midiplus X3 mini USB MIDI keyboard Controller

This thing quickly became part of my dream portable synthesizer. I've tested it with iPhone and Android, with DRS, SynprezFM, and Ableton Note. Works better than I'd hoped with all of them. I can even select patches with Bank messages.Here's an annoying compatibility detail: the hotkey buttons have a transport layer and a CC layer. The CC layer is programmable and easy to use; layers are switched one button at a time, which is strange but could be useful to you. However, the transport layer only uses MIDI Machine Control, which is Sysex (raw MIDI). That's not Mackie control, and it is totally incompatible with Ableton Live. It requires a MIDI translator like BOME to use at all; MIDI mapping will not work. Doable, but clunky. I think there might be some way around this (Python scripts), but I haven't executed it. Support for MMC varies, and some DAWs and a great deal of hardware do support it.The keybed is excellent. Unfortunately, I can't compare it to the most relevant controllers; I've never used a Keystep or a Microkey. The Keystep 37 is supposed to have a somewhat nicer keybed and it has aftertouch (not supposed to be that great), but it's much bigger and has many features I don't need while lacking features that I do (I also heard that they're made in the MIDIPLUS factory, and Arturia fans always talk a big game, so I don't know if they're ACTUALLY better). The Microkey is supposed to have a lighter touch.However, I've used a wide variety of full size controllers (I have a gold-standard Fatar which I love), and this feels better than many of them. The keys are firm, but nothing like the woody, painful stiffness of an MPK mini. They are all individually hinged. It just feels like a great semi-weighted synth action, only small. Very responsive and musical. I'm especially blown away by the velocity sensitivity. Perfect, good enough for piano-style dynamics. Chef's kiss. Velocity customization is available but shallow; I don't miss it. The action is also nearly silent! Keys do not have leverage, and they become very stiff around the last 3mm which I consider fine.The knobs are ROCK solid. They have internal lighting and feel like the knobs on my Push 3. The touch strips are virtually weighted! In that way, they're better than the strip on the Push. They feel a little plasticky but function is natural. End caps also have a somewhat brittle texture. Nothing else on this looks or feels cheap at all.There is no software! All functions are more or less elegantly accessed from the controller. It seems to take a second or two to switch channels or functions, but the process is well designed. Patches and channels are selected with a numeric keypad built into the keybed, which works very well.The manual leaves some things out. The interface is intuitive, but don't expect it to be crystal clear for a novice.Overall pleased. The keybed was the most important feature to me, and it is a total joy. My wishlist would include better key leverage for a totally consistent feel, and normal programming for the transport layer. I have a hard time believing that anything else can be much better; if you get it right, you get it right. This gets it right.

I've been using the midiplus X3 mini and X4 mini for about three years now. You will not find a better MIDI controller for the price. The keyboard is solid, level, and well-built. The keys themselves are satisfying to play, with a nice resistance -- neither too stiff, nor too giving. The keys don't feel quite as nice as the Arturia KeyStep, but then the KeyStep is more expensive and has many features I don't need.For those of you using external hardware synths with 5-pin DIN inputs (i.e. the old-fashioned MIDI ports ubiquitous until about 2009), you'll be relieved to finally find a decent and affordable MIDI controller that can send MIDI to your gear. That's right: this midiplus MIDI controller is useful for DAW-less (i.e. non-computer) workflows. I personally use the midiplus X4 to control an Elektron Digitone and a Roland MC-707, and it excels at this task.These mini midiplus keyboards are a great size and form factor, virtually ideal. The X3 mini fits nicely in the slide-out tray of a corner computer desk, while the X4 mini fits nicely on a 31" folding table on which I like to improvise melodies and chord progressions with external hardware synthesizers.One nice thing about the midiplus mini keyboards is their horizontal span. On normal-sized keyboards, it's a stretch for me to play 10ths, and 11ths are impossible. But on the midiplus mini keyboards, I can easily play 10ths, and 11ths are possible with only slight discomfort. This is a important for me because I'm a composer who often likes to use 9ths, 10ths, and 11ths in my chords and riffs.It's also super convenient to be able to quickly change MIDI channels and velocity settings: the midiplus keyboards allow this, and more. You can also reassign the MIDI CC messages that each knob and button use. For instance, knob 1 uses CC 7 by default, but you can reassign it to any value, such as 92. In practice, this means you can use these 4 knobs to actually control a dozen or more MIDI CC parameters. (But you'll have to change the CC assignment on the fly, which is a somewhat awkward process made easier by repetition and memorization.)I only rarely use the 4 knobs at top to control filter cutoff, resonance, volume, etc, but it is nice to have that ability. Though smallish, these 4 knobs have a really nice feel and resistance, too, with a non-slip coating.The capacitive touchstrips on the far left, for controlling pitch and modulation, are better and more responsive that I'd hoped for. Yes, they're a little bit imprecise and coarse-grained, but they are useful for trying out ideas, and good enough for improvisation.Caveat: I'm not a pianist or even a particularly good keyboard player. I use my midiplus keyboard to compose music and try out various ideas/riffs/phrases/chords. For my purposes, these midiplus controllers are close to ideal.For my uses, there are only two defects with this midiplus keyboard. It lacks an expression pedal input, and it lacks a dedicated power supply (DC-input). So I have to power the keyboard using a USB cable connected to a USB power brick. Kind of annoying, but certainly not a deal breaker.

I have used many keyboards and my old Midiplus X4 becomes the most frequently used Midi keyboard. This year I need a 37-key one.I tried Korg Microkey Air first because it has simple style and Bluetooth connection. But I returned it. I didn’t really like the keys on Korg Microkey. I couldn’t feel any resistance.I then purchase a Midiplus X3. It has some minor quality control issues. The quality of my old X4 looks superior but problems on X3 are not huge or unacceptable (the last C key is not aligned properly). The color of X3 is not as pure white as X4 either. However, I do feel like pressing keys on X3 more than on Korg Microkey.I hope in the future Midiplus could make 37 keys lighter and more portable, but it is my personal need. The size is perfect. Now I can move the mouse while I play with the keyboard.

This controller felt very weighty and sturdy. The all white casing looks nice. It does it’s job somewhat, only problem is getting it to work with Ableton. The keys work and you can play melodies and adjust the nobs but getting the record/stop/playback functions to work with Ableton are a pain and I’ve yet to find a workaround. So one star knocked off for that lack of functionality. I could see that being a bigger issue for others but, I feel durability and look to be slightly higher than having the ability to record/stop.