10 Best Midi Controller Keyboards

This midi keyboards review is sorted by price, from the cheapest to the most expensive, ranging from $100 up to over a $1000, including brands such as AKAI, Native Instruments, Novation, M-Audio and many more.

Anything from best studio midi keyboard to professional midi keyboard for people who want durability during their tours and shows.

What makes a good midi will always be a topic of debate, but that’s why we tried to include as many different midis as possible. Hence, this list includes top midi controllers for any purpose.

As the price becomes a main aspect of the listings the midi keyboard keys become a significant aspect of identification. As some entries are 2 octave midi keyboards, they highlight an important difference in price and purpose.

While one of the 2 octave entries might be a good midi keyboard for production, other is a high end midi controller for a very specific use with 5D VSTs (the first being a popular option from AKAI – the MPK Mini MkII and the latter the inventive ROLI Seaboard Block).

When reaching the upper end of 8 octaves we start encountering the best midi keyboards for live performance, from AKAI Road 88 to M-Audio Hammer 88 which are not just great choices for musicians but are also the best midi synthesizer and the best touch sensitive midi keyboard that replicate a piano to the highest standard.

But that’s not all you’ll find on the list, as we also focus on the best small midi keyboard controllers, that allow you to travel with ease, not worrying about big, cluttered setups.

We end up with a mix of midis designed for comfort and midis design for the comfort of production.

From both the start and the end of the list, we have the best mini keyboard for music production and the best music production keyboards in general – reaching the high mark of over $1000.

We also didn’t forget about ease of access, some of these are desktop midi controller while others studio midi controller, showing a wide range of keyboards, guaranteeing you’ll find at least one that will grab your attention.

At the end of the video, we also include comprehensive charts that show that if you’re looking for the best midi controller keyboard with drum pads, you might not need to shell out that much money, as the price doesn’t always translate to the number of knobs or buttons you get, but if you look into all of them individually, you’ll quickly realise that they are the best midi keyboard for a reason.

We hope you enjoy our midi controllers reviews and find at least one keyboard you would like to grab for yourself.

We tried to include as many options as we could, looking at the top midi keyboard controllers from the most prestigious brands in the market.

Obviously, trying to cover everything in one list, might have lead us to not include a keyboard that you would regard as the best midi keyboard out there, but please understand that we are limited by only 10 slots, so we have to carefully choose what to include, to cover as much as we can.

But if you feel like you have a better entry for the best midi keyboard controller for live performance or the best midi keyboard with drum pads, we encourage you to share your opinion in the comment section below so we can see your opinions and see what else would be a good choice.

Also, don’t forget that all of these are great midi keyboards and even though some are more expensive than the rest, it doesn’t mean that a cheap option is worse.

Depending on your budget or skillset, a lower end midi might just be exactly what you’re looking for as midi controllers with aftertouch might be a just what you’re looking for or that sentence didn’t even make any sense.

Legendary Stanton Manufacturer Enters inMusic’s DJ Brands Including Numark, RANE and Denon DJ

inMusic, the global leader in music production hardware, software, and consumer electronics, today announced the acquisition of Stanton from a US-based music company, Gibson Brands, Inc.

With a legacy spanning over 70 years, Stanton is the perfect complement for inMusic’s family of DJ brands. From developing the replaceable stylus and sparking a consumer market for audio equipment, to becoming an industry leader in the design and manufacturing of professional audio products for club, mobile DJs and turntablists, it is only fitting that Stanton joins the home of DJ technology leader, inMusic.

Stanton specialized in creating ground-breaking solutions for the DJ market including Final Scratch (the industry’s first DVS solution), stereo cartridges designed for the working and performance DJ, and one of the first innovative standalone smart controllers, all of which makes Stanton the perfect addition to the inMusic portfolio.

inMusic is the parent company for the world’s premier family of DJ brands, including Denon DJ, Numark, and RANE. Alongside these pillars of the DJ industry sits world-renowned music technology, software, and consumer electronic brands including AIR Music Technology, Akai Professional, ALTO Professional, Alesis, Denon Professional, HeadRush, ION Audio, M-Audio, Marantz Professional, MixMeister, Rane Commercial, SONiVOX, and SoundSwitch.

inMusic’s world-famous, state of the art research and development teams respond dynamically to its customers with advanced technology in both software ecosystems and hardware – the perfect environment to guarantee a prosperous and innovative future for Stanton.

About inMusic

inMusic is a family of 16 premier brands that includes AIR Music Technology™, Akai Professional®, Alesis®, Alto Professional®, Denon® DJ, Denon® Professional, HeadRush®, ION® Audio, M-Audio®, Marantz® Professional, MARQ® Lighting, MixMeister®, Numark®, Rane®, SONiVOX® and SoundSwitch®.