Best Cheap 25 Key Midi Keyboard

longi

I'm looking at buying my first midi keyboard. Cheap is the name of the game as money ams space is a bit tight. I'm looking at the £100 mark. 

What is out there that people would recommend? 

monquixote

Andertons have a couple of secondhand Arturia controllers

Basher

You need to be more specific.

"Midi keyboard" can mean different things. Are you after a keyboard that generates it's own sounds and will also output midi data for recording? 

Or do you want a Midi controller keyboard, which is what people usually mean by "midi keyboard". The latter doesn't generate any sound information but will send midi to a computer DAW to control and record VST softsynths, pianos, orchestral instruments etc.

Your budget is pretty tight but there's a new version of the popular Akai MPK Mini out that's exactly on your limit. I have an earlier version of it and like it, but you have to accept that the mini keys and size to give it a toy-like vibe. What I really like about the new one though is the full-sized midi output. This means you can use it to control something like a Behringer hardware synth module (other budget brands are also available). Pair the MPK Mini with a Behringer Pro-800 and you'd have an 8 voice analog polysynth and controller for around £325. If you'd have suggested that was possible a few short years ago, you'd have been soundly ridiculed then locked up for your own safety.



 

hollywoodrox

Yes akai MPk mini . If it’s just a controller there are many all well under £100

longi

Basher said:

You need to be more specific.

"Midi keyboard" can mean different things. Are you after a keyboard that generates it's own sounds and will also output midi data for recording? 

Or do you want a Midi controller keyboard, which is what people usually mean by "midi keyboard". The latter doesn't generate any sound information but will send midi to a computer DAW to control and record VST softsynths, pianos, orchestral instruments etc.

Your budget is pretty tight but there's a new version of the popular Akai MPK Mini out that's exactly on your limit. I have an earlier version of it and like it, but you have to accept that the mini keys and size to give it a toy-like vibe. What I really like about the new one though is the full-sized midi output. This means you can use it to control something like a Behringer hardware synth module (other budget brands are also available). Pair the MPK Mini with a Behringer Pro-800 and you'd have an 8 voice analog polysynth and controller for around £325. If you'd have suggested that was possible a few short years ago, you'd have been soundly ridiculed then locked up for your own safety.



 

Pardon my ignorance! It wasn't to generate sounds, it was to control a DAW and a synthesizer at some point in the future.  The Akai looks interesting as does the Arturia. Food for thought.

Basher

longi said:

Basher said:

You need to be more specific.

"Midi keyboard" can mean different things. Are you after a keyboard that generates it's own sounds and will also output midi data for recording? 

Or do you want a Midi controller keyboard, which is what people usually mean by "midi keyboard". The latter doesn't generate any sound information but will send midi to a computer DAW to control and record VST softsynths, pianos, orchestral instruments etc.

Your budget is pretty tight but there's a new version of the popular Akai MPK Mini out that's exactly on your limit. I have an earlier version of it and like it, but you have to accept that the mini keys and size to give it a toy-like vibe. What I really like about the new one though is the full-sized midi output. This means you can use it to control something like a Behringer hardware synth module (other budget brands are also available). Pair the MPK Mini with a Behringer Pro-800 and you'd have an 8 voice analog polysynth and controller for around £325. If you'd have suggested that was possible a few short years ago, you'd have been soundly ridiculed then locked up for your own safety.



 

Pardon my ignorance! It wasn't to generate sounds, it was to control a DAW and a synthesizer at some point in the future.  The Akai looks interesting as does the Arturia. Food for thought.

Sorry. I didn't mean to sound like I was lecturing.

 Having though about it most people born after about 1927 would say midi keyboard, meaning a midi controller. I'm just showing my age, as usual. 

Oh, and keep an eye on things like Facebook marketplace. I've seen controllers go quite cheap on there. 

Hope you find something, whether you go for a midi controller or one of those new-fangled pipe organs. 

longi

hollywoodrox said:

Yes akai MPk mini . If it’s just a controller there are many all well under £100

It is indeed just as a controller. I think I might have boiled it down to  three, the Arturia Minilab 3, Akai MPK4 and the M-Audio Oxygen Pro Mini.

hollywoodrox

Arturia stuff is nice & novation  it’s also a bonus if they have square pads & transport controls etc 

jackio

.

longi

hollywoodrox said:

Arturia stuff is nice & novation  it’s also a bonus if they have square pads & transport controls etc 

hollywoodrox said:

Arturia stuff is nice & novation  it’s also a bonus if they have square pads & transport controls etc 

I'd forgotten about Novation. I'll take a look. 

gretschthumper

There's a few Arturia Keystep 37 on ebay for under a ton - you get an arpeggiator/sequencer + midi & sync in out + cv ... much better than akai mpk imho, and you get some extra keys thrown in too 

sgosden

I have an M-audio 25 oxygen that I'm about to list. Its a bit chunkier than the really mini ones, but deffo cheap. £25 + postage?

Cowboyyeehaa1

sgosden said:

I have an M-audio 25 oxygen that I'm about to list. Its a bit chunkier than the really mini ones, but deffo cheap. £25 + postage?

I have one of these, works great. This is a good price id buy it! 

Also better than mini ones imo as it doesnt have those horrible little keys that are too small for anything but the slimmest of fingers.

#EDIT - sorry ignore me I've got the pro version.(which i'd recommend) - dont know what the other versions are like.

longi

sgosden said:

I have an M-audio 25 oxygen that I'm about to list. Its a bit chunkier than the really mini ones, but deffo cheap. £25 + postage?

Hi thanks, but I've just bagged the Pro version for £45 on the bay. I'm also still bidding on the Arturia minilab 3, so I might end up with 2!