Best MIDI Keyboards & Equipment
Includes VIP3.0 - the ground-breaking, award-winning music software platform that provides musicians and composers with a powerful hands-on control solution for their virtual instrument and virtual effect collection.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Unlike a synthesizer, MIDI controllers do not produce sound without software. So after you've downloaded the software and plug it in, you will still not have any sound generated until you've set everything up properly and loaded sounds onto the pads. It would be nice for them to take the time to make more tutorials. Everything I found just had to do with setting up the software, nothing really about HOW to actually use it. I am still learning to use this but it has gotten significantly funner to use as I have learned more about it and found sounds I like."
"A unique feature is the 4 way joystick for modulation and pitch control. It really helps keep the size of the keyboard down since you don't have to include those bulkier pitch and modulation wheels. Of course this is not the manufacturer's fault, they list "mini keys" in the first description of the product so I am not going to knock any stars for that. But the upside is that it makes the overall footprint very small, smaller than my computer keyboard infact. I think would be really neat if they made this same controller with normal sized keys. They make one similar (Akai Professional MPK25 25-Key USB MIDI Keyboard Controller with MPC Pads) but it has a lot more going on and is $80 more."
Limited Edition 25-Key Ultra-Portable USB MIDI Drum Pad & Keyboard Controller with sleek color change.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Unlike a synthesizer, MIDI controllers do not produce sound without software. So after you've downloaded the software and plug it in, you will still not have any sound generated until you've set everything up properly and loaded sounds onto the pads. It would be nice for them to take the time to make more tutorials. Everything I found just had to do with setting up the software, nothing really about HOW to actually use it. I am still learning to use this but it has gotten significantly funner to use as I have learned more about it and found sounds I like."
"A unique feature is the 4 way joystick for modulation and pitch control. It really helps keep the size of the keyboard down since you don't have to include those bulkier pitch and modulation wheels. Of course this is not the manufacturer's fault, they list "mini keys" in the first description of the product so I am not going to knock any stars for that. But the upside is that it makes the overall footprint very small, smaller than my computer keyboard infact. I think would be really neat if they made this same controller with normal sized keys. They make one similar (Akai Professional MPK25 25-Key USB MIDI Keyboard Controller with MPC Pads) but it has a lot more going on and is $80 more."
3 M-Audio Keystation 88 II | 88-Key USB MIDI Keyboard Controller with Pitch-Bend & Modulation Wheels
Includes SONiVOX Eighty-Eight Ensemble, a world-class virtual piano instrument, and Ableton Live Lite;Requirements:Macintosh: Intel Mac with Mac OS X 10.5 or later; 2 GB RAM,PC: PC with Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 10; multicore processor; 2 GB RAM,Available USB Port.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This is my first midi-controller as I have just newly ventured into the world of digital music, for a beginner tool this is great, I got the full size 88-keys, the product came with ableton live(which is a pc daw, i have mac so i use garageband), Xpand!2(a virtual instrument preset), and Sonivox Eighty-eight ensemble(another virtual instrument present), which you can easily download from M-audio website after registration."
"Also nifty that it comes with a licence for Ableton Lite, which seems to work nicely for messing around as I've been."
"Love this keyboard!"
"I bought this for my son's 23rd birthday."
"Great product."
"Works great on MIDI , got it connected to my Tyros 4 and Sonar and now I can do the impossible music I would never do in my life, the action is great and weighs very little !!"
"Cheap keyboard to attach to pc to allow me to write music."
"I've had this for about two months, and it's been great so far!"
Best MIDI
Band-in-a-Box 2017, RealBand 2017, Over 1,800 RealTracks, Over 150 MIDI SuperTracks, Over 2,000 MIDI Styles, Over 300 MIDI Soloists, Over 200 MIDI Melodists, 21 Nature Sounds and Percussion Loops,98 Artist Performances, 1000 Dubstep, Modern and Top 40 Loops.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This is what you see and hear in the videos!"
"Been a fan of this product for years."
Best MIDI Cables
USB IN-OUT MIDI Cable Converter PC to Music Keyboard Adapter Cord. Open your music software program, e.g. Cubase, Sonar, MIDI Connections, etc. To save potential problems, it is recommended that this interface is always connected to the same USB as it was originally installed on to prevent multiple installations of the driver. Start by connecting an electronic musical instrument to your computer with the provided USB MIDI cable. Within minutes you'll be able to play songs while they are being recorded on your PC. With appropriate software, you can overdub additional instruments, then edit, mix and even print sheet music of your final compositions.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Note: The midis cables have always been connected in the opposite way, so the Out -> In .... and the In -> Out ... is not a cable fault, this is how the system works mostly on old keyboards."
"HOWEVER, this product fit like charm with regards to both connections, and even though I did not have to contact the company, they were concerned about my satisfaction with the product and if it worked as described."
"This company has an outstanding customer service policy of working with you on any issues and from the first, I've been very impressed. The new one works perfectly, I can see the files and perform the functions I need to with my keyboard so I'm changing my rating, happily to 5 stars, not only for the product but for the very excellent customer service this company provides."
"Also, using alsa tools/aconnect with my Raspberry PI it wouldn't act as a connector between my USB Alesis DM6 and the Rockband midi pro adapter for Xbox 360 even though the more expensive Midisport Uno does just fine."
"When using a CC knob on my controller, the interface will send rapid-fire note data to the program, sounding a bit like an old-time rotary doorbell. THAT SAID, I'm going to give this 4 stars because for the insanely low price, it does work well for connecting a keyboard and playing it. --ORIGINAL REVIEW--. It does connect a MIDI device via USB, but the unit I got drops data. As long as you play one note at a time, all is well, but when playing chords, it only passes a "note off" message for one of the notes, leaving the others playing until you retrigger and release each note individually."
"Excellent product so far, the MIDI interface works with Ubuntu flawlessly for a program called piano-booster."
"So basically I'm out $13 plus shipping and I have a useless cable that might actually work if I go ahead and get Windows XP installed."
Best Computer Recording MIDI Controllers
It features 25 velocity-sensitive synth-action keys, a 4-way thumbstick for dynamic pitch and modulation manipulation, 8 backlit velocity-sensitive MPC-style pads, and 8 assignable Q-Link knobs. Plus, two banks expand the number of MPC-style pads to 16 for extended creative capabilities. Features a 4-way Pitch Bend and Modulation joystick . Features a Noterepeat and Full-level button option. You can watch step-by-step tutorials in the Related Video Shorts below or visit akaipro.com/kb/search/MPK_Mini for more detailed FAQs. Note Keys : (25) velocity-sensitive mini keys Pads : (8) assignable backlit pads, velocity- and pressure-sensitive Pad Banks : (2) banks Knobs : (8) assignable 270º knobs X-Y Controller : (1) configurable thumbstick with 3 modes Octaves : 10-octave range with octave up/down buttons Arpeggiator : adjustable resolution, range, and modes Additional Controls : Note Repeat button Full Level button Tap Tempo button. Power : USB power via full-size USB jack; no power adapter required Dimensions (width x depth x height): Product: 12.5” x 7.13” x 1.75” Shipping: 14.3” x 8.64” x 2.9”. MPK mini USB Cable MPK mini Editor ( download ) Software Download Card User Guide Safety & Warranty Manual. Includes VIP3.0 - the ground-breaking, award-winning music software platform that provides musicians and composers with a powerful hands-on control solution for their virtual instrument and virtual effect collection.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Unlike a synthesizer, MIDI controllers do not produce sound without software. So after you've downloaded the software and plug it in, you will still not have any sound generated until you've set everything up properly and loaded sounds onto the pads. It would be nice for them to take the time to make more tutorials. Everything I found just had to do with setting up the software, nothing really about HOW to actually use it. I am still learning to use this but it has gotten significantly funner to use as I have learned more about it and found sounds I like."
"A unique feature is the 4 way joystick for modulation and pitch control. It really helps keep the size of the keyboard down since you don't have to include those bulkier pitch and modulation wheels. Of course this is not the manufacturer's fault, they list "mini keys" in the first description of the product so I am not going to knock any stars for that. But the upside is that it makes the overall footprint very small, smaller than my computer keyboard infact. I think would be really neat if they made this same controller with normal sized keys. They make one similar (Akai Professional MPK25 25-Key USB MIDI Keyboard Controller with MPC Pads) but it has a lot more going on and is $80 more."
Best Computer Recording MIDI Interfaces
Low-profile, 25-key USB-MIDI keyboard, ideal for use with laptop and netbook computers.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"An amazing instrument, especially for the price."
"Just kind of "Meh" for me."
"This turned out to be far more useful that I thought it would have been."
"I bought this nanoKontrol to use it with Ableton Live 9, I use different tracks, midis and audio, so I needed something to help me control the DAW, this is an amazing controller, everything is very helpful, and it works as a native controller with Live 9, but you can also assign every function as you want."
"The downloadable editor software is pretty easy to use( as far as the basics go) but the documentation is a bit confusing, so a lot of discovery through experimentation is needed, but that is normal in the world of digital audio. But there are also some preset scales that you can choose from including major, minor, etc. The default scale setup is whole tones from left to right in each row with the top and bottom rows separated by a semitone, giving it a transposing arrangement by a shift of the hand(as long as you don't shift off the edge!)."
"I had to set everything one octave higher to play correct sounds."
"I work for our church (watermark.org), and when we needed a simple and affordable lighting controller for a kids space, I decided on the freeware DMX software QLC+ in Kiosk mode. The nanoKONTROL2 works seamlessly with this software, giving our volunteers simple fader control over lighting in the small space and allowing us to recycle outdated Mac's and PC's as lighting controllers. From there, pro lighting wings will start in the low thousands, many without motorized faders."
Best Bass Guitar Parts
Color: Black. Control via smartphone or speaker: stream music in a wide 33 feet (10 meters) range and switch tracks and take phone calls from either your smartphone or the speaker.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This speaker is not the smallest of portable Bluetooth speakers but nor is it the “Big Daddy” as I have seen some considerably larger. Pairing with a phone is by the usual procedure and it works perfectly using Bluetooth which gives very fast connection and clear sound (see video). I could not find the actual weather protection rating of the speaker however I think it is fair to say that this speaker would need to be kept away from water. I think everyone understands the concept of bass and in that respect, it has very strong bass as you would expect with such an impressive subwoofer. I experimented with a good quality graphic equaliser on my phone and found that whatever setting I chose, be it pre-set or manually adjusted, the speaker produced clear, clean sound without distortion or vibration. It is completely capable of providing great sound quality without distortion for a whole wide range of music genres and if you want to push bass, high ends etc."
"When I purchased this TaoTroniccs speaker I expected a fairly good quality product as other products from them have been well designed. I would have liked some type of simple equalizer control but the lack of does change the high marks I give to this speaker."
"Thinking that there was a problem with the speaker, I corresponded with TaoTronics customer support and we decided that I should return the speaker and get a replacement. This automatically muted the TV speakers which was fine, but also allowed the TV remote to control the volume (and mute) the TT-SK11 speaker (Which was not possible when using the audio output jacks)."
"When I saw this speaker, not only was I in the market to replace my desktop computer speaker system, I was intrigued by this company to see if their quality extended to other electronics. Also, when the Taotronic speaker is functioning, the desktop speakers do not...FYI."
Best Folk & World Keyboards
The melodica is a fascinating wind instrument, easy to learn and powerfully expressive. Range of over two and one half full octaves for soprano or alto.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I watched a video and followed the instructions; there is a "hit-or-miss" element to the tuning process (filing the reeds) because you can't hear the changes until you put the whole thing back together; then you'll probably need to fine-tune for the notes that you've over- or under-corrected."
"A good instrument but I'm not a great expert, just bought it for fun."
"Great product and fair price."
"I don’t know anything about Melodicas butting it made my young adult son really happy."
"I bought this on a whim because my friends and I were joking about incorporating this into our music to make it more fun."
"worth the price, really good quality."
"Sounds good?"
Best Electronic Keyboards
Keyboard pack includes a pair of Samson HP30 closed-cup headphones, x-style stand, and power supply.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon":). I asked around a lot to finally decide what to buy, since I was a rookie myself. The keys are not like the ones on the cheap keyboards (empty underneath), and you could really get a good sound out of them by pressing hard, or play a soft, smooth tune. Other perks include a USB outlet, which means you can connect the piano to your ipod or pc, great sampling system, and a song bank."
"Casio is the perfect next step for anyone looking to start creating their own music at home. It has so many great features and even though we have been jammin' on this keyboard for a few weeks now, I feel like we haven't even scratched the surface with what it can do. Features: Sound EFX Sampler. Built-In Microphone. Step-up learning system. 400 Keyboard Voices. 48 Note Polyphony (so you don't have to worry about dropping notes). 150 Rythms. 110 Built-in Songs. USB MIDI. casio keyboard. What makes this keyboard go a step further is the USB MIDI connection which allows you to hook this digital piano up to a Mac or Windows computer. To help them learn, there is even the Step Up Lesson system which shows players which keys to push. My kids love the microphone part of this keyboard where they can say something and have their voice be changed into silly tones."
"Just as you see in picture."
"Since Xmas I have received photo after photo of the keyboard being used."
"Bought for my 6 year old grandson for Christmas and he absolutely loves it."
"So called educational CD is whole another adventure... just to make it clear I'm an IT person and tried the CD or what should be educational CD...to runt it on multiple machines/PC."
"Arrived quickly, was able to easily wrap for a gift."
"This is a great value for the price."