 requires more current than an iPad can supply by itself. Laptops are fine, however.

m0shen
I just picked up a launchpad x for this purpose. Has a note mode and you can customize what the grid does. Focusrite is also having a sale at the moment: https://store.focusrite.com/en-gb
odiroot
I use AKAI MPK Mini Mk3. It's okay, the key action is quite good for the price. The X/Y joystick is annoying though.

But I still prefer its action to Arturia's or NI's. They feel very rubbery.

The best compact (albeit expensive!) controller I've ever tried was AKAI MPK 225. The action feel so pleasant. I'm not really a good key player though so YMMV.

netr0ute
I have an Arturia Minilab MkII and it's actually smaller than my already small laptop, and you get 25 keys that aren't totally toylike.
munificent
I have a Novation LaunchKey Mini mk3. I like the size and the Ableton integration with the pads, but the keybed is just atrocious and I essentially never use it. Feels like spongy bendy plastic sticks (which is what it is).

I had an Arturia MiniLab mk2 for a while and like the feel much more. (I ended up returning it because it didn't integrate with Reason well, which is what I was using at the time.)

I also have a Novation LaunchPad Mini mk3 which I quite like for triggering clips and automation. I haven't tried using it for actual note playing.

I've been interested in the XKey. Does it feel like playing an actual synth-action piano keyboard, or is it more like a piano-shaped Mac keyboard?

tom-thistime
The XKey is more like a piano-shaped Mac keyboard. The throw of the keys is ... a couple of millimeters?
plantwallshoe
Arturia Keystep is my favorite. It has built in CV outs too for controller modular synthesizers in addition to midi.
Darthy
Love my Seaboard Block. Fits the size. Doesn't look to shabby next to Apple stuff. It's not your typical sample-trigger keyboard, but pair it with an mpe-Synth like Equator2, learn to play it expressively, and you get some amazing results.
defterGoose
Surprised no one has mentioned the Keith McMillen K board and QuNexus. These ones are incredibly well built and reviewed.
tom-thistime
They look cool. Have you used one yourself?
defterGoose
Yes. Key feel is excellent and the backlighting can be useful.