MIDI Controller Reviews: What Reviewers Agree On

Intuitive Instruments Exquis

The cheapest way into real per-note expression, laid out so chords fall under your fingers — and the keys that make it affordable are exactly what reviewers argue about.

23 sources3 divided topics

MIDI Controller$999

OXI Instruments One MKII

The pocketable sequencer modular rigs are built around — agreed on its build, battery and I/O, split on whether its workflow ever clicks, how finished its firmware is, and whether it's worth twice a used MK1.

24 sources3 divided topics

MIDI Controller$59

Akai LPK25 MK2

The smallest, cheapest way into Akai's keybed — everyone agrees it travels well; nobody agrees on how the keys feel.

21 sources3 divided topics

MIDI Controller$119

M-Audio Oxygen Pro Mini

The most controls you'll find on a $119 mini board — and a long argument over its keys, its pads and its "auto-mapping".

25 sources4 divided topics

MIDI Controller$649

SSL UF1

One fader everyone agrees is built like a console — and a long argument about whether one fader is worth $650.

25 sources3 divided topics

MIDI Controller$999

Arturia KeyLab 88 mk3

Reviewers crown the keybed; owners waited most of a year for firmware that made the sustain pedal behave.

31 sources2 divided topics

MIDI Controller$449

Melbourne Instruments Roto-Control

Eight knobs that turn themselves — the most-wanted controller of 2025, and still an argument about quality control and software.

27 sources3 divided topics

MIDI Controller$349

Akai APC40 MkII

Still the most literal hardware copy of Ableton's Session View — and still the controller its owners keep opening up to fix.

29 sources5 divided topics

MIDI Controller$119

Behringer Swing

The KeyStep clone that divides a forum in one sentence — solid, feature-packed and cheap to most who own one, a copy to boycott or a QC gamble to the rest.

24 sources5 divided topics

MIDI Controller$129

Akai MPK Mini Play MK3

A mini controller that plays on its own — everyone loves the pads and the portability, and argues about the sounds, the speaker and how long the keys last.

24 sources3 divided topics

MIDI Controller$170

Novation Launch Control 3

A paperback-sized box of 16 endless encoders with a screen and real MIDI ports — loved for its feel and integration, argued over for how those encoders behave once you leave the DAW.

25 sources2 divided topics