The best USB MIDI Keyboard for a home recording studio

MIDI (Music Instrument Device Interface) is not something you buy just to be in trend with your friends that produce music. This is a piece of equipment that crucial for music production and it usually offers this support as an input as well as an output. Whether you’re just starting out or you have advanced skills in the home recording studio, there’s a chance that at some point you’ll be looking for the best MIDI keyboards for your budget.

A MIDI keyboard is a piece of equipment that’s similar to the piano but also includes and is composed of buttons, keys, pads and sliders. Usually, the MIDI keyboard is used together with a DAW music production software, allowing you to control musical parameters with the help of MIDI messages.

In the previous posts, I was focused on reviewing some of the best items that you need in order to record vocals and instruments. But building a home recording studio is not all about microphones and audio interfaces. Before anything else, you need to create the music. In this article, I will focus on a part that’s really important for any musician: the actual music. You can’t have an original song without an instrumental or a beat. Here’s Akai Professional MPK MINI MK3, the best USB MIDI Keyboard for a home recording studio, an important piece of equipment that will ease your work and will help you create great music.

Features
Akai has a long history of creating great products for music engineers and beginners alike. With this midi controller they definitely did their best to create a product that’s classified by me as the best USB MIDI Keyboard for a home recording studio.

One of the great things about the MPK Mini is that it comes with roughly the same features as the MPK series. This means that the AKAI signature is present throughout the design, in the foreground having the 25 speed-sensitive keys plus a lot of other programmable buttons. An element that remained from the past series of this model is the red joystick, to which are added the arpeggiator and tempo controls. Above the keyboard, next to each key, are written other accessible functions with the built-in key-shift option. On the right side of the joystick you will find 8 illuminated silicone pads.

MK3 is an entry-level product that surpasses any expectations. It has an incredible cheap price and features that will probably convince you too: 25 synth-action mini keys, 4-way thumb stick, 8 backlit velocity sensitive MPC pads with Note Repead and Full level, 8 assignable Q-Link knobs for mixing. As a bonus, if you do decide to buy this product, you will also get a complex production software package that includes MPC Beats, 6 Virtual Instruments and 2GB of sound content. The product’s dimensions are 7.13 x 12.5 x 1.75 inches inches and it measures 1.98 lbs.

Akai Professional MPK MINI MK3 is a groove/beat production device and sample-triggering software that allows you to make music like a pro, allowing you to use the MPC workflow in your creative process. Of course, you will need to have basic knowledge on music, but you will be just fine without it.

Where to get it

While I was reading the reviews on this product, I learned that most users considered it to be the Best MIDI controller on a budget! You may find it at your local music store, or you can head to Amazon and get it from there at a special price: $99. Nothing can beat that price!