MidiplusAKM320 Midi Keyboard Controller

The first thing you are sure to notice about this keyboard is the price. Let's compare this to its closest relative, M-Audio Keystation Mini 32. The ADM320 is almost one third the price! So, what is the catch? What is wrong with this? Nothing! This has heavy duty pitch and mod wheels, not just buttons, so you get better control of those features, and it also has backlit octave and most notably, transpose buttons. Many much more expensive keyboards don't have transpose buttons and it is very useful to have them. Both the octave and transpose buttons work in the usual way and if you press both up and down at the same time, they return to neutral(and the backlights go off). There is also a useful volume slider that works very smoothly(do I have to tell you to be sure to keep the slider all the way to the right, which is maximum volume? Well, for those new to this, do it. You only move it to the left, which is lower volume, for effect). The volume slider can also be assigned to other tasks, such as pan, if you use "midi learn" mode in your software. It also has an input for a sustain pedal, surprising on such a small keyboard. One big difference between this and the M-Audio is that this cannot be programmed for different velocity curves and so forth. But the velocity curve it comes with is just fine. The fit, finish, and overall quality are absolutely first class. It comes with a heavy duty six foot USB cable( USB A to USB type B) and an instruction booklet which is very basic since there isn't much you have to learn about this keyboard. But the instructions do a good job of explaining everything for beginners. Comparing the size of this to the M-Audio, the white keys are a half inch longer than the M-Audio. Aside from the keys being a bit longer, the feel is close to the M-Audio, which is rather springy(my preference is less springy). Yes, you really get your money's worth with this! I am extremely impressed with this, especially the price. There is no reason not to choose this if you want a mini midi keyboard with a 32 key range. It also comes in an attractive sturdy box to keep it in. Before I bought this, I found a great demonstration on Youtube. It isn't in English(it is in Portuguese) but he does a great job putting it through its paces and it is easy to understand, so you can see it functions just as I have described.

I bought some crazy other MIDI keyboard but I was surprised with the lack of keys really irritating me. It left me to giving it away and going back to this keyboard. This might show how much love I truly have for this keyboard.It's really cheap and of course not super high quality, but enough to make it passable. Works well once it's plugged in, has very easy to understand octave controls, paired with pitch and modulation / volume buttons. Some small buttons to work with, but good for a beginner because you don't really want a lot to overwhelm you: as a beginner, you are much better off with learning how to record basic chords or melodies on FL Studio or whatever such you use, and you don't need any crazy buttons for that really.With a decent number of keys, but small enough to make it at least semi-portable, it works well for home use, though personally I think the quality would make it questionable for portability. I would recommend this to anyone starting off with FL Studio or just wanting a really cheap midi keyboard for melodies and such. Despite being 2 years in making music, I've still been using this keyboard and I wouldn't change that for a second.

===UPDATE AFTER RECEIVING REPLACEMENT===I was able to return the keyboard and get a replacement within the span of about three days, which was excellent. The new keyboard has not presented any durability issues, and serves my purposes very well (as described below). I have not yet attempted to travel with it again, but hopefully the key breaking off was an anomaly and I should be able to pack it in carry-ons in the future without any trouble.I've bumped up my review from 2 stars to 4 stars to reflect my satisfaction with the replacement product rather than the original.===ORIGINAL REVIEW===This keyboard seemed like the perfect product for me. I wanted a small, portable USB MIDI keyboard with basic functions (pitchbend and modwheel, octave selection, transposition, sustain pedal input) and no other frills, which was affordably priced and that I could easily travel with to record ideas on the road or to use while finishing tracks in Logic. I was also interested in a small keyboard that I could easily set up next to my drum set, so that I could use it to play occasional keyboard parts with one hand while drumming.The keyboard was half the price of most competitive options, and for the first few days upon arrival I was thrilled with it. The keys are a bit stiff at first but loosen up within the first hour of play, and overall it was serving my needs spectacularly. Shortly after it arrived, I departed for a period of extended travel and packed the keyboard in one of my bags (I was traveling by bus and train for a two week period). Within five days, however, one of the keys broke off. It happened on one of the days when I was not traveling, and I hadn't been using it intensely or heavily, so I really am not sure how to explain it except that the quality of the plastic is just not very high. I guess you get what you pay for; perhaps a more expensive keyboard of the same size would be a bit sturdier. But I was really enjoying the keyboard otherwise so I'm dismayed to have had to review it poorly.Once my travel concluded I was able to send the product in for replacement; I'm hoping that it turns out to be an anomalous product defect and perhaps the replacement keyboard will have a sturdier build. I really like this keyboard as a simple, functional solution to my compact MIDI keyboard needs, so I'd love to bump this review up higher if the replacement turns out to be in good shape.