M-Audio Oxygen Pro Mini

Sources split. All three magazine testers and most owners who compared it with an Akai MPK Mini rate the light semi-weighted mini keys among the better ones in the class. A minority of owners call them the worst they've played: black keys that need a harder press than the whites (so chords come out uneven), keys that wobble, and springs that soften with months of use. Everyone agrees there's no aftertouch.

Sources split. MusicRadar, amazona.de and most owners find the eight RGB pads fine for programming beats and launching clips. Sound On Sound found fast finger rolls produce a "crunchy double hit", and r/midi owners report skipped and stacked hits. Nobody rates them above Akai's MPK pads, and they have no aftertouch, so Note Repeat can't vary velocity.

Consistently praised. Four faders, four knobs, transport buttons, track arm/mute/solo/select buttons and four banks give it more hands-on control than most mini boards. The common complaints are small: clicky buttons, a constantly flashing tempo light, knobs that are pots rather than endless encoders, banks that aren't shown clearly, and arpeggiator controls that only work while you hold Shift.

“the controls are of a good size and have enough solidity about them”

Robin Vincent, Sound On Sound

“Many buttons are backlit, which is handy, and feel precise, albeit a little noisy when pressed.”

Jon Musgrave, MusicRadar

Sources split, and the split tracks the DAW. The on-board DAW presets are Mackie/HUI templates. They map transport and mixer controls well in full Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Reaper and, for some owners, Cubase and Studio One. Sound On Sound calls the "auto-mapping" claim misleading: nothing maps in the bundled Pro Tools First or MPC Beats, and the documentation leaves gaps. Owners in Cubase, Logic and Studio One report fiddly setup.

Generally seen as a decent bundle: Ableton Live Lite, MPC Beats and AIR's Hybrid 3, Velvet and Mini Grand, with ready-made presets for the AIR instruments. The dissent is real, though. Sound On Sound points out that the bundled DAWs can't use the controller's DAW features, and owners describe the registration and installer steps as a maze.

“Oxygen Pro Mini comes with a decent software bundle including Ableton Live Lite, Pro Tools First M-Audio Edition, MPC Beats and a number of AIR soft synths”

Jon Musgrave, MusicRadar

“Included DAWs don’t support the features.”

Robin Vincent, Sound On Sound

Reviewers like that a mini board this cheap has a MIDI out for hardware synths, and that it can pass the computer's MIDI through to it. It's a 3.5 mm TRS jack, though, and the adapter is sold separately, which several sources grumble about. There's no MIDI in and no power switch, and the USB port is USB-B rather than USB-C.

“a 1/8-inch TRS MIDI output that marks a much-needed improvement over older units that only offer a USB-A connection”

Pete Cottell, WIRED

“Unverständlich ist es für mich aber, dass M-Audio diesen Adapter nicht beilegt, sondern dieser separat gekauft werden muss.”

Felix Thoma, amazona.de — “what I don't understand is that M-Audio doesn't include this adapter; it has to be bought separately”

Strong agreement. At about 40 × 19 cm and 1.2 kg, bus-powered, it fits a backpack or the gap between a computer keyboard and a screen. Owners repeatedly buy it for travel. The only caveat is relative: an MPK Mini is smaller and lighter still.

“At 40cm by 19cm and just over a kilo, Oxygen Pro Mini is also pretty portable.”

Jon Musgrave, MusicRadar

“The best midi controller for travelling!”

DJDGamess, Thomann owner review

Sources split. Sound On Sound and amazona.de found it solid and a step above the regular Oxygen line, and most owners agree. A steady minority report unit-level faults: keys that go dead or trigger only when hit hard, a fader that jitters on its own, and plastic that feels cheap. One r/midi owner returned two units in a row.

Broadly positive. At about $119 it packs more controls (faders, transport, track buttons) and more keys than most mini rivals, and WIRED, MusicRadar and Sanjay C all recommend it over its rivals. The counter-view in newer owner threads is that the MPK Mini IV, Launchkey Mini MK4 and MiniLab 3 now offer better pads, endless encoders or USB-C for similar money.

“at £100 this is an absolute bargain”

Jon Musgrave, MusicRadar

“with our pick in this crowded market being the M-Audio Oxygen Pro Mini”

Pete Cottell, WIRED

“But the features of the M-Audio Oxygen Pro Mini keyboard make it a better purchase in my opinion (for most people).”

Sanjay C (YouTube, vs the Akai MPK Mini MK3)