Review: Korg microKEY USB Keyboard Controller
For most musicians, micro keyboards are a necessary evil, meant to fill in when either portability or space makes it impractical to use your full-sized keyboard. Korg’s microKEY 37-Key Midi Controller ($79.99 at Amazon) is actually one of the LEAST EVIL microKeyboards we’ve seen (they are free to use that quote in their marketing material), and while I won’t say you’d ever trade in your full-sized midi controller for the micro, you also won’t be composing through your tears of frustration.
Design
Probably the thing that takes the most getting used to on a micro Keyboard is… the size. That may seem obvious, but depending on your proficiency and adaptability, the length of the keys can be a little tricky to master if you are used to the real deal. However, again, if you are primarily using the microKEY (as do I) for GarageBand work, this was less of an issue as I tend to use it to hammer out various instrument sounds vs playing straight piano. But all that being said, making the adjustment wasn’t too difficult, and if you are a decent player you should have no trouble.
The microKEY feels quite light, which is a good thing in a portable keyboard, although it fell just this side of felling “toy-like” to me. The micoKEY line comes in 3 sizes – 25, 37, and 61 key models. I tested the 37 key unit. I would imagine the 25 key version would indeed feel like a toy (not that it wouldn’t perform well) although the smaller 25-key version has a nice iPad-related feature its big brothers do not (more on that in a bit).
The casing has a bit of a hollow feel to it, but the keys are well-made and have a nice feel to them. They are not weighted however, but they are velocity-sensing and DO respond to pressure (meaning a louder sound comes from pressing harder). Overall the design is fine, if not uninspired. Basically it looks like a keyboard. Only smaller.
Setup
The microKEY is truly plug and play, as all you need to do is plug the USB cable into your Mac and you should be good to go. there is no external power supply required. If you have GarageBand open, you’ll be greeted with the “the number of available midi inputs has changed” message, and you can start playing immediately.
It should be noted that the Korg site DOES have specific Korg midi drivers available for download as well, but the default OS X drivers seem to work perfectly.
Features
Despite it’s size and light weight, the Korg microKEY has the most important features midi users will be looking for, as well as a couple nice extras. First, there’s the Pitch Bend and Modulation wheels located on the left side. I don’t think I have ever used the Modulation wheel in my life, at least not properly, but the pitch bend wheel worked well, so I’ll assume the modulation wheel does what it’s supposed to do as well.
There are also two Octave Up/Down buttons, which can extend the range of the microKEY by four octaves in either direction, essentially giving you a full-sized keyboard.
On the side of the microKEY are two USB ports (type A) that allow you either hook up additional midi devices (Korg recommend their nanoPAD2) but you can also hook up ANY USB device, which means the microKey can act as a 2-port USB hub. This is a great feature as USB ports are even more in-demand than desktop space – at least at my house.
One final goodie that the microKEY family brings to the table is the ability to work with Garageband (or other compatible midi apps) on the iPad. In order to do this, you will need to buy Apple’s $30 iPad camera connection kit adapter, however. Also, it should be noted that iPad compatibility is one area where the 25-key microKEY has an advantage over the two larger models. The 25-key can connect to an iPad without the need for an external USB power supply (the iPad itself supplies the power to the microKEY). On the 37 and 61 key models, you will need to plug the microKEY into a powered USB hub first, which more or less eliminates the portability advantage of using the iPad to begin with. But it’s nice to know it’s possible I suppose.
The microKEY comes with a couple downloadable software titles and discount coupons for other software which Korg claims are over an $800 value. In general these are all light versions and discounts on more expensive software, so I’d imagine if you own GarageBand then that’s where most of you will want to stay. For those desiring more control over their microKEY’s functions, The Korg Kontrol Editor can be used to change advanced settings such as the velocity curve (how pressure sensitive the keys are), the midi channel the microKey transmits on as well as Mod wheel settings. (I took a quick look in here and got scared – these settings are obviously for someone with more talent than I have – but luckily if you mess things up you can always reset your microKEY back to the default settings by holding down both the Octave up and e Down buttons simultaneously).
Conclusion
Sometimes I feel bad couching a recommendation under the lines “For what it is, it’s great”, but the microKEY really is a niche product, and fills that niche quite nicely. Full-time digital composers will still need the “real thing”, but for beginners, or professionals looking for portability or a second midi controller that won’t take up the entire room, the microKEY is a great choice.
Price: ($79.99 at Amazon)
Pros: Compact, well made, acts as a USB hub; plug and play with the Mac
Cons: iPad connection requires a powered hub; No foot pedal support
Cool. I might get the 25 key version. Need something for the iPad.
Thanks for the info in this review. I’ve been looking for a small keyboard for use with GarageBand and Logic, and wanted something compact. The 25 key ones were mostly what I was looking at, but I was told repeatedly that the octave up and down keys will be needed often enough to annoy you if you do some serious use. Hopefully the extra octave will alleviate that with this, plus it’s made by Korg which is a trustworthy name to be sure. I think I’ll go out and get this one today.
Is it possible to use the microkey 61 with an ipod touch 2nd generation, using external power? The reason why I can’t use an iPad or newer generation is because camera-enabled devices and screen sizes beyond a certain size are not allowed.
Was wondering if it could be powered externally by plugging the microkey 61 into a regular phone charger?
Does anyone know why the iPad app music notator does not recognize the microkey-37? It is attached with a powered USB hub and the Apple camera connector.
I have been using the microkey 37 for about 6 months and it worked good on my old mac but since buying the new mac mini with usb 3.0 ports it does not power up at all…works on my laptop which is usb 2.0 but not on my new computer which is what I use for music editing!
This was a great keyboard that I had a lot of fun playing with. I felt at the time it was a good value. But recently the keyboard stopped working with the USB port not connecting properly. I looked at the main board USB port and it has these flimsy connectors instead of of a standard B-USB port (see http://blog.blecentral.com/content/images/2015/09/USB-Powered-03.gif). The central block is missing in the MicroKey USB port. Seems like a case of pretty cheap components being used. Now my keyboard is unworkable.
I have found I can use ANY of my UNpowered USB hubs to run my KORG Microkey 61 from iPad: First, you plug the hub into the USB Camera Adapter, next you plug the Lightning connector into the iPad, and finally plug the keyboard into the hub. No external power needed! However I wouldn’t attempt to run any extra devices from the keyboard’s built-in hub…
An unpowered usb hub between the two devices did the trick for me (Ipad mini 2 microkey 25)! Was about to return the camera kit, but keeping it now.Thank you!
Happy camper