Joined in 2023 
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63 About this deal
Although we understand the design reasoning behind it, we’re not huge fans of all this touch-sensitivity, preferring the honest tactile response of real wheels and buttons. That is, of course, a matter of taste, though, and others will no doubt love the futuristic vibe.
And you do this with the Edit Mode, in which you’ll have to get used to a certain set of key presses and data entries to make assignments. iRig Keys PRO gives you the best of both worlds. It’s a super-compact, bus-powered, “plug and play” MIDI controller that you can use anytime and anywhere. Yet despite it’s small footprint, if offers full-size, velocity-sensitive keys, allowing for a realistic playing feel. To the right of the knob, two LEDs indicate mobile device or USB connection, confirming device handshakes. As an effective plug-and-play device, I haven’t experienced an issue with any connection not immediately confirmed by LED. also, keys feel a little cheap, velocity sensibility is not the best... but i was prepared for those things and they would have not affected so much my opinion on this product. This is where IK Multimedia came in. Celebrating 20 years in the digital music world in 2016, the company embraced the non-standard recording opportunities offered by mobile technology.With connectors on the left end of the keyboard, a left-handed player may not notice an issue. Someone as painfully right-handed as me, though, will find the connected device on the wrong side for useful manipulation. This may not be the best keyboard for entering beats because of that. I don’t consider that a strike against the Keys Pro, not with the plethora of pads available. Even a tablet’s touchscreen is a good beat-entry system. While 37 keys is just enough to play with both hands, it is enough. Octave changes require only simple button touches. Florid keyboardists may be frustrated, but as a portable keyboard with full-size keys, it’s enough. Let them carry their own Rhodes 88. With its 37-key (3-octave) keyboard, you can play legitimate two-handed parts. What’s more, it has loads of pro performance features that will make your creativity come alive.
Keys have a little bit of a resistive feel. That is, the last bit of pressure before the key bottoms out is increased. It makes velocity-sensitive playing more intuitive and natural. While certainly not piano-weighted, not all keyboardists are piano players. This expanded the capabilities that existed within the devices, which were touch and keyboard-based. Yet, playing keyboards on a touch screen is hardly the tactile wonderland presented by a piano, for example. At 580g and just 324 x 139 x 54mm it’s light and small enough to carry around, but not so light you’ll end up pushing it around a desktop. It also features direct connection to iOS devices – no connection kit needed – another mobile plus.Despite measuring just 693 x 208 mm, the iRig Keys I/O somehow manages to squeeze in a full-size 49-note keyboard.
Preset 1 is set up to work with the IK Multimedia software instruments, giving hands-on control of patch browsing and macros. It puts only white notes on the pads, which is a bit of a pain for playing most generic drum instruments though. Preset 2 is aimed at Logic. Preset 3 is a general chromatic map, which was where I spent the majority of my time, and, finally, preset 4 replaces the drum pad notes with program changes. The Alt key accesses a second bank of knobs, but not pads, which is a shame given that most software drum instruments present 16 pads. The next pair of buttons are the OCTAVE up and down selectors. Pressing both selects EDIT mode. The final pair, PROG, use up and down buttons to change program selections within apps. On the whole, the iRig Keys I/O is a great success, but there are a few areas where it falls short. Most notably, with only one mono input, it doesn’t exactly add up to a comprehensive recording solution - it should be enough for singer-songwriters and guitarists, but it’s never going to be a main audio interface for serious production purposes. Also, as mentioned, we’re not into the mini-DIN connector at all; and while we appreciate the need to substitute pitch and mod wheels with touchstrips as a space-saving measure, we still prefer the mechanical ‘real thing’ when it comes to performance.Rather than take up valuable space with regular pitch and mod wheels, IK has instead opted for a pair of short touchstrips. Likewise, the Octave shift, Program Change, and dual-purpose transport/editing buttons are touchpads. The transport buttons can be set to output MIDI Machine Control, CC and Real Time data. The keyboard will run from USB power when connected to a computer, giving you a nice one-cable setup. You can also get power from four AA batteries, which is a requirement when running with an iPhone or iPad, and there’s a switch to choose this option if you want to help save your laptop batteries. A PSU is available as an optional extra (I got one in the box), which allows you to charge a connected iOS device. Although there’s battery power there’s no MIDI output outside of USB, so the iRig Keys I/O isn’t suitable as a stand-alone master keyboard for hardware. A MIDI port would also have been nice as a MIDI interface for a computer or iOS device: it would have made the iRig Keys I/O a true one-stop shop for simple studio connectivity. We criticised the bigger iRig Keys 2 for being a tad expensive but this more compact version offers much of the functionality of that keyboard, over a smaller footprint, with the same sized keys. iRig Keys PRO is equally useful as a portable MIDI keyboard or studio controller, and a perfect solution if you want a single keyboard to use in both situations. Connect it to your Mac or PC for use with your DAW and computer-based software instruments, and easily carry it around with you to use whenever and wherever you want with your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Android device. An Ultra Compact Controller With Full-size Keys And Pro Features
There is an intangible feel to the Keys Pro. It is plastic, but it doesn’t feel plastic. It’s light, but it doesn’t feel lightweight. While I wouldn’t send the Keys Pro out to handle a major tour, I also would not need to cordon off a safe zone for it. So not only is iRig Keys PRO significantly smaller than any other keyboard of its type, it's also a whole lot lighter. When it comes to portability, there's no comparison. iRig Keys PRO is the hands-down winner.
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iRig Keys PRO is small and light enough to take with you almost anywhere. Because it’s bus powered — meaning it gets its power from the device it’s plugged into (iOS, Android, Mac or PC) — you don’t have to limit your music making to places where you have access AC power. Jam, produce or practice at the beach or in the woods, out in a field or at the bus stop — anywhere, really. And when you're somewhere where there is AC power, you have the option of powering iRig Keys PRO through it’s USB port. Connect And Go iPhone 7, iPhone 7, iPhone 6, iPhone 6, iPhone 6, iPhone 6, iPhone 6, iPhone 6, iPhone 5, iPhone 5, iPod touch 6th generation, iPod touch 5, Generation, iPad Pro (12.9 " ) 1st generation, iPad Pro (9.7 "), iPad mini 4, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3, iPad Air, iPad mini 2, iPad mini, iPad 4th generation
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