Video A Versatile and Rugged MIDI Mini-Keyboard (Video) 56
Timothy Lord : The K-board has just picked up a Best of CES award. What is the K-Board?
Todd McNeil : The K-Board is our ultra portable USB MIDI controller. Now, you might have seen some stuff like this before but it’s a little bit different. We’ve got a few things that set it apart: Number one is that it is plug and play with literally any device that has music making software. So Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone, Android cellphones, Android tablets, it doesn’t really matter what you’ve but if it’s got a music making application you plug it in and you play.
Timothy: Does KMI also provide software or do you?
Todd: We don’t make any software, we only make the hardware side of things, so
Timothy: Talk about what sort of features you’ve got on this board here?
Todd: Well, this board, like many many MIDI controllers, you are going to have velocity sensitivity, so right now, I don’t have velocity sensitivity ON meaning it doesn’t matter how soft or how hard I press the key it’s going to be the same volume level. When I turn ON velocity sensitivity, you get a difference in the response based on how hard you hit the key, just like you would on a piano or a normal synthesizer. Now we do have a couple of other features that won’t find on those devices, and we’re looking at tilt which enables on each key pitch bend, so that gives you a pretty cool performance aspect that you’re not going to find on other keyboards. We also have a pressure modulation which you can engage. Right now without pressure engage you’re not going to hear any modulation of sound, it’s going to be very flat across. So once I engage pressure modulation will now come into the sound. The amount of pressure I give it is going to change the amount of modulation that we get. So very light, heavier, lighter again. So you’re not going to find those features in other keyboards on the keys themselves. That’s what really makes this stand apart. For someone doing performance or working in a studio where they want to have some new aspects in a performance way.
Timothy: It’s USB powered?
Todd: It’s USB powered, it’s very low draw, we’ve had one hooked up to an iPad now for about 6 hours and I think we saw about 60% battery left.
Timothy: I know, I have question on the device side, I know my computer has USB ports, but my android tablet is pretty finicky about what it takes.
Todd: With an Android tablet all you’re going to need is an USB on the go cable, I’ve seen them for as cheap as $3 before. If you’re going to go with the iOS side of things, you either need a USB to lightning adapter, or USB to 30 pin adapter, and so it is going to be plug and play -- no downloads, no installation.
Timothy: An important question, because you’ve got a physical product: what does it cost?
Todd: It’s $99 retail, it’s in every Guitar Center location across the United States and it is in stock.
Look at this guy! (Score:4, Insightful)
Can you say "It's-a me, Mario!"
pro: the video doesn't auto-play anymore
cons: the godamn ad doesn't a volume or mute control and neither does the main video
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Bonus points if there's no negative/positive limit on the mod.
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Yes, all videos should have a volume control/mute function. Same as with the autoplay horror, those of us who actually work on the site agree with you and will keep hammering on management until it gets done.
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1. It's not autoplaying anymore (and I'm against autoplay - it's my fucking bandwidth, my fucking limited monthly data quota and no, there's no other option for ISP where I live)
2. I think the Pebble Time Steel is more newsworthy than this yet-another-music-keyboard even if we talked about the Pebble Time "Plastic" (I guess) last week.
Great keyboard (Score:3, Interesting)
I have the qunexus, which is the $149 version of this (it adds a few more connection options). I use it all the time and highly recommend either to anyone needing a keyboard for music apps. Responsive and nigh-indestructible.
Now back to grading papers and beginning a new nine-year span before commenting on Slashdot again.
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So, what is so great about it? I see that it lights up, but what else? The rugged part seems nice too, but not quite worth the money.
I used to have a Korg Nanokey, but I once slid a magazine on top of it and the cover of the magazine actually ripped keys off, so the Korg, while having a nice software bundle, gets an "F" for durability.
I also have the Akai LPK25 which is VERY nice since it has REAL (if tiny) keys. The only real drawback of that is that it is thicker, but worth it for the something that be
Physical product, so you can't pirate it? (Score:2)
Timothy: An important question, because you’ve got a physical product: what does it cost?
Implication being that a physical product can't simply be pirated, so cost becomes a factor in whether people will want it. I guess if it was software he wouldn't have bothered asking because cost is unimportant in that scenario ;-)
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The hardest part will be the Printed Circut Boards (PCBs). If people start making home 3D multi-layer PCB printers, you could little print out (most of) a phone.
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You guys have comical misunderstandings of the complexity of the objects that surround you, and naive optimism about what is practically possible.
If you think the *PCB* is the "most of" part of magically making a phone at home, boy are you in for a shock!
(BTW: I'm willing to bet my house that you guys are all software developers, you usually have the least understanding of the real world and the most delusional fantasies)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?f... [youtube.com]
Error in the summary (Score:1)
Surely that should read CES 1995
These things have been around for years.
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I was stunned too, as much as I'm old and don't understand 95% of the articles here anymore, I was like, "um, isn't that a standard Korg accessory that's been around forever and is the first thing you see walking into any music store on Earth? Maybe even on Pluto?"
Is this really news? (Score:3, Insightful)
Just about all USB midi keyboards/controllers are cross platform. I fail to think of one that isn't, to be honest. So save yourself a few bucks and pick up an Akai MPK or something like that... just as versatile, costs less and you'll even find a ton of options for more knobs/sliders/pads. The only downside is minikeys but if you're not freaked out by chicklett keys you can't lose.
Just another Slashvertisement.
Oh, and if you're serious about knowing what's "best in show" or whatever when it comes down to all things MIDI? Pay attention to NAMM, not CES.
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This, x1000. I would like to hear what use case this product has that is not already served by the many existing MIDI controllers. No serious keyboardist is going to play on a keyboard with a design like this.
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Just about all USB midi keyboards/controllers are cross platform.
Indeed, like Mass Storage Devices, there's a generic USB MIDI class http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M... [wikipedia.org]
I bought a cheap generic USB-MIDI cable to hook my ancient keyboard to my PC, something like this: http://www.amazon.com/VicTsing... [amazon.com] and it worked no problem (without having to install any drivers).
There's also a generic USB printer class (USB-LPT cables use this in addition to real USB printers), yet for some reason there is not really a generic USB-RS232 class, so you have the choice of Prolific 2303, CH34
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Just about all USB midi keyboards/controllers are cross platform.
Really? Has anybody tried hooking up one of those full-size Yamaha or Casio keyboard to their Android tablet, smartphone? I know desktop Linux has USB midi support, but the story is quite specific about this keyboard's mobile support.
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Just about all USB midi keyboards/controllers are cross platform. I fail to think of one that isn't, to be honest. So save yourself a few bucks and pick up an Akai MPK or something like that...
Indeed. For reference, here's a link to Thomann's catalogue with over 50 of such mini MIDI-keyboards [thomann.de].
Great product bloodlines (Score:3, Interesting)
Keith McMillan Instruments is the company that makes the QuNEO board, which I've been using in the studio and live performance for over a year now and it's one of my favorite controllers.
My only suggestion is to wait until the 2nd iteration. It's a small company and I had trouble with my first QuNEO, which had some bugs. The ones they're selling now are really great though, with top build quality.
Oh yeah, the K-Board is going for $99, which probably means it would be soon showing up for less at Guitar Center if Mitt Romney's Bain Capital (nka "Ares Capital") hadn't run Guitar Center into the ground and stripped its assets and turned it into a smoking crater of a company (for which Bain Capital was paid handsomely).
In summary: Keith McMillan Instruments is a good company that makes good, reasonably priced products. Bain Capital makes absolutely nothing and is as evil as a company can be without directly poisoning people. Any questions?
http://www.keithmcmillen.com/p... [keithmcmillen.com]
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com... [nakedcapitalism.com]
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Well, that might explain why it's practically impossible to get a Rickenbacker 4003 through Musician's Friend. They're almost never in stock, which I could understand if RIC is demanding cash up front for them now.
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This *is* the second iteration – this is a consumer (features removed) version of the QuNexus http://www.keithmcmillen.com/p... [keithmcmillen.com]
The QuNexus also has control voltage outputs for directly triggering analog/modular gear.
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That is great news. I've got a room full of old modular synths, like a Serge suitcase model and an early Arp.2600. Not to mention a Steiner-Parker that looks like it should have a 1930's phone operator sitting at it.
I've built some home-brew triggering controllers, but none of them are anywhere near as good as what McMillan makes.
What is special about this one? (Score:2)
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Nothing is special about it, except that it's ugly. For the same money or even less you could get easily an Arturia Minilab or a Korg Microkey or one of the dozens of other, better options.
Its a Waterproof NanoKey 2 (Score:3)
So, it's pretty much exactly the same as the $40 Korg Nanokey 2 I've owned for years, but it's waterproof and costs $99?
Why exactly am I meant to be impressed?
Why This? (Score:2, Informative)
Why buy this when you can spend about the same amount of money and get a real MIDI keyboard? One with real piano keys. Such as http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Keystation49?adpos=1o2&creative=55642031881&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CLqu9bWgjcQCFQ-raQodpSEAEg
Why did they bother? (Score:1)
From Keith McMillen Instruments (Score:2)
What's the key spacing? (Score:2)
Is the key spacing the same as a standard piano keyboard? If not, how does it deviate?
Can it, in combination with some particular, commonly-available, MIDI software package(s), be programmed to have the same touch characteristics and sound as a piano, harpsichord, etc.? If so, are the configurtation parameters to produce equivalent performance already available?
Not a very attractive option (Score:1)