CME XKEY AIR 25 Electronic Keyboard

Product Information

I disliked its miniature keys, but I couldn't find any iOS-compatible keyboards with full- size keys to replace it. So you can spend a full day traveling – or even go on a camping vacation – and still get all the music you need.

It promised to be a device that could be used as an iPad cover, and featured the ability to “flip” the device into form to make a playable keyboard that worked with magnets (not springs). Great care has been taken to ensure accuracy in the preparation of this article but neither Sound On Sound Limited nor the publishers can be held responsible for its contents.I haven’t tried having two BLE MIDI sending devices turned on at the same time, so I do not know how the device would respond to two competing devices for its attention–but plug in the WIDI BUD, and turn on the XKey Air, and it works. There should be a switch to make it just USB so that if you are not going to be using the keyboard for a period of time or just want to recharge the battery, you can switch over and use that mode instead of using the Bluetooth connection. And remember…on Chrome OS, the best apps require a subscription to get all of the features that you want to use (Noteflight requires a subscription to even use MIDI recording). With a slim design, at just over 1/2″ high (16mm) and weighing just 600g it is fully portable, and made for travelers and mobile users.

Thanks again to CME and Virgin Musical Instruments for allowing me to review and show off these devices. Some reviews of the original XKey longed for a way to attach a sustain pedal to the keyboard (instead of pressing a key on the XKey Air), but this is a portable keyboard–attaching cables and secondary pedals defeats the portable purpose of the keyboard. I had issues with other previous portable USB keyboards that I have used over the years (One example was an M-Audio 25 key unit that did not stand up to portable use). My other complaint is that it would nice if the XKey Air included a light bag of some kind to offer protection as you throw it into a backpack. Optional CME Xcable extends the CME XKey 37 LE with a MIDI Out jack and two jack clutches for sustain and expression pedals: Art.Of course it does have the wired usb connection option to fall back on, but I had similar experiences with this. Connect it to your favorite device, launch your favorite app … and your recording studio is open for business. If I were setting something up permanently and thickness was not an issue, I'd probably use a mini keyboard with a real mod wheel or mod strip (the mod "button" is useful for things like Omnisphere to hear what the mod wheel does, but useless for orchestral libraries). If you’re a stage performer who is obsessed in keyboards and keys on stage, the Xkey would be a great addition to your setup.