Korg microKEY 37-Key USB MIDI Controller Keyboard - Portable USB-Powered Music Keyboard for Home Studio, Live Performance & Music Production

Please see all updates to understand how this product fell from 5 stars to 2 !You can't tell if the mini keys will work for you until you've tried them. If you expect piano action or you're focused on live performance then maybe this product is not for you. But if you are more focused on composing and want to record chords or melody lines into a software sequencer, this product certainly has great value.Less space on the desktop, with more octaves and the included Korg instruments are of course amazing emulations of Korg's legendary hardware. Worked out of the box with Mac & PC. Keys have a slight spongy feel, could have seen some improvement there, but for the money overall a great deal.1st UPDATE:After almost 6 months of use, I have to add that this keyboard has some USB issues.It will occasionally power off for no reason and you need to unplug and reconnect several times for it switch on.Changing the USB port it's connected to seems to help although there is no clear logic for that.Considering the bundled software, I still think it's great value, but with the drop out in connection I would not recommend it for live stage use, only for a desktop studio when you're prepared to occasionally spend a few minutes fiddling with a USB cable.2nd UPDATE:Have had it for about a year now and while I still think the included software makes this a great value purchase, I have noted some problems using it on a mac:- device sometimes shuts down even when it's still connected to the mac via USB.- sometimes works through a USB hub, but other times, just won't power up unless connected to a computer USB port directly.- a few months ago I noticed my mac would not restart properly, just idling around for minutes. I tested if this was caused by any connected peripherals and sure enough, once I unplugged the Korg micro-key, the computer booted just fine. This isn't a fatal issue for me but it's a bit of a pain having to remember to unplug the Micro-key every time I start or reboot my mac.I'm still keeping the 4 star review because while these USB issues are annoying they aren't a complete deal breaker and the usefulness of the device coupled with the great software instruments, for the price is still outstanding value. Not to mention lots and lots of fun.3rd UPDATE:Okay so I've had this keyboard for well over a year now. I've mentioned the USB problems it suffers from and that I was prepared to live with them.HOWEVER: things have got so bad, I've decided to unplug it and stop using it. My mac mini was becoming fairly unstable, (freezing and restarting) and this began to occur more and more frequently. I investigated the issue by disconnecting peripherals and even swapping out the memory. The problem still persisted.Finally as an after thought, I decided to try and remove the Korg Micro-key. Sure enough, the random hangups and restarts disappeared.Because I like the keyboard, I initially tried to apply any driver or firmware updates. I found that I already had the latest drivers installed. Nonetheless, I deleted and reinstalled the drivers, but that didn't seem to help at all.Conclusion: I've decided to stop using the keyboard all together and go back to using my old novation keyboard.It's a shame since this is a pretty handy midi keyboard with a lot of octaves in a small footprint. But the instability was just not worth it. I'd originally given it 5 stars, then 4 and now 3 stars. I'm not giving it an even lower rating because perhaps those issues aren't present for other users. But for me, it's now parked against the wall in my studio, providing nothing more than abstract decor.4th UPDATE:I happened to need an extra keyboard for a jamming session so after about 9 months of abandonment (because of the previously discribed problems) I decided to dust this keyboard and plug it in.And ... nothing ... just wouldn't power up. Apparently it died in it's sleep.I started off giving this product 5 stars, reduced it to 4 stars in spite of the USB quirks, because of the wonderful software instruments included. I then bounced it down to 3 stars because I discovered it was the reason my rock solid mac was freezing and restarting at random. Now, having it simply die out... I am tempted to give it one star, but to be fair, the virtual Korg synthesizers are still a favorite choice when I'm writing, they simply sound awesome. So with a shaky hand, I finally rest on 2 stars.The Korg MicroKey 37 keyboard - -This became one of my very favorite keyboards, and I would NEVER give up this keyboard! (The Yamaha Tyros 4 is my all-time favorite, then the Arturia Keylab - I have two Keylab keyboards.)When I first got this keyboard, I was a bit disappointed because as you played the keys and they hit the "bottom stop" the stop was a bit "soft" and I was used to a "hard" stop. But that feeling soon turned completely around as my fingers became used to the keyboard. I don't know if I learned to like the feel, or if perhaps the keyboard just needed a bit of "breaking in" - but now I like the feel of it!I bought two of these Korg Microkeys 37, one for home and one for work - - sometimes I use ten minutes of my lunch break to play. This is the perfect keyboard for my cubicle - I like both the size and the feel!Now I see there is a 61-key version - I have just ordered it 5 minutes ago. If it feels the same as the 37 key version, well, I will be very pleased indeed! If I like the 61-key model, then I will order a second one for my cubicle.In short - great keyboard, and good job Korg!Negatives - only one - the 37 key model has a USB hub, so that you can plug other USB devices into this keyboard - I am not sure, but I think that this hub made it draw so much power that I couldn't use it on my IPAD. I wish it did not have the USB hub. Evidently, this hub causes it to draw so much power that it can't be used on an IPAD / IPHONE. Because of this, I had to get an IRIG Compact Midi keyboard, and the feel of the IRIG is quite disappointing compared to the feel of the Korg Micro keyboard - very disappointing, in fact.To sum up - I love this keyboard, and for the size and feel, I don't know of anything that can top it!When I get the 61-key version, will I toss this one out our sell it? No way! This keyboard has a special place in my heart. I have enough keyboards that I could toss this one, but I wouldn't do that because I just like it so much. I will always keep it!Let me be up front here. I thought I was buying a small keyboard that I could use with my computer or on my couch or heck, even in the passenger seat of the car during a long trip when it wasn't my turn to drive. I was wrong. This keyboard is a computer peripheral first, formost, and -- I'm fairly certain-- exclusively. In that regard it seems to perform very well. I don't have nearly as much experience with keyboards as actual pianos but the action feels about as good as I would expect from a decent keyboard and indeed, when I manage to use the very short included USB power cord with my newer iMac (I have to set it down immediately in front of the screen) it works wonderfully with GarageBand as a quick test. I'd comment on the sound otherwise but as I've discovered there are no speakers, no headphone jack and all the sound is dependent on whatever software you are running it through.Missing these very, VERY important details is my fault and honestly I feel pretty dumb that I missed that this wasn't a full keyboard. Maybe the price or the omissions should have keyed me in but I've never bought a keyboard in my life and I guess I didn't know what to look for and didn't realize that "MIDI controller" means peripheral. If my laptop hadn't died a few years back I would consider keeping this but as it is, it's going right back in the box as I wanted it for portability, not to be chained to my desk and having to run it through the computer. If you're looking for a small keyboard that you can easily carry with your laptop and use on the road or just want to save space at home or work I imagine this keyboard may be right up your alley, hence the 4 stars. I'm just bummed it's not for me.This is a really neat keyboard with quite wide keys for its small size. It sits in the narrow space between my laptop and external keyboard and is great for using on VST synths.Delivered on time but it arrived in a really GIGANTIC cardboard box -so big in fact that I could hardly get it up the stairs. What are the Amazon packaging dept staff smoking? :)Update: Having used this for a few weeks I'm still very happy with it but have now reduced it by 1 star due to the bad placement of the USB socket -which sticks out a mile and keeps catching on my hand when leaning over to the PC mouse.The socket is already a bit wobbly and made bigger by the movement on it. Stupid Korg..they should have located the socket better, or as someone else said, supplied a right-angled USB connector/cable. I also wish the keyboard had one or two additional buttons for 'midi learn' purposes.Latest update:I found a very good (low cost) 'angled USB cable' that fits snugly in the side of the keyboard and doesnt stick out."StarTech 3 feet A Right Angle to B Right Angle USB Cable".The dimensions Amazon list here are completely wrong. It's actually 85cm long, 14cm deep, and 5.3cm at its highest point. Note that the USB cables all plug into the left side rather than the back so that potentially adds to the length. These dimensions are pretty small considering the number of keys so naturally the keys are reduced in size but it does fit very comfortably on my small desk and gives me more room for my mouse and computer keyboard.The small keys also have the effect of meaning your fingers don't have to move as far when playing melodies so if you're a nimble player you may find this allows you to play even quicker and their general light action makes playing this feel delightfully delicate. The risk of hitting the wrong key is of course higher but I imagine that will improve as I get used to it. Small keys also make it possible to make wider stretches than before. I have no problem spanning 16 semitones with this where I only used to be able to achieve 14. But because each key is only 8cm in length playing chords with your 2nd, 3rd, and 4th fingers while making those kinds of stretches is pretty challenging although there's no problem playing chords using all your fingers when you're aren't making large stretches and those kinds of stretches aren't normally possible on keyboards with bigger keys so I don't feel like I lost much.I find the light action to be very well suited for the small key size and the velocity sensitivity seems to be quite a bit better than my last keyboard so I feel like I can play more expressively with this not less. The build quality seems very nice and key presses don't produce very much noise which means you can bash away as much as you like without disturbing someone sleeping in the same room if you're wearing headphones or something.The pitch wheel is maybe a little heavy especially compared to the modulation wheel but both are exceedingly accurate and I have no difficulty making increments of 1 with them. The octave buttons light up in different colors to indicate how much octave transposition is in effect which is a nice touch. If you want to reassign the channel MIDI events are directed to or reassign the mod and pitch wheels to different parameters you have to use a little app that you download from the Korg website.My biggest beef with the keyboard however is the lack of jack input for a sustain pedal so I'm going to have to buy a USB one now and I hope I won't struggle to get them both talking on the same MIDI channel.Summary:If you do want to do very serious playing the small key size is unlikely to adequate for you and that's the most important thing about a keyboard. But, if you're like me, and you don't play all that brilliantly, you want a lot of keys in a small amount of space, and don't need lots of modulation knobs and sliders then this is a really nice piece of hardware only lacking a sustain pedal input.I'm primarily a guitarist, but have been trying my hand at recording using Garage Band and Logic Pro, after buying a Samson Meteor mic and a Zoom guitar interface. However, using the software, I needed a keyboard to add other sounds to my creations, as clicking with a mouse or using the computer keyboard is not that great.After reading reviews, I went for the Korg microkey 37 - and this one is the update to the much more comprehensively reviewed previous version. Firstly, it is small - check out the dimensions - and the keys are a little on the small side, but then you can't expect full size keys on a 37 key one like this. However it takes a little getting used to in terms of the resistance and size of the plastic keys.What I did appreciate was the USB hub aspect of this keyboard. I have my microphone and guitar interface plugged into it, which does save a lot of messing about with the back of the computer.I also liked the simplicity of the keyboard. There aren't many controls. As a real piano playing novice (I know a couple of chords) I can't say I have used the pitch and modulation wheels much, but the octave buttons are easy to understand and use.Naturally, the keyboard works instantly with Garage Band and Logic Pro - although with the mic and guitar plugged in I had to fiddle around a bit to get everything to work.There is a load of free Korg software downloadable with this keyboard - but as a Mac user, and not a real keyboard player I didn't bother but gave it to my brother who was excited at seeing a Korg M1 emulator. Not sure if he's used it but a nice little freebie for an already pretty modestly priced keyboard, that is a pretty handy addition to my fledgling music studio/dining room set-up.Incidentally, extremely fast service. I ordered this from Amazon on Boxing Day evening and it arrived 2 days later. Impressive.It's much better than the Nanokey. It has white keys that go back as far as the black keys, making it easier to form chords. The Keys are velocity sensing, but no after touch, or option to add a sustain pedal, so far! The Keys have the feel of a small Casio keyboard, but are ok. Pitch and Modulation wheels work well. The pitch wheel is a return to centre spring loaded device. There are buttons for raising the keyboard up / down octaves, and they change colour to indicate what octave they're set to: no light/green/orange/red. Two extra USB sockets are available on the left side of the keyboard to plug further devices in, thus turning the keyboard into a mini hub.With Windows XP/Vista/7, the standard USB-MIDI driver will be installed automatically. You can download the Korg USB-MIDI driver from the Korg website to provide more functionality. The Korg Kontrol Editor software (also available from the Korg website) allows you to edit the MIDI messages transmitted via each controller on the MicroKey.What really makes this product stand out is the free Korg M1 LE software emulator, which does sound like the real thing! Further more you can obtain an upgrade to the complete Korg Legacy collection for $99 (about £65 as the crow flies) which is great value!Box contents:KeyboardUSB cable (1 metre)InstructionsVoucher to claim your free Korg M1 software emulator (LE version, i.e. cut down version) + EzDrummer Lite & others.A compact (37-key) USB-powered MIDI controller that I'm using to help me with my singing. With the bundled Korg M1 Li software, a fair basic range of voices are provided that can be augmented using Korg or other plug-ins, or standalone programs. The microKEY provides good pressure sensitivity and hold/release response of the (slightly smaller than standard) keys with the supplied piano voices (the basic piano voice is OK for pitching my own vocals, etc, but not really up to performance 'playing' quality, in my limited opinion). Apart from the keyboard itself, the unit offers one-touch up/down octave shift buttons (very handy with a only 37 keys) and sturdy pitch bend and modulation wheels for effects. The unit has a well-made feel and also provides two USB A ports to add other controllers (e.g., drum pad).All in all, a great purchase that suits my particular requirements.