M-Audio Keystation 61 MK3 Reviews

I'm using it to learn to play piano.

I've been using this MIDI controller to learn and play piano.

For three month already it seems very durable and well made. The keys are hard and nice to play on them. It is my first keyboard so I am not able to compare it to other.

The only issue I have is that the transport buttons are not recognized by Ableton, but for me it is not a big deal as I have another MIDI controller.

Overall I am satisfied with my purchase.

Not too good

Problem are the keys. Should be semi-weight but they are not at all. It looks like amateurs keys and when I played my VST Modartt Pianoteq7, what a deception. Also they are small and noisy. The others features are good

Best 61 key midi for small budget

The reason why I bought this keyboard is because I wanted to play big extended chords with bass notes at the bottom and I couldn't really do that with my small akai midi keyboard.

It did exactly just that, the keys feel nice though not similar to a grand piano.

I can say that if you need a cheap keyboard that will help you play with a wide range of keys then I definitely recommend this keyboard.

Velocity curve is not adjustable, it's a bit harder to get velocities more then 90-100 although still possible, black keys are a bit stiffer too, software included is easy to install. For a beginner who doesn't use this keyboard all day long should last long.

very nice,the keys are a bit noisy but as an amateur, i don't really care.. i love it..

Great for this price category!

For this price it is a great keyboard.

Can't say anything bad about it.

perfect for what I wanted

I was looking for a reasonably priced USB MIDI keyboard, mostly just to play the piano with through my laptop. It was perfect for exactly that with no excessive functions or buttons.

Thanks x

Budget friendly MIDI keyboard

I bought the Keyboard a year ago and I have spend many hours in front of them making music.I have to say thats the M-Audio Keyastation 61 its a very good keyboard for the price range for one who need many octaves and dont have a big budget.

Pros

Plug n play

programmable buttons(record,start,stop,octave up/down)

good build quality

Cons

The keys doesnt feel very natural but its some comromises needed for the price

Superb

Great value for the money, i'm using this keyboard around a year now, and i can recommend it to everyone who needs just a good keyboard with simple features

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very good midi keyboard, excellent value for money! I am a professional musician and I can confidently say that this product can be suitable for both beginners and more experienced musicians. the main thing is to correctly set the goals for which you are purchasing this midi keyboard

Average keyboard

I bought this because my very old midi controller was dying. I was used to quite good key action from the 90s so this is quite the disappointment: the keys feel very basic and the touch is average. I've seen worst, but as a main controller I feel some I lost some nuance in the velocity. That being said I tested other modern keyboards in this price range and it's all the same : I feel the whole midi controller industry has lost its quality in the last few years unless you're ready to pay a lot more.

On my computer all the transport/DAW control buttons do not work. I tried different settings with Mackie/HUI output but nothing worked. Sad!

The pitch and modulation key have a weird shape (the radius is too small I think) that make them uncomfortable for precise usage.

What I like is the small footprint of the keyboard, it's not very long so it sits nicely on my desk.

Great keyboard

Mechanically it is a very good keyboard - there is no much to say, it feels just right.

The settings are a bit confusing - most of that done via the actual keyboard, there is no distinct options menu, it took me a couple of minutes (yes.., I should have read the manual...) to find out how to set the transport buttons up with my DAW but that was just a one-off operation.

It would be nice if at least the transport buttons were easier to see.

Great product overall

Moved from 25 key to 61 key MIDI. These keys feel very good for the price. Recommended.

Excellent and compact MIDI Keyboard

The keys of the keybed are not loud. There is some noise since it's a velocity sensitive keybed but not like the other. I would put it second only to the feel of the Arturia Keylab Essential.

M-Audio Keystation 61 MK3

One of the best-in-class MIDI keyboards in terms of price and quality. Good build quality. Semi-weighted mechanics allow the player to better control the dynamics of the performed parts. Easy to operate, reliable in operation. The design is simple and concise, the quality of materials is good. The set of management functions is very sparse, but in most cases it is sufficient. It is not possible to adjust the keyboard sensitivity. When performing dynamic musical parts, the clicking of keys is slightly annoying, but not critical. Given the lack of additional controllers, it is more suitable for playing and creating arrangements than for controlling the parameters of virtual synthesizers and DAW functions. To solve such problems, you need to look for something else.

Worth the money

It's a super simple and easy keyboard. Using it as Midi controller in my DAW just makes it very usefull.

The PROs are obvisouly the weight and the velocity works just well.

The only CON I found was the lack of touch pads - with 4 would be fine already.

I wanted to buy another keyboard but as it came home, I was even happier.

Keys have a very nice feel

I am not a pianist so I don't have any reference to compare to. I have small hands so I can't play a full-size piano. This keyboard is small enough that I can play octaves with one hand, and the keys are big enough that it is possible to play a white key in between two black keys. The most positive surprise, however, is that the keys have a really nice feel. They are not too heavy and the touch sensitivity is great.

Good for the price!

If you don't need too much control, this might be the keyboard for you. The build is decent for the price, the keys feel nice, the additional features such as transpose are great to mess around with your setup. Control over MIDI channels etc. is also adequate. All in all, decent for the price.

The biggest con by far are the instructions. These do not explain properly how some of the features are activated .

(for example, in order to activate the MIDI out through the Din-5 port, you need to press "Advanced" > press "Midi Out" > and THEN press "Enter" when the lights are green)

Very good and practical product

I decided to evaluate Keystation 61 for 3 days before writing a review.

First impression: Very good looking, solid build. A small detail is that the finish of the black keys is not glossy but rather matt. Overall the keys look like weighted classical piano keys, but they don't feel like they are. At first I was dissapointed but then I realized that the price is, after all, at the mid to low range. HOWEVER they play very nice, perfect sensitivity!

I had KeyRig 49 for 8 years and still have it, that's why i chosen m-audio again. So far, not dissapointed.

I think these instruments fit perfectly in small non professional home setups like mine. I know what is a good quality piano and I know I don't need one to make electronic music.

My honest rating is 5/5.

Easy to use Keyboard with midi and usb out

I use it for connecting to the Beatstep Pro with midi out and connect to my computer with usb. I can switch between which output I can use.

pros: can work with usb and iphone charger :)

cons: non