Keystep has the best keys imho.
Yeah agreed out of all the mini keys I’ve tried its definitely got the best keybed…
I have (too) many* small midi keyboards. For the couch/living room, I find I use the iRig Keys 2 Mini link, most frequently because it has a built in audio interface (out only) so I can use it as the only thing plugged into my laptop.
*The add’l too many small keyboards list:
Akai MPK Mini Play mk1
Launchkey Mini mk3
Keystep 37
Korg Nanokey Studio
To be fair, I can see how you might have a few of these around. Some of them pack in so many features at such a low cost, I can see that you could make a case for having 2-3 in a studio and it’s not even about portability at this point. You’d be spending a fraction of what you’d spend on most bigger/more advanced controllers and you’d also be getting all those lovely (but limited) freebie software packages.
The other thing is, with bigger controllers, I often hear that people end up using the mouse and keys on their computer anyway. So there’s an argument that if the keyboard is only ever a springboard then these boards are all you need. I got my Launchkey Mk3 on sale and at that point you’re in no-brainer territory. I’ve been considering an upgrade to the bigger Launchkey because you get some very nice additional features. But in a funny way having 2 different small keyboards might actually be more interesting. All the big players have theirs updated now, so it’s just a question of which one.
I think the one that stands out recently is probably the Minilab MK3. The updated encoder to move around in an Ableton session plus the ability to select and arm tracks with a button and a shift key is something new. And also the way that the faders map to a single track at a time but allowing you to control pans, sends, and volume all at once is quite clever.
Really I’d like the Launchkey Mini and the Minilab 3 to have a baby that runs 37 keys (and minus the fancy sequencer stuff - just DAW control is cool). That would be something I’d love to see in that “premium mini keys” segment.