LUMI Keys Studio Edition

I finally got me one of these last week and, so far, it has exceeded my expectations. They've renamed it for the "pro" market to Roli Piano M but it's the same thing. It is the very definition of a "basic MIDI controller" but what it does, it does very well.

The keybed is great. Key travel is no worse than any other mini-key setup; shallow but quite playable. It feels much less cramped than my KeyStep or Akai MPC Mini so I was surprised to discover that the keys are actually a bit narrower. What makes them feel much better to play is that they are around twice as long, so your hand doesn't get as cramped trying to play black keys. I found the same thing with Korg's Monologue and Minilogue synths. It makes a huge difference. It's a Roli product and whilst it's not full MPE, it does feature velocity sensitivity and polyphonic aftertouch, so it is quite an expressive instrument. It really is a joy to play.

Construction feels a bit flimsy when you hold it in your hands but when it's flat on a desk it is absolutely fine. It's also tiny, around 2cm narrower than my 60% mechanical computer keyboard. It comes in a sturdy cardboard box which, with a few strips of gaffer tape to protect the edges, I will be using as a road case for it.

It works well with Roli Dashboard. By default the backlighting is very bright but you can turn it down to a less distracting level. The multi-coloured keys you see in all the pictures are optional, the default is white light all around (the black keys are still black), which is my preference. The way they have moulded the plastic makes the lighting look really cool.

It also connects with any of Roli's Black products, so I have attached a Lightpad M and a Control Block to mine. The Lightpad can be used as an X-Y pad or a few sliders or just as two more octaves of keys. A button on the side means I can switch layouts on the fly, which is kind of cool. The Control Block gives me transport and record controls, once I set it up in my DAW, which I find very handy.

Buying one of these also gets you Roli Studio, which is a very good ROMpler with a gazillion or so sounds, including all the samples and patches from Equator and Equator 2. It even has nice, usable drums. It's probably worth half the purchase price on its own.

Overall, I couldn't be happier at this early stage. So happy, in fact, that I ordered a second one yesterday, while their Black Friday sale is still on ($50 0ff plus free shipping). I can definitely see this becoming my default choice for both the studio and on stage. It is not cheap but the playing experience is so much better that it I feel it is worth the premium.