Power to the Keys Pro is through a bus, so whatever you connect to, that device supplies the juice for the keyboard.

also, keys feel a little cheap, velocity sensibility is not the best... but i was prepared for those things and they would have not affected so much my opinion on this product. 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 keyboard will run from USB power when connected to a computer, giving you a nice one-cable setup. You can also get power from four AA batteries, which is a requirement when running with an iPhone or iPad, and there’s a switch to choose this option if you want to help save your laptop batteries. A PSU is available as an optional extra (I got one in the box), which allows you to charge a connected iOS device. Although there’s battery power there’s no MIDI output outside of USB, so the iRig Keys I/O isn’t suitable as a stand-alone master keyboard for hardware. A MIDI port would also have been nice as a MIDI interface for a computer or iOS device: it would have made the iRig Keys I/O a true one-stop shop for simple studio connectivity.

Perfect for mobile, great with computer

Batteries or optional power supply (Art. 417705 - not included) with charging function for connected iOS devices 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 This is where IK Multimedia came in. Celebrating 20 years in the digital music world in 2016, the company embraced the non-standard recording opportunities offered by mobile technology. 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. 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.

The Keys Pro is not the only portable keyboard out there, but it’s among the best, particularly at for those on a budget. It’s not simply an iOS add-on. It supports Android too, as well as USB to Mac or PC. 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.

Take control with touch controls

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. This is a device that sits happily on a cluttered desktop and delivers the basics and even some of the intermediates of keyboard controller duties. 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. A year after the introduction of the first keyboard, IK released the iRig Keys Pro. Full size keys! Those of us with fat fingers and poor technique now had a champion. 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.