Nektar, 49-Key Midi Controller (SE49),Black white Grey

OK, I’m not a professional or even an amateur musician, but this keyboard is a great way to get into learning to play (using GarageBand on my 2019 MacBook Pro or iPad Pro 11"—see photo for the latter setup). You need nothing more than a simple USB to USB-C adapter, and you are off and running. The keyboard is close enough to a standard piano keyboard to allow your fingers to play freely and well, and the velocity sensor does a good job of interpreting the strength of my key strikes. I added a Donner pedal for sustain, and that works flawlessly. So now I have a great practice keyboard and pedal for well under $100, and I can use this set-up for much more as I get better experienced with GarageBand and Skoove (the latter has good lessons for beginners like me).Pretty amazing what is available and what quality is available, when you start to look around! Nektar deserves an award for bringing economical instruments (backed by a great website and software) to market. The keyboard fits nicely on my existing pull-out keyboard tray. It’s not too tall, yet substantial enough to feel real! In the photo, you will note that I connected the SE49 to an old SONOS Play 5 or headphones, using an old USB splitter that I connected to the USB-C (Apple Thunderbolt compatible)-to-USB converter. I then plug the headphones into a USB-to-Audio jack converter for private practice or I plug the SONOS (using the SONOS 1 app) into the headphone line for out-loud proactice. Lots of options work, if you just tinker around a little bit!

Are you looking for a 49 Key Midi Controller for around $100?I will save you the time researching AmazonI’ve been playing synthesizers and producing music for a couple of decades.I have several synthesizers and various controllersand I was looking for something functional,large enough to actually play a song on,inexpensive and portable to take with while traveling.This Midi Controller is perfect 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟The setup takes moments.Just plug in this Midi keyboard,open your music production software,turn on the Midi keyboardand the drivers automatically install.That process takes literally less than a minuteI expect that is the same with all the Nektar Midi ControllersAgain, this is an excellent Midi Controller, it has 49 keys and it’s only around $100 🎼🎶🎵🎶

The media could not be loaded. The Nektar SE49 is a solid MIDI controller. It has 49 full size keys that have a good feel and non-weighted playing action. The SE49 keys have excellent touch sensitivity and velocity response. The Nektar SE49 has just enough MIDI controls to perform music using your favorite Digital Audio Workstation without getting too deep into the controller setup process. Although you can setup the Nektar SE49 to send midi channel and control change messages by configuring the onboard buttons and slider, and using the upper octave keys as numbers 0 through 9 and and the highest key on the right as the “Enter” key. All programming options are clearly labeled above the keys. The keyboard is light weight and looks great with a two tone black and red finish. Check out my Review / Tutorial video to see how the Nektar SE49 works. Five Star product. Please see Video Index to search for key features of the Nektar SE49 easier.Video Index:00:00 – Introduction02:35 – Keyboard Features/Layout09:30 – Power Up The Keyboard11:21 – Modulation Wheel12:45 – Slider13:00 – Octave and Transpose Buttons17:20 – Foot Pedal Input and Note Switching21:05 – DAW Sequencer and MIDI Settings25:29 – Cancel and Panic Key26:49 – Keyboard Velocity Sensitivity29:43 – Reset Keyboard To Factory Default31:55 – Generic MIDI Setup35:45 – Final Thoughts and Rating

I got this to use as a basic controller for note input to Logic Pro on a Mac. It works, and the small size (and low price) is great if you basically use it as an input device, which was my plan.There are a few rough edges. You have to download and install a special driver for use with Logic. If you don't, the thing has unacceptable latency. I installed the driver and this was resolved, though the download/install process was not very intuitive. Then when I went back to use it again a few days later, somehow the driver had gotten disconnected, and I had to reinstall it.I also ran into an issue while using high end bluetooth headphones with this keyboard and Logic. There is bad latency once again. That problem seems to go away if I used the computer speakers, but whatever the issue is makes the system unusable with bluetooth headphones.

This is a slim but substantial keyboard. It fits perfectly on a desk by being only 7 1/4 inches wide. The keys are a bit stiff, but very playable. Others have commented that the key stop is noisy -- it is a bit, but really depends on how hard you bang on the keys. I can minimize the noise by playing softer without affecting the sound and acceleration settings. Overall, it feels pretty natural like a piano keyboard. The 49 keys is the way to go if you want to play with 2 hands. The description says the color is black, but it still has the nice red accent on the base of the keyboard. The midi control aspects are great, some software recognizes the nektar model so the volume slider is activated, other software doesn't -- but it can be added manually. In every case, I have found the modulation wheel to work without special setting changes. At around $80, and some free software stand alone plugins like Dexed or Keyzone Classic you are off and running with some nice electric and grand pianos and synths with little hassle. I really like this keyboard and it is totally worth it to order a sustain foot pedal when you order.

This was well put together, and came with everything needed to utilize it as soon as it was unwrapped. It works as it should and I would definitely buy this again it is my second keyboard from them and I am sold. The shipping was fast and the packaging was good.