- The last time we checked in with Keith McMillen Instruments, the relatively new-on-the-scene company was trying to disrupt the portable MIDI market with their QuNexus keyboard controller. With a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign and strong adoption by countless producers, the KMI team's recipe has proven to be a hit. With its ability to send and receive both MIDI and control voltage, the QuNexus could serve as more than just a portable keyboard controller, acting as a do-it-all bridge between PCs, hardware MIDI devices and modular/vintage synthesizers. For producers with advanced needs, it fits the bill quite well—but what about the folks who just wanted a more basic travel keyboard? KMI's latest creation, the K-Board, offers an answer to that question.
At first glance, the K-Board appears to be an exact replica of the QuNexus. It features the same two-octave keyboard layout, with the signature KMI drum-pad style buttons instead of plastic keys. The size and layout of the control buttons, pitch-bend pad and octave controls off to the side are identical to the QuNexus as well. But the K-Board's control buttons serve a slightly different purpose and are labeled differently. The overall size and weight are the same between the two: 12.8 x 3.3 x 0.43 inches (very portable) and 0.76 pounds (very light). At $99, it currently runs at about two-thirds the cost of the QuNexus. So what does the K-Board give up to bring the price down?
The ports available on the K-Board versus the QuNexus reveal the first major difference. Gone are all three of the CV ports as well as the USB port for the KMI MIDI Expander (an optional piece of hardware that gives the QuNexus hardware MIDI jacks), leaving only the standard USB port. While it's true that these changes put it more in line with the competition in the portable MIDI controller market, I would have kept the option to use the MIDI Expander. Without it, you'll have to run the K-Board through a PC to be able to control other external hardware devices with it. The omission of CV makes much more sense—the average consumer likely has no use for these.
As I mentioned before, the K-Board's control buttons have a new set of labels. That's because, in addition to the pared-down selection of ports, the K-Board has a more simplified firmware as well. There are five buttons, each with a single, dedicated purpose. As one would expect, the keyboard always transmits MIDI note commands to the USB port, but you can enable or disable additional messages using the Tilt, Press and Velo buttons. Of these three, the purpose of the velocity is the most straightforward: enabling or disabling velocity sensitivity (how hard or soft you hit the keys). The other two only transmit messages if you continue to hold your finger on the keyboard keys. Tilt will send pitch bend signals as you rock your finger up and down, and Press will send mod wheel (CC #1) messages based on how hard you're pressing the key. If pitch bend and mod wheel don't suffice, KMI offers a software editor that (among other basic changes like MIDI channel) allows users to customize the messages sent by the K-Board. Rounding out the remainder of the control buttons are toggle and sustain, which are essentially two ways to hold notes without an external sustain pedal.
The biggest sacrifices the K-Board makes by simplifying these buttons are the wealth of presets offered on the QuNexus and the the Live-Edit mode. With respect to presets, the QuNexus only has four to choose from. This may not seem like a big loss, but those presets enable you to, for example, quickly switch between playing multiple external instruments by setting a different MIDI channel for each preset. To complement that, the Live-Edit mode button on the QuNexus lets you make the same kind of changes that the K-Board software editor allows, right from the unit itself. These are important losses, especially with the K-Board being designed to work with iOS. At the time of this review there is no iOS version of the software editor available, so there are some obvious limitations once you try to branch outside of playing a single iOS instrument app.
When you take into account all that the KMI folks did to simplify the package, you get a good picture of who their target audience is: the plug 'n play crowd who wants a simple, well-made portable keyboard without any extra frills. For many, this is probably a great bet, but for more advanced producers it would be a tough sell. When you consider all the extra features you get from the QuNexus for just $50 more, the relatively small savings that the K-board offers loses its appeal.
Ratings:
Cost: 3.2
Versatility: 3.1
Sound: 4.5
Ease of use: 4.4