MIDI keyboard controller for GarageBand iOS and Logic Pro?

[Ubele]

I'm looking for advice and opinions regarding a good MIDI keyboard controller that I can use with GarageBand on my iPad for song drafts and ideas, and with Logic Pro on my Mac for fully produced songs and experimentation. Some background: I bought a lot of great equipment back in the 1980s and 1990s (guitars, keyboards, multitrack recorders), but then I got married, raised a family, focused on my career, and put my music hobby aside. Now I'm starting to get back into it. I bought Logic Pro a while back, and I've played with GarageBand on my Mac and iPad. (Home recording has come a long way since my TEAC 4-track reel-to-reel recorder in 1980!). I still have my Roland A90-EX 88-key MIDI controller from 1998, and it's still great, but it's not conveniently located near my iMac. (Yes, I know about Logic Remote).

What I want is something smaller and lighter that I can move around if necessary and connect to my iPad to sketch out song ideas. Then I'll import them to Logic Pro to flesh out. I have up to 40" of desk space in front of my iMac, so I'm thinking a 49-key controller is my best bet, although there are a couple of 61-key controllers that would fit. For full piano parts, I'd use my Roland A90-EX.

As for what I do, I'm primarily a singer/songwriter (with the emphasis on songwriter) originally influenced by Jackson Browne, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Jimmy Buffett, Bruce Springsteen, U2, etc. I later got into '80s pop and melodic electronica. My objective is to record all the songs I've written over the years, using the features of Logic to compensate for my mediocre singing and instrumental skills. This is strictly for fun, for myself and my friends.

Having researched, the best keyboard controller I've found seems to be the Akai MKP249. However, it isn't yet compatible with Big Sur, and Akai says not to buy it until it is.

Considerably cheaper is the Alesis VI49. I'm leaning toward that, but the drum pads and knobs aren't assignable. I don't know what that means. Do they just map to certain MIDI notes, based on the patch you select in Logic? I don't care about live performance, but I'd like to know what each of the 16 pads trigger for studio recording, and what the knobs do. Alesis's website is unhelpful.

Cheapest of all are the M-Audio Oxygen controllers. User reviews say that they're great except for velocity sensitivity, which is important to me. They released an Oxygen Pro series in late 2020, but I haven't found any reviews.

In summary, I'm looking for a small to medium-sized MIDI keyboard controller that will integrate well with Logic, that doesn't include features that only are useful for live performance with Ableton and such, that will allow me to experiment with electronic music, and that will work with GarageBand on my iPad. Any experiences on your part are welcome!

 

[fastlanephil]

Maybe go with the M-Audio Oxygen 49 or 61. I had my M-Audio Axiom 49 controlling the sliders, knobs and such on my old DAW but with Logic Pro I found it easier to just work with my Apple Magic Keyboard & Magic Mouse. I have a Kawai MP7 digital piano controller with mod and pitch bend wheels. I can set the Apple Keyboard on the fully weighted keybed when I need to use it and up, out of the way when I don’t. I made an adjustable, floating mouse pad stand using a display swivel stand clamped upside down on my modified imported monkey wood dinner table (which my piano controller and monitors sit on) with a square piece of wood connected to the swivel stand where the display would be attached. I still have the Axiom 49 in case I need to use after touch.

 

[ChrisA]

Do what a lot of musicians do, buy used stuff, then sell it for about what you paid for it. Always have a few of these around and buy another if it looks good and sell the ones you don't use on eBay. If you buy used stuff the risk is low because you can always re-sell for $25 under what you paid.

I say this because it is hard to know if you like something just breeding the specs. The big thing is the keyboard feel. These midi controllers are not piano kays and have almost no weight, you just have to try them.

 

[Ubele]

Maybe go with the M-Audio Oxygen 49 or 61. I had my M-Audio Axiom 49 controlling the sliders, knobs and such on my old DAW but with Logic Pro I found it easier to just work with my Apple Magic Keyboard & Magic Mouse. I have a Kawai MP7 digital piano controller with mod and pitch bend wheels. I can set the Apple Keyboard on the fully weighted keybed when I need to use it and up, out of the way when I don’t. I made an adjustable, floating mouse pad stand using a display swivel stand clamped upside down on my modified imported monkey wood dinner table (which my piano controller and monitors sit on) with a square piece of wood connected to the swivel stand where the display would be attached. I still have the Axiom 49 in case I need to use after touch.

Thanks! The M-Audio is the most reasonably price, and I don’t need anything fancy.

 

[Ubele]

Do what a lot of musicians do, buy used stuff, then sell it for about what you paid for it. Always have a few of these around and buy another if it looks good and sell the ones you don't use on eBay. If you buy used stuff the risk is low because you can always re-sell for $25 under what you paid.

I say this because it is hard to know if you like something just breeding the specs. The big thing is the keyboard feel. These midi controllers are not piano kays and have almost no weight, you just have to try them.

Good advice. It’s funny watching the demand (and thus prices) fluctuate for musical gear. I moved across country in the late 1990s and sold some of my Roland analog gear (JX-8P synth, PG-8 programmer, TR-909 drum machine) for a pittance. (The music-store salesperson had one of two responses: “This was never a popular piece of gear, so we can’t give you much for it” or “This was a very popular piece of gear, and the market is flooded, so we can’t give you much for it.”) Now it’s going for high prices on eBay. The digital gear I got in the 1990s, however, doesn’t go for very much. My then-expensive Roland A90-EX sells for only a couple hundred bucks on eBay. It’s still a great keyboard.

 

[BrianBaughn]

I had my M-Audio Axiom 49 controlling the sliders, knobs and such on my old DAW but with Logic Pro I found it easier to just work with my Apple Magic Keyboard & Magic Mouse.

I agree! My keyboard has a lot of twiddly knobs and lights but I actually consider them a hazard. Bumping something can cause havoc.

 

[J.Gallardo]

I'm looking for advice and opinions regarding a good MIDI keyboard controller that I can use with GarageBand on my iPad for song drafts and ideas, and with Logic Pro on my Mac for fully produced songs and experimentation. Some background: I bought a lot of great equipment back in the 1980s and 1990s (guitars, keyboards, multitrack recorders), but then I got married, raised a family, focused on my career, and put my music hobby aside. Now I'm starting to get back into it. I bought Logic Pro a while back, and I've played with GarageBand on my Mac and iPad. (Home recording has come a long way since my TEAC 4-track reel-to-reel recorder in 1980!). I still have my Roland A90-EX 88-key MIDI controller from 1998, and it's still great, but it's not conveniently located near my iMac. (Yes, I know about Logic Remote).

What I want is something smaller and lighter that I can move around if necessary and connect to my iPad to sketch out song ideas. Then I'll import them to Logic Pro to flesh out. I have up to 40" of desk space in front of my iMac, so I'm thinking a 49-key controller is my best bet, although there are a couple of 61-key controllers that would fit. For full piano parts, I'd use my Roland A90-EX.

As for what I do, I'm primarily a singer/songwriter (with the emphasis on songwriter) originally influenced by Jackson Browne, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Jimmy Buffett, Bruce Springsteen, U2, etc. I later got into '80s pop and melodic electronica. My objective is to record all the songs I've written over the years, using the features of Logic to compensate for my mediocre singing and instrumental skills. This is strictly for fun, for myself and my friends.

Having researched, the best keyboard controller I've found seems to be the Akai MKP249. However, it isn't yet compatible with Big Sur, and Akai says not to buy it until it is.

Considerably cheaper is the Alesis VI49. I'm leaning toward that, but the drum pads and knobs aren't assignable. I don't know what that means. Do they just map to certain MIDI notes, based on the patch you select in Logic? I don't care about live performance, but I'd like to know what each of the 16 pads trigger for studio recording, and what the knobs do. Alesis's website is unhelpful.

Cheapest of all are the M-Audio Oxygen controllers. User reviews say that they're great except for velocity sensitivity, which is important to me. They released an Oxygen Pro series in late 2020, but I haven't found any reviews.

In summary, I'm looking for a small to medium-sized MIDI keyboard controller that will integrate well with Logic, that doesn't include features that only are useful for live performance with Ableton and such, that will allow me to experiment with electronic music, and that will work with GarageBand on my iPad. Any experiences on your part are welcome!

We‘re using a prior gen. nice M-Audio Keystation at home that works flawlessly and doesn’t want to fail. We’ve got also an audio interface for instrument/mic.
There is a smart designed keyboard (velocity sensitive) by IK-Multimedia, iRig-Keys IO, with an added instrument/mic interface, so you get two essential and decent quality devices in one product. Even going up in quality later, this machine does its job and is compact and portable, so it’ll keep being useful.
(I’m getting one, but it’s hard to find existences in Europe nowadays; and it happens with other mid/high quality keyboards and pianos also...! ☹️).

 

[chabig]

I bought and like the Korg MicroKEY Air controller. It's bluetooth, which is convenient.

microKEY Air - BLUETOOTH MIDI KEYBOARD | KORG (USA)

Control that’s conveniently simplified

www.korg.com

 

[Ubele]

Thanks, J. Gallardo and chabig! Are you using Big Sur? I was reading reviews of most of the major MIDI controllers, and almost none of them are fully compatible yet. You can play instruments, but not all of the controls work properly. The company websites advise people who have Big Sur not to purchase their MIDI controllers until they're fully compatible. In any case, since I made my original post, I went through a long course on Mastering Logic Pro, and it looks like I can map the controls on my existing keyboard to some of Logic's features. I just won't have pots or pads. And then there's Logic Remote on my iPad. So I'm going to see if what I have works for me.

 

[satcomer]

Look at this Maccie Pro FX6v3. My friend whom runs JazzWeek.com and Is audio guy through and through uses Maccie Boards. Heck in college I recorded live music for the station with a Mic splitter connect to our Maccie board out to microwave link to the station antenna!

 

[Ubele]

Thanks, satcomer. I had a 16-channel Mackie mixer back in the 1990s, when I had an assortment of synth modules, mics, and electric instruments. It was a great mixer, but it's not what we're talking about here. This is about MIDI keyboard controllers that also have faders, pots, switches, and touch pads that map to MIDI functions in Logic or another DAW (digital audio workstation). For example, you can map the pads to percussion instruments and play them with your fingers, map the pots to left-right panning, map the faders to volume, filters, and so on. Depending on your preferences, it can be more convenient than using the software's user interface. The Mackie you mention is just for audio mixing, not MIDI--but it's great, if that's what you need!