Best mini midi keyboard???? For dance music.

Discuss music production with Ableton Live.
Post Reply
Vinyl sound
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Nov 14, 2019 1:57 pm

Best mini midi keyboard???? For dance music.

Post by Vinyl sound » Wed Nov 20, 2019 8:12 pm

Hello, looking to get myself a mini midi keyboard in the black friday sales, can anyone tell me what they think is the best for dance music, mainly edm.

Been looking at the akai mpk mini and novation mk3 which looks set up for ableton, would appreciate some advice please. :)

TLW
Posts: 809
Joined: Thu Aug 23, 2018 2:37 am

Re: Best mini midi keyboard???? For dance music.

Post by TLW » Wed Nov 20, 2019 9:34 pm

The Arturia keystep is pretty good in my opinion, and has an extra half octave over the 25 key boards. Plus a built in arp and sequencer, plus click, CV and MIDI outputs.
Live 10 Suite, 2020 27" iMac, 3.6 GHz i9, MacOS Catalina, RME UFX, assorted synths, guitars and stuff.

Vinyl sound
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Nov 14, 2019 1:57 pm

Re: Best mini midi keyboard???? For dance music.

Post by Vinyl sound » Wed Nov 20, 2019 9:52 pm

Looks good,
Is the mini lab better ? Looks like it has drum pads.

Shift Gorden
Posts: 852
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2015 8:45 pm
Location: Oklahoma City
Contact:

Re: Best mini midi keyboard???? For dance music.

Post by Shift Gorden » Wed Nov 20, 2019 10:47 pm

Depends on your budget...but I really like the Akai MPK225. It's robust, pads feel great, keys feel, ah, okay. Not sure if it meets your definition of mini though - the keys are full size.

Actually, it might be a bit too chunky for ya...

TLW
Posts: 809
Joined: Thu Aug 23, 2018 2:37 am

Re: Best mini midi keyboard???? For dance music.

Post by TLW » Fri Nov 22, 2019 9:23 pm

Vinyl sound wrote:
Wed Nov 20, 2019 9:52 pm
Is the mini lab better ? Looks like it has drum pads.
Don’t know. What I do know is that Arturia keyboard actions vary a lot. I like the Keystep but I think the Microbrute has one of the worst keyboards I’ve ever come across. It’s action is slow and for want of a better word feels spongy or rubbery.

But some people like them. Keyboard actions, like any instrument are very much a personal preference.
Live 10 Suite, 2020 27" iMac, 3.6 GHz i9, MacOS Catalina, RME UFX, assorted synths, guitars and stuff.

Damonv
Posts: 159
Joined: Fri Mar 15, 2002 10:27 am
Location: St Albans
Contact:

Re: Best mini midi keyboard???? For dance music.

Post by Damonv » Sun Nov 24, 2019 10:47 am

Arturia Keystep is a good option if you need CV & gate outs or Akai MPK Mini Mk2 if you need pads. The Akai is small and portable.

Vinyl sound
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Nov 14, 2019 1:57 pm

Re: Best mini midi keyboard???? For dance music.

Post by Vinyl sound » Sat Nov 30, 2019 10:35 pm

Yeh cheers guys, pads for me, full size keys, rotary knobs and pitch bend wheel is what I'm heading towards.
The Nektar Impact LX25+ looks like a good one, and the price looks good,
But is this fully compatible with ableton?
Read that it isn't.

jestermgee
Posts: 4500
Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2010 6:38 am

Re: Best mini midi keyboard???? For dance music.

Post by jestermgee » Sat Nov 30, 2019 11:00 pm

Vinyl sound wrote:
Sat Nov 30, 2019 10:35 pm
Yeh cheers guys, pads for me, full size keys, rotary knobs and pitch bend wheel is what I'm heading towards.
The Nektar Impact LX25+ looks like a good one, and the price looks good,
But is this fully compatible with ableton?
Read that it isn't.
Keep in mind that most keyboards at the cheap end that have pads (for "drumming") do a pretty average job at offering good expression for your drums so don't expect anything that is overly usable. Might be a good starting point at an entry price point. To get good expression with drum pads you really need a decent one that is dedicated to the task.

Also keep in mind with that keyboard the controls are Potentiometers, not endless encoders. Not a big deal but it will mean you need to use "take-up" mode in Live to use the controls as they don't just increase/decrease the value so switching tracks and instruments you need to be aware the level of the controls will not reflect the value of the instrument

Not sure where you read the keyboard isn't fully compatible (link)? Here is what their official integration info says. Appears you get transport and typical track control etc. Does not look like you get "blue hand" control of a selected device but that is something that a controller with encoders is better suited for.

http://support.nektartech.com/s.nl/ctyp ... /KB.746/.f

102455
Posts: 1733
Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2009 1:41 pm
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: Best mini midi keyboard???? For dance music.

Post by 102455 » Mon Dec 02, 2019 5:41 pm


Post Reply