M-Audio, 32-Key Midi Controller, (KEYSTATION MINI MK3)

Great size MIDI controller that fits perfectly on my laptop to input notes into my notion software. Reliable, accurate and easy to use.

Excelente dispositivo de entrada. Creí que sería pequeño y limitado, pero me fascinó su precio y calidad de construcción.

+ Plug and Play on Mac OS-X+ Very clean and stylish looking+ Small footprint allows for portability+ A great array of included software- It looks fantastic, but it doesn’t feel very rugged at all. The keys fell slightly spongy and somewhat brittle, so play it with care- On Windows 10 it can be a nightmare to get working, or incredibly simple- I have 2 of these, one sits flat, one came slightly bent and it wobbles slightly on flat surfaces- If you decide to use it, the software needs to be downloaded, requiring creating a profile on M-Audio, the regestering your serial number. Pro Tools First requires multiple registrations, one for the program, one for Pace Software’s iLock Security, all for a highly watered down version of Pro Tools. The XLN virtual instruments software is highly limited and also requires setting up a profile if you decide to use it. Most of the best software based keys are locked behind an expensive paywall- This is the 3rd version of the Keystation Mini, yet the incredibly simple and excellent Air Ignite Digital Audio Workstation is only included for free with the first oneNow based on what you see so far, there are more negatives than positives, however, I can break it down further. On my Mac, I simply plugged it in, and it worked. I didn’t install anything extra at all. It worked across the board without any noticeable latency. I tested it in Logic Pro, Garage Band, Presonus Studio One and even far more basic mini apps. Next came Windows 10. I have 2 HTPC builds with 2 series Intel i5 processors, 1 larger and very powerful tower build with an Asus Zonar DSX sound card and an Intel i7, and 2 newer PC Laptops, 1 brand new Intel Core i9 model Dell XPS, and a lower end Acer Aspire with an Intel i5 7 series processor. All of these have the latest updates for Windows 10. On my i7 tower, the Keystation Mini MK3 was plugged into a USB 3.1 port. There are many online sites claiming that the Mini MK3 will only work on USB 2.0. In my case, this wasn’t an issue at all. Now there is an odd issue where due to how short the cable is, I used a USB 3.0 extension cord. This cord works on every high powered USB 3.0 device I own, including my Logictech Brio 4K webcam, which drinks power from the USB port. On the MK3 which only requires 5 volts from the USB 2.0 port, the extension cable prevents it from working on Mac or PC. It’s worth noting that the Asus Zonar DSX soundcard on my desktop comes with low latency Aiso audio drivers designed for USB Midi devices. Next I tested the MK3 on my i9 laptop directly, there were no issues on any of its USB 3.0 ports, and there’s no external soundcard, just the standard laptop motherboard audio. The MK3 also worked fine on my Acer Aspire, there are 2 USB 3.0 ports and one USB 2.0 port. It worked across the board on all 3 ports as a simple plug and play.Now I went to my main HP small form factor Intel i5 2500 based HTPC located in my room. This HTPC also has a USB based Asus Zonar U3 Dolby Live sound card. This is where the nightmare setup occurred. Plugging the MK2 into any of the 4 front USB 2.0 ports simply did not work. Those ports have powered my larger and smaller Intous model Wacom Styluses, as well as my wireless X-Box One Controller adapters, and numerous other devices in the past. There are 9 USB ports. I tried installing the software suit from the M-Audio website after regestering everything, that didn’t work. I tried using the Device Manager to locate drivers either online or on my system, that didn’t work. I opened up Air Ignite 1.4.1, which I got when I found out it wasn’t included, it’s supposed to simply work with it, it didn’t pick it up. Then after restarting, unplugging every USB device and unistalling them in device manager, that also didn’t work.What did work was going online and downloading the free ASIO 4 All program. When it’s installed, you need to check all 3 options on the installer, including the offline settings option. Now this didn’t work initially either, and rather than giving up, I re-tested every single USB port. None of the front ports worked at all. Only 1 port worked this time, which is incredibly strange given that every single USB 2.0 port on my HTPC has been tested to work with a wide array of plug and play devices. Once it showed up properly as the Mini Keystation 32 MK3, it showed up in Acustica MixCraft 7, Air Ignite 1.4.1, my friend has 1.3.1, and after contacting the company that makes it, they verified that those are both the exact same. 1.3.1 is the one that’s bundled for free with the first Keystation, 1.4.1 is simply the one that’s not entirely free that you purchase separately, despite having a newer version number. That’s just wrong in so many ways as those who have the free version may be tempted to purchase the newer one. That being said, on Windows 10, this device can be plug and play, or a literal nightmare to get working.The other thing that should be mentioned if you have an Asus Zonar U3 USB sound card, it’s not low latency ASIO compatible, you need to install the free ASIO 4 All, which will use a few processor cycles to force the lower latency you’ll need for Midi devices like the MK3. On any modern i5 series Intel chip, from the first gen one to the latest one, this isn’t really an issue for Digital Audio Workstations. My older MacBook Pro is a 2008 core2duo model attached to an Alesis Mixer, while I have vastly more powerful PCs, and a newer i7 MacBook Pro given to me by my job for graphic design work, the MK3 works the same across both without issues. The Mac does however come preconfigured for low latency Midi devices. Modern motherboards do too. Older mother HTPC motherboards simply don’t, so the ASIO 4 All driver rectifies this by using modern CPU power to reduce the latency of Midi devices. This is most likely why the Keystation Mini works right away on some Windows 10 PCs and not others. The odd USB extension cord issues and the short USB cord, as well as not working in USB ports that have powered devices that use far far more power than 5 volts is bad. A lot of these issues could be rectified if M-Audio simply included a driver for Windows that would make it work accrues the board. My case is an unusual one because I have a lot of PCs due to working primarily as a graphic designer/web designer, and a DJ/music producer on the side. If I didn’t have the ability to test it on so many devices, I would’ve simply returned it because it should come with drivers. The instructions mention downloading ASIO drivers for Windows, but that didn’t fix the issue initially, it was in combination with another fix. The instructions also didn’t mention that ASIO 4 All is literally the only freely available version of ASIO for Windows, or that if you use your CPU to reduce latency, you need to keep the samples at roughly 512 to avoid any audio popping. Lowering it to 128 without a newer motherboard or internal soundcard like the ones on my non HTPC builds, can indeed cause issues, so even with it, you’ll still have slight latency. Meanwhile on my Asus Zonar DSX sound card, the latency is 2 milliseconds, which is lower than it is my newer i9 XPS laptop. Again, if M-Audio simply included class compliant Windows 10 drivers instead of boldly claiming on their website that it works across the board as a plug and play midi device on Windows 10, or suggesting you buy a 100 plus dollar audio interface to make a 50 dollar midi keyboard work, there wouldn’t be any issues at all with any recent version of Windows.With all that being said, if you’re a Mac user, it’s as sublime and simple to use as plugging it into a USB port, and having it work even on my trusty 2008 Core2Duo MacBook Pro. Now on 2 of the 5 of my Windows 10 PCs, it was a nightmare to simply get working. Both HTPCs had the same exact issues. It worked on both on my PC Laptops, and on my larger i7 tower desktop, but I can’t say for certain if it would’ve been the case if my Asus Zonar DSX didn’t have custom ASIO drivers which installed with the sound card.

The media could not be loaded. This is a great little MIDI keyboard. It works with ProTools and Garage Band. Unlike most 32-key keyboards, the M-Audio Keystation starts on C rather than F, and that is important for me when considering a little keyboard.

To be clear at the outset, me rating this a 5-star item doesn't mean I think it's as good as some 88 key MIDI controller with genuine weighted piano key feel. It is what it is. But it met my expectations so I can't dock it any stars given the inexpensive price.I'm just toying with digital music creation which is near impossible without a MIDI controller. I literally wanted something I can hold in my lap and this fits that need.If you want to learn to play the piano or are serious about music creation this is not for you. While you can play the full range of a piano keyboard by simply shifting octaves with the controller's +/- buttons obviously you're not going to be able to play it like a piano. Not to mention the keys are understandably a bit narrow because of the unit's compactness so they're easy to fat finger. As expected in this price range, the keyboard's sensitivity isn't tactile nor is it something you'll be able to play nuanced notes with. But it opens up my ability to play various VST instruments which was the entire point of me buying it without any real investment. I can edit to my modest needs from there.The unit comes with software I've never used because I already own my own so I can't rate that. It's plug 'n play without manually installing drivers. The only installation hassle is getting it configured for a particular software program but that isn't M Audio's fault.Build quality is good enough. It's very light but feels sturdy enough. I don't notice any flex firmly pressing down keys even though it's sitting in my lap so it doesn't have a lot of support.Are there other cheap or even a bit cheaper MIDI keyboards that meet my needs? Sure. What swayed me with this one is it had 32 keys whereas competitors in this low-end range generally have only 25.

I really want to love this thing. It's a great size, it looks sleek, and feels good to play. But here's the thing: M-Audio advertises this item as Plug-N-Play, but it's not. If you're planning to plug this directly into your laptop prepare to pull your hair out. The lights on the item will turn on and your computer will recognize it as an available device but if you go to use it in Garageband, Logic Pro, etc, it will not actually control a software instrument.After sinking hours of my life into trying to figure this out, I finally stumbled across a forum that explained the issue. Apparently, the USB port in your computer does not feed the item enough power for it to function properly. Only if you plug it into a powered USB hub that you then plug into your computer will it work. I tried it in my USB hub and sure enough, it worked. This is extra stupid because I regularly use a Pearl malletSTATION (which is massive) and it's powered only by the USB port in my laptop. No extra power needed.M-Audio advertises this thing as "Ultra-Portable" but it clearly is not. Not if I have to carry around a powered USB hub for it to actually function. To say this is a design flaw is a massive understatement. Incredibly frustrating and absolutely asinine. Save your money and buy something that actually works.

The only problem. The type C USB fell off the circuit board on the inside. Product was not returnable. Sometimes the cord has not planned tension. It’s not your fault. I was careless. Great keyboard. I would recommend it to anyone. Thank you