The knob looks after volume and some data changes. It’s not a continuous rotary control, so you do lose volume position when you make data changes. Annoying, perhaps, but not a deal-breaker by any means. IK appear to have aimed for a sweet centre spot when laying out the design parameters of the iRig I/O Keys. It’s about as compact as a controller with full-size, full-travel keys could get without ditching other controls altogether. The glossy panel, touch sliders and cool blue lights give it a pleasing futuristic appearance. It has a light, plastic shell but feels reasonably rugged. A big plus is the use of touch-sensitive, endless encoders rather than basic pots, although the feel of these is the one thing that lets the side down a bit: they’re wobbly and not that easy to grip. When it comes to portability, iRig Keys PRO is the leader in its class. Compared to 11 of its closest competitors — all compact MIDI controllers with full-size keys playable with 2 hands — iRig Keys PRO is the smallest in width and height, and among the smallest in depth. It gives you an unbeatable combination of compactness, convenience, and pro features. Weight Matters Power to the Keys Pro is through a bus, so whatever you connect to, that device supplies the juice for the keyboard. Controls on the Keys Pro are basic, but they are all you need for most applications. As with many controller keyboards, the piano keys serve double duty, accessing various programming parameters as well as typical performance duties.

To the right of the knob, two LEDs indicate mobile device or USB connection, confirming device handshakes. As an effective plug-and-play device, I haven’t experienced an issue with any connection not immediately confirmed by LED. While some might not be overly impressed with the size and design and the keys, the build quality here is as good or better than anything in the price range I’ve put my hands on.It seems as though IK has specifically sacrificed some space for portability, and that it has certainly achieved." iRig Keys PRO gives you the best of both worlds. It’s a super-compact, bus-powered, “plug and play” MIDI controller that you can use anytime and anywhere. Yet despite it’s small footprint, if offers full-size, velocity-sensitive keys, allowing for a realistic playing feel. Controls include a headphone Volume dial (to control volume from your apps), plus Octave Up and Down buttons that also enter Edit Mode when held together. Here you can assign MIDI CCs to the controls, change MIDI channel, velocity sensitivity and much more using the actual keyboard keys to select parameters. For much of the time that I had the iRig I used it as a generic keyboard controller and interface on my Mac, working in Reason, Pro Tools and Live, with a little bit of Logic to test the integration. The keyboard feels positive and ‘non-budget’ and the pads are robust with decent sensitivity and range. Pitch and Mod controls are on touch sliders, which I like, and the other buttons are under similarly damage/liquid-resistant flat surface covers. Alongside the sliders you have octave shifters, Program Change triggers, then three buttons that double as transport controls for connected software and internal edit controls for the keyboard. Lastly, there’s an Alt button, which toggles the other controls between their main and secondary functions.The iRig Keys I/O offers a one-cable keyboard controller solution for computer- and iPad-based musicians. In addition to being the smallest in its class, iRig Keys PRO is also the lightest. In fact, it's 20% lighter than it's lightest competitor, and almost 45% lighter than the average weight of its 11 closest competitors. With connectors on the left end of the keyboard, a left-handed player may not notice an issue. Someone as painfully right-handed as me, though, will find the connected device on the wrong side for useful manipulation. The top edge of the Keys Pro has one rotary knob and five push buttons, as well as a collection of LEDs, indicating statuses. And no complaints about it being plastic-y - c'mon guys, who really wants metal and / or wood in their hand luggage?

Rather than take up valuable space with regular pitch and mod wheels, IK has instead opted for a pair of short touchstrips. Likewise, the Octave shift, Program Change, and dual-purpose transport/editing buttons are touchpads. The transport buttons can be set to output MIDI Machine Control, CC and Real Time data. First impressions of the iRig Keys I/O are fine. It’s not the prettiest keyboard we’ve ever seen, and it looks and feels quite plastic-y, but it acquits itself as sturdy enough. Hook-up to PC, Mac or iPad is done via IK’s archaic USB-or Lightning-to-mini-DIN cable (both are in the box), which we don’t like at all, as regular USB cables are much more easily replaced. What we do dig, though, is that the unit can be powered via USB or four AA batteries (oddly, only two are included), so you don’t have to invest in a separate power adaptor for use with your iPad. The included one-piece tablet stand is another very nice touch. In terms of VFM, the iRig Keys I/O is a pretty good deal on its own, but IK has sweetened the pot big time by throwing in €750 worth of software.While 37 keys is just enough to play with both hands, it is enough. Octave changes require only simple button touches. Florid keyboardists may be frustrated, but as a portable keyboard with full-size keys, it’s enough. Let them carry their own Rhodes 88. The abilities of mobile technology — smart phones, tablets and the like — have not only progressed, they’ve leapfrogged from genre to genre. Who, amongst those of us old enough to remember rotary dial phones, ever imagined taking a photo with one? a bandmate bought the same (we both use it with an mpc one) and it's the same story... this is really the biggest problem, but it's something that will make you hate this keyboard and regret you bought it. To change the MIDI CC per dial for example, enter Edit Mode, press the keyboard Knob button, then the number of the Knob you want to assign, Enter and the value. That’s a lot of key presses, but it is easier than it sounds once you get used to it. Conclusion There is an intangible feel to the Keys Pro. It is plastic, but it doesn’t feel plastic. It’s light, but it doesn’t feel lightweight. While I wouldn’t send the Keys Pro out to handle a major tour, I also would not need to cordon off a safe zone for it.

It also comes with a seriously impressive line-up of bundled software - see Soft sell. Small and mighty too bad because it has other nice things about it: it's the only 37 keys controller i know of with full sized keys and without a ton of pads and encoders which i didn't really need... it is also quite light and portable, so it's really a shame the connection is so shitty. We criticised the bigger iRig Keys 2 for being a tad expensive but this more compact version offers much of the functionality of that keyboard, over a smaller footprint, with the same sized keys.This may not be the best keyboard for entering beats because of that. I don’t consider that a strike against the Keys Pro, not with the plethora of pads available. Even a tablet’s touchscreen is a good beat-entry system. iRig Keys PRO is small and light enough to take with you almost anywhere. Because it’s bus powered — meaning it gets its power from the device it’s plugged into (iOS, Android, Mac or PC) — you don’t have to limit your music making to places where you have access AC power. Jam, produce or practice at the beach or in the woods, out in a field or at the bus stop — anywhere, really. And when you're somewhere where there is AC power, you have the option of powering iRig Keys PRO through it’s USB port. Connect And Go This expanded the capabilities that existed within the devices, which were touch and keyboard-based. Yet, playing keyboards on a touch screen is hardly the tactile wonderland presented by a piano, for example. And you do this with the Edit Mode, in which you’ll have to get used to a certain set of key presses and data entries to make assignments. Much more exciting than those, however - and of more relevance to those who already have the DAW side of things covered - are IK’s own contributions. For starters, you get Miroslav Philharmonik 2 CE (€180), a 10GB orchestral ROMpler featuring over 700 instruments, edited, processed and mixed in an easy-to-use interface. Then there’s Syntronik Pro-V (€60), a sample-based emulation of the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 and Prophet-10 synths.

The next pair of buttons are the OCTAVE up and down selectors. Pressing both selects EDIT mode. The final pair, PROG, use up and down buttons to change program selections within apps. Keys have a little bit of a resistive feel. That is, the last bit of pressure before the key bottoms out is increased. It makes velocity-sensitive playing more intuitive and natural. While certainly not piano-weighted, not all keyboardists are piano players. Despite measuring just 693 x 208 mm, the iRig Keys I/O somehow manages to squeeze in a full-size 49-note keyboard. Although we understand the design reasoning behind it, we’re not huge fans of all this touch-sensitivity, preferring the honest tactile response of real wheels and buttons. That is, of course, a matter of taste, though, and others will no doubt love the futuristic vibe.With its 37-key (3-octave) keyboard, you can play legitimate two-handed parts. What’s more, it has loads of pro performance features that will make your creativity come alive.