Alesis V61 | 61 Key USB MIDI Keyboard Controller with 8 Backlit Pads, 4 Assignable Knobs and Buttons, Plus a Professional Software Suite

EXCELLENT. I have only had this for just under a day and i knew it was a solid purchase right out of the box. What is important to note with this is that it is aimed at the music composer who wants to minimalize hardware as much as possible hence the alesis 's very small amount of features. but what it lacks in function it makes up for in build quality for sure. i traded my M audio oxygen 49, a keyboard which despite having 4 extra knobs, 9 sliders, transport controls and another feature or two, it just pales in comparison to the alesis V49's construction. The V49 has semi weight keys which feel so much more responsive, the 4 knobs are a little stiff but smooth and sit solid in the side panel, the pitch and mod wheels have a very firm slick feel for accuracy with added rubber coating for a nice grip, and the drum pads are SO MUCH BETTER then the oxygen's in terms touch and responsiveness. the assignable buttons and octave buttons are a little too clicky for my own taste but its a minor thing i can live with. The entire thing overall feels like it has weight yet simplicity with the controls sifted to the left side leaving room on your desk for your monitors or display. One of the biggest issues with controller keyboards today is having too many features for the sake of variety when we live in an age where software is king and can do so much more with the click of a mouse, and for me i prefer to keep most of my function and editing in the software and not the hardware. If you are one who wants a very straight to the point, no hassle, and very neat clean laid out keyboard then the alesis V series is for you. I have not tested the mapping software that comes with it, then again i never bother with it anyway because it can be a hit r miss situation setting things up. its easy to just plug it in and use your DAW's built in midi learn function as and when you need hands on editing done =)

I like this keyboard and the full size keys with a very nice weighted action are easy to play. It came with a number of very useful downloadable programs (serial key code provided) and connected to my laptop without any issues. The build quality is very good and, although not overly heavy, I wouldn't like to lug it around too often, but I personally rarely move it, so this has never been an issue for me. This is a very good value-for-money MIDI keyboard.

A marked improvement over the Alesis Q25 which this purchase replaces. The Q25 feels cheap in comparison and the keys and their action on the V61 far exceed those on the Q25. The V61 appears pretty solid and well made and the key spacing and height is uniform on the whole with a couple of exceptions. Nothing that will annoy me. A couple of the keys have a slight squeak but keyboards in this price range usually do and it is nothing compared to what I experienced with the Q series of controllers or my very old Fatar SL-161. To be fair, the key action actually feels better than on some far more expensive 'quality' synths that I've used. So no issues with the quality of the product. The form factor suits me due to my restricted desk space so it's 'slim' form factor is a winner and one of the reasons I chose this model. In use I immediately checked the Firmware was bang up to date (it was) and using the V61 Editor I changed the keyboard sensitivity from 4 to 2 as is advised by many on the relevant online forums. Spent a good day messing about in Logic and I am very impressed with the positive action of the keyboard. The drum pads really do appear to suffer from double tap midi messages. However, I actually found this handy when doing snare rolls as it inadvertently put in the odd double hit which sounded quite good. To guarantee a single hit you must hit the pad fair and square in the middle but to trigger doubles try hitting near the corners. Believe it or not it actually works quite well and I was coming up with some interesting patterns. I really like the addition of the pads on the keyboard. This means I can get rid of my Akai pads and further minimise the amount of kit on my desk. So all in all a good product at this price point which exceeds my personal expectations.

This is one of the best MIDI keyboards I have purchased so far. Comparing this to the popular akai mini, it is much better in terms of quality, design and price. The keys are much thicker and smoother which is good for people who struggle to use smaller midi keyboards like myself. The touch pads are very responsive and reveals a soft touch. The Blue LED is quite bright which gives a futuristic look which will enhance your set up! Only problem, as it is much thicker and longer midi than the akai mini, it will be harder to pack in your bags and carry around for travel. However this is not a issue for me as I do not travel to studios with my midi.

I bought this to get a 5 octave controller, having used another makes 4 octave product. One of the main features I wanted was that the pitch wheel was not sprung loaded, as all the Organ VST I have found, use the pitch wheel to control fast/ slow Leslie, and with certain makes, the spring means it will not stay on the selcted speed. A big feature I value, is that the Key size is Full Size width. Many Japanese keyboards are slightly thinner, and I use 2 keyboards (organ style) and they often don't line up with the lower Weighted Piano keyboard I use. Although this is not weighted, for the price this keyboard works well, and feels good.

Bought this after my m-audio keystation mini 32, also bought from Amazon, died after six months. This feels well built and is very substantial. Not cheaply built like the m-audio was. The keys feel nice and have a great action to them and my DAW picks up the assignable knobs very easily, so assigning them to VSTi parameters is a breeze. Excellent value for money and comes with the 8 velocity sensitive pads too, which no other USB midi controller in the same price range has got. Hopefully this one lasts longer than six months or Amazon will be refunding me.. again.

I love this thing - I can stick it in my backpack and take it wherever, but still have proper full-sized keys to use. It feels solid and sturdy, but not too heavy. I tried out a lot of alternatives around this size, this one was my favourite by far. Obviously you'll need a full sized keyboard as well, but this one works for quickly working out a bassline or topline idea, and composing on the move, of course.

This was the first proper midi keyboard I bought myself, so did a looot of research before hand and after stuck between the Akai mk3 and this I finally chose this. My main reason for the Alesis (V25) was that I wanted the keyboard mainly for my desk and not on the go, and preferred full sized keys. Keys: The keys themselves are brilliant, friendly due to being full size and the velocity on them is great. One point is that (like others said) the keys are slightly stiffer than on other keyboards, although I find that after the first 5 mins using them you completely don't realise, in fact now I quite like it. Pads: The pads surprised me how good they were. Saw many comments saying about the double tap issue, however after 4 months of heavy use I have rarely ever witnessed this. Maybe just not the best for live performance? But otherwise done great with me. Other controls: The modulation and pitch wheels do the job perfectly and octave buttons are as expected. One of my only issues is that since it was made with mainly Ableton in mind, the rest of the buttons and nobs aren't easily assignable in other programmes. Build quality: Like I said this keyboard stays pretty much in one place on my desk so I wasn't as concerned about it being super sturdy, though to my surprise this keyboard is solid for its price. I think its mainly plastic, yet does not feel like it, very solid. My only wish was that it was a little thinner, so would sit flatter, though realise this would be tough with the full size keys etc, so wouldn't change it. Note if you were wanting to travel with it more then it is definitely not as small or light as others like the Akai MK3, so maybe keep that in mind. Though I think this could still fit in a backpack if you made it.

Keys are responsive and velocity sensitive. The keys are a little bit too springy to my liking, but not a bit issue as you get used to it. Works well with Piano Booster (free) and Synthesia software for learning piano.

Pour un clavier MIDI, celui-ci a le toucher qui se rapproche le plus d'un vrai piano et ça je trouve ça incroyable. Petit bémol sur les touches à gauche qui à force du temps commencent à faiblir mais sinon, après 5 ans d'utilisation, je trouve que ça reste un des meilleurs contrôleurs MIDI du marché en terme de rapport qualité/prix. Celui-ci conviendra autant aux débutants qu'aux personnes plus avancées. Je recommande.

Me ha gustado mucho el teclado. Los pads son sensibles, casi táctiles, permitiendo agilidad a la hora de componer. Las teclas son contrapesadas, dando la sensación que es un piano real. El cable usb facilita su rápida y simple conexión. Cuando lo conectas al DAW puedes poner cualquier instrumento, haciéndolo un midi super útil para usarlo como multi instrumento. Es muy bonito y muy ligero. Eso sí, al tener 49 teclas + los pads, ocupa casi 1 metro de espacio, por lo que hay que tener una superfície adecuada para acomodarlo. Estoy encantada con esta compra.

It's pretty easy to use for learners and easy to make music on it. Plus it looks very good.

I received this midi controller yesterday and have already used it with Musescore to separate voices for choir members and to record my own musical composition for next January. I spent several days examining the reviews and weighed the pros and cons before purchasing. My priority was a quality keyboard with keys similar to a piano. The quality is definitely there. The keys are a little heavier than I expected, but it didn’t take long for me to get used to them. You certainly can’t play compositions quickly. I use this device strictly for inputting notes and for playback, and it does the job perfectly. I’m very impressed. If you need a piece played fast, then create it first and then edit the time signature until you get the playback speed you want. One of the drawbacks of this device is it’s size, but it’s not heavy. It’s just tall and wide to accommodate the keys and control knobs/pads. Its size doesn’t allow it to sit perfectly in a keyboard drawer so I have mine placed on top of an open keyboard drawer with a padded backing to prevent the drawer from being closed accidentally and knocking the controller to the floor. It may not be ideal for some, but it puts the controller at a perfect height for me, and having the control pads and knobs on the left, means that I can move my laptop directly in front of me. (With many manufacturers the controls/pads are along the back of the unit which would mean keeping my laptop farther away in order to access the back of the controller.) The item is described as having only 4 programmable keys, but in reality it’s more versatile than that, since all of the controls except the octave up, octave down, pitch and modulation wheels are programmable through Musescore. I have programmed all the other keys for the most used commands so I don’t need to use my computer keyboard all the time. For example, I have programmed all the major notes from sixteenth to whole notes, the dot augmentation, play, stop, note input, rests, and return. I have also programmed the sustain pedal. I haven’t installed any of the included software that came with the controller since Musescore has everything I need. If I download the software now, since using Musescore, I’m not sure if I can uninstall the included software and return the midi controller to Factory Settings so I can go back to Musescore. Maybe someone else will have an answer to that. I did rate this controller as low for new beginners because you really have to know some music before using it, or being open to researching music theory. It’s not a piano. That can’t be stressed enough, and there’s no sound unless you hook it up to a computer. What is amazing is that given its size, it uses a computer as it’s power source, and I haven’t noticed a huge loss of battery power on my laptop. If I had one wish, it would be to have programmable keys on both sides of the keyboard since it’s difficult to play with the left hand and leave the keyboard to use one of the programmed keys. If keys were on both sides, I could choose which hand to use for certain buttons. Regardless, it’s still better than using my laptop keyboard or the mouse for note input, and it’s also better than having the controls across the back. Since Musescore 3.x has a feature that records automatically as you play, it’s really a minor inconvenience. For my purposes, I couldn’t ask for a better midi controller.