ICON iKeyboard 3X - 25-Key MIDI Keyboard Controller with Semi-Weighted Piano Keys, USB Connectivity, Backlit LED Touch Fader, Includes iMap App Software

Easily the best controller I've ever had. Keys feel great. Software is easy to use. Setup was a breeze. Great Support. I put in a ticket online and got a call from Los Angeles the same day.This controller had semi-weighted keys at 49 keys for $150 whereas you would have to buy an M-Audio Keystation 61 for about $180 for semi-weighted keys. The Keystation 49 doesn't have semi-weighted keys, but the iCON iKeyboard comes in 25, 37, 49, 61, and 88 with semi-weighted keys. The Mackie Control is a breeze and works with every major daw. For me the Mackie works with Reason, Reaper, and Studio One.It is also made out of METAL and not plastic. I can't believe the price point. I saw some bad comments but I would say this, if you happened to have gotten a bad one for any reason, I'd probably just exchange it for a new one, because right now I have to say this board is a deal. My spouse even said how "how many thousands of dollars did you pay for that keyboard!" I told her one fifty...($150). She didn't believe me!!! I hope they continue to make boards like these. If they do, they got a customer for life. Straight up!!!As a side note I actually paid $100 for a MPK mini MK2 in white. I love the pads and the size, but the keys suck. For about 50 bucks more you can get 49 semi-weighted keys with Mackie Control!!!

Upfront I can say I was very impressed with this keyboard. One sees so many 'bad' reviews, with some people automatically discrediting items that are manufactured in SE Asia. Perhaps there might be poorer quality ones out there, but my copy is difficult to fault. So, what follows is a summary of my observations...Quality of manufacture: Very good quality. The keyboard is very solid, made structurally from metal, with plastic composite parts. The main black and white keys have a good texture. The left-most control buttons are a little spongy, but work well, and the brightness of all key lighting and display panel are fine. The touch-slider surface feels a little rough to the touch, but you get used to it, and it works fine.Feel: This is a little 'subjective', but I base it on comparisons to other keyboards I have tried. For the money, the 6X has the best feel of all those I have tried in this price-range. I did have a Casio PX 350, which had a beautiful weighted feel, and the texture of the keys was lovely (mimicking the feel of real piano keys quite well), but it is 3 times the price of the iCON. Many of the other keyboards I have tried with a so-called 'semi-weighted' description actually feel far more spongy/springy, or have more a 'synth-action', with little resistance, where as the iCON 6X feels more positive. In my experience, it is the best I have found in the 'semi-weighted' category at this price or even more.DAW (digital audio workstation) and connections: Connecting this to the computer was straightforward. The physical connections and on/off switch are solid. Setting up in both SampleTank 3 and StudioOne 4 was easy, and the left-hand controls all work as expected. One thing that is a little noticeable is there there is no 'after-touch' on the musical keys, and in fact, to re-engage a musically key after it has been pressed, one has to lift it quite high, almost back to the top of the travel before it can be re-pushed for a note. I got used to it fairly quickly though... The velocities and sensor performance is not great, but okay. One can play soft and hard notes fairly well depending on finger speed. Again, for me, it has a better feel than a synth action keyboard when playing piano 'hammer-type' instruments, and the keys have enough 'give' when playing softer instruments.Size and from-factor: The size of a 5-octave keyboard, in this rather slim form-factor, makes it easy to have on the desk in front of a computer keyboard with mouse alongside. It feels very solid if I have to move the keyboard around, and doesn't feel as 'cheap' as in many of the lighter-weight midi keyboards on the market.All in all, I was impressed, and for the money, less than $200, I would highly recommend the iCON iKeyboard 6X.

As a midi Keyboard it's great.One think I liked is that it's possible to program the Keyboard control buttons on the left to control the DAW using the User Defined preset.I have it set up so that I can use the keyboard control buttons to: start recording, stop recording, Undo the take if I didn't like it, then record again. I can keep going like that, until I've got it right . . . all without needed to enter commands for the DAW in the computer keyboard. It's a mini Control Surface device as well as a keyboard.It was not easy to set this up, but the tech support was very helpful in getting me through it.

Steel enclosure, semi-weighted keys that feel like they're very sturdy and will stand up to wear over years, extremely small form factor, which is useful if you want to fit a lot of gear in a small area. This keyboard is overlooked in my opinion. The velocity curve is just fine on mine, and no MIDI notes are erratic or anything, I'm not sure why everyone else seems to be having issues with Icon's products, the only two I've gotten so far are actually very impressive for the price range they're in and offer some really unique functionality.Getting this to work with it's transport controls is stupidly easy. If you can't figure it out, you're a moron. Download the program off Icon Pro Audio's website, update firmware, on your DAW select 'Mackie Control' for the mapping for it. Happy beefday ya noobs.Icon doesn't seem to do the best job advertising their own products, at least in English from what I've seen so far. They're vague about information about their own stuff, but it's actually useful and well worth the price from what I've seen. They keep shooting themselves in the foot. Give this keyboard a chance though, I'm very happy with my purchase.