A 49-key USB MIDI keyboard controller (around $250 at street, now discontinued) built around deep software control: a 2nd-gen synth-action keybed with aftertouch, nine 30mm faders, eight encoders, eight assignable LED buttons, eight pressure-sensitive pads, a 128×64 LCD, and Nektar's twin software story — Nektar DAW Integration plus the Nektarine plug-in host, which maps the T4's controls to VST/AU instruments with on-screen feedback. Reviewers broadly agree on the strengths: class-leading, hands-off DAW and plug-in control, genuine aftertouch and pressure-sensitive pads, a real 5-pin MIDI Out plus expression and footswitch inputs (so it can drive hardware or run standalone), a generous free-software bundle, and strong value. The one genuinely polarizing axis is the keybed: its firm, springy synth action and accurate velocity are widely praised, but the keys are mechanically noisy on release — a non-issue for many producers, a dealbreaker for pianists and anyone recording with a microphone. Two scope limits matter: Ableton Live gets only basic Mackie Control (faders and pan, no session-view integration), and wringing the most out of Nektarine and the DAW maps takes some initial setup. Nektar P4 owners also debate whether the T4 is a true step up, since it drops the P4's motorized fader and deeper hardware mixer for more general-purpose controls.
About this product
The 49-key model in Nektar's Panorama T line (the 61-key sibling is the T6). A 2nd-generation synth-action keybed with channel aftertouch, nine 30mm faders, eight encoders, eight pressure-sensitive pads, a 128×64 LCD and a 5-pin MIDI Out. Successor to the older Panorama P4 — the T4 adds the Nektarine VST/AU plugin-host and universal MCU control, but drops the P4's motorized fader and P1-style hardware mixer section. Now discontinued.
Nektar's Panorama T4 is the 49-key member of the company's flagship Panorama T line (the 61-key T6 is its twin). Where Nektar's budget Impact boards give you a pile of assignable controls, the Panorama's pitch is depth: a 2nd-generation synth-action keybed with aftertouch, a small LCD for on-hardware feedback, and — the real headline — Nektarine, a VST/VST3/AU plug-in host that lets the T4 take deep, mapped control of almost any software instrument in almost any DAW.
It arrived in 2018–2019 as the successor to the well-loved Panorama P4, trading that board's motorized fader and hardware mixer section for the new plug-in engine and universal Mackie Control support. Reviewers were genuinely impressed — several said it could give Native Instruments and Akai a run for their money — and it sold for around $250. It's since been discontinued, and where opinion parts ways is on the keybed: everyone agrees it plays nicely, but a lot of owners find it distractingly noisy.
