Your Favourite MIDI Controller(s)

[cryophonik]

Agreed on the Keystep. I’m also not a big fan of mini keys, but I still have my Keystep 37 that I’ve owned for years and those keys are alright. And IIRC, the MiniFreak had the same keys, correct?

I think so. I only have the Keystep Pro and the keys are the same on the MiniFreak.

Yeah, I’m pretty sure they’re all the same from memory. I owned a KS Pro for a while, then a MiniFreak, then the KS37, but I don’t recall if I owned any of them at the same time. Arturia did a great job with all of them.

[DrGonzo]

I only ever use my controllers to play, so the knobs and sliders aspect is completely wasted on me. Anything I might want to tweak live I'll map to the Mod Wheel, velocity or aftertouch.

Enough for me as well 99% of the time. When I do map up things I just do 2-3 of the most important parameters.

[DrGonzo]

Yeah, I’m pretty sure they’re all the same from memory. I owned a KS Pro for a while, then a MiniFreak, then the KS37, but I don’t recall if I owned any of them at the same time. Arturia did a great job with all of them.

And solid quality as well. The early Arturia controllers were quite awful though. Broke quickly, especially the keybed. I have two with both middle C not working. But the newer ones I have close to zero problems with.

[BONES]

Roli stuff is quite variable. My first Lumi is rock solid but the second one has a problem with velocity on half the keys. Roli are going to replace it for me but they are taking their sweet time organising it.

[machinesworking]

I'm really liking the Kontrol s88 mk3 these days. It's complete overkill for live performance but as a studio controller it's great.
Live and while traveling I like the Akai minis, the LPD8 is great, a friend loaned me a MPKey 25 and that's pretty great, but I think if I was to buy one it would be the MPK Mini 3. If I ever find space I really did like the Novation 61 key SL II I had. The faders on DMK25 look useful, what protocol does the transport use? or is it up to the DAW/manufacturer?

[DrGonzo]

Just by curiosity, what are the features in ranked order that is most important to you when picking a controller? And if you have stuff you absolutely don't care one bit about throw that in as well.

When I pick a controller the most important things are

1. Keybed
2. Compact size
3. Aftertouch (old pressure aftertouch is fine).

What I absolutely don't care about

1. Mapping functionality for plugins

[zerocrossing]

I only ever use my controllers to play, so the knobs and sliders aspect is completely wasted on me. Anything I might want to tweak live I'll map to the Mod Wheel, velocity or aftertouch.

Enough for me as well 99% of the time. When I do map up things I just do 2-3 of the most important parameters.

That's me too, though I'll throw in expression pedal as well. Sometimes I'll use my Kontrol S61 mk3 with a ExpressionE Touche, or use my PolyBrute as a controller.

[george]

The LinnStrument 128 is currently my favorite. It boasts rock-solid build quality, excellent compatibility with device handshaking (RPN), and highly precise pressure tracking. While it comes at a high price, it's an investment worth making for those seeking top-notch performance.

[GaryG]

I'm no keyboard player and have found the Keystep 37 about perfect for me. Don't want a KB permanently set up and the KS37 is perfect for just slapping on the desk in front of my qwerty kb when needed. Really like it's action and size, don't have to stretch too much (aging hands...), 3 octaves suits me fine (enough to play partial chords with embellishments and all that), like the aftertouch response and the touch strips. And, the four knobs are perfect for those quick adjustments when you don't want to worry about extensive mapping etc.

Only others I still use:
old Steinberg cms-pd(?) pads, small and very lightweight pads but my preference.
Akai LPD-8, don't like the pads that much for playing but great as a guitar effects controller; have scripts in Reaper that focus an effect in a chain depending on the pad then map the knobs to relevant effect, makes quick effect tweaking so much easier than reaching for the mouse all the time.
Akai MIDIMix - lots of knobs but needs effort to map to everything you want, have to use the software etc. so don't use it as much as i thought i would.
korg nanokey2 - ancient, scratched, dodgy velocity but always plugged in for quick auditioning, takes negligible space etc.

[BONES]

The faders on DMK25 look useful, what protocol does the transport use? or is it up to the DAW/manufacturer?

MIDI CC. It was a doddle to set-up in Studio One/Pro.

Screenshot 2026-06-03 222819.png

Just by curiosity, what are the features in ranked order that is most important to you when picking a controller? And if you have stuff you absolutely don't care one bit about throw that in as well.

I'm not too different to you. My priorities, in order, are:

- Size/portability (I'd never even look at anything with more than 3 octaves),
- Keybed (it doesn't have to be great, just not terrible),
- Mod/Pitch Wheels (If they are touch-strips, they need to be better than the KeyStep), and
- Velocity sensitivity (Aftertouch is a bonus).

Like you, I don't give a monkey's about mapping knobs and sliders. In fact, one of the attractions of the KeyStep was that it didn't have any assignable knobs and sliders, which made it more compact.

If I look at those criteria, the MPK Mini+ probably comes closest to fitting the bill, or it would if it had a few less keys. Of course, there's the standard MPK Mini but it has a joystick, not mod/pitch wheels, so it's a non-starter. I was using the Mini+ for a while but I kind of lost interest in it.

[jdoo]

100% agree with mapping critical live controls (maybe 4-5.. and/or synth macros) , not everything as a priority. Aftertouch (even channel) can be hugely helpful. NRPN mapping is sometimes needed, and a PITA if not implemented for mapping to. Lastly.. good documentation.