Quite apart from the obvious musical empowerment you get from a quality set of ivories, a good MIDI controller keyboard can really bring your DAW to life, realising a degree of representative tactile control of on-screen transport, mixer, instrument and effects parameters that the mouse and keyboard can’t hope to match. Here are five diverse models that we think you should have on your radar.

Novation SL MkIII

Available in 49- and 61-key (semi-weighted with aftertouch) versions, Novation’s versatile controller keyboard packs in a wealth of features and functions, and to that end is fair bristling with knobs, faders, buttons, pads and screens. In terms of DAW transport, mixer and plugin control, support for Logic, Reason and Live is directly built in, while HUI compatibility covers Pro Tools, Studio One, Cubase and Reaper; and plenty of visual feedback is provided by the backlit buttons and five full colour displays. Even the keys themselves get in on the kaleidoscopic action, with RGB LEDs used to highlight scales and keyzones – and they feel great to play, too.

Beyond its excellent playability and deep DAW integration, the SL MkIII has bags of creative potential as well, incorporating not only a flexible arpeggiator, but also a very capable eight-channel sequencer, programmed using the 16 backlit pads and their attendant controls. Around the back, meanwhile, you’ll find an impressive array of I/O, including MIDI In, Out and Out2/Thru, Footswitch, Expression and Sustain pedal inputs, plus two sets of CV, Gate and Mod outs, and Clock Out, making the SL MkIII readily connectable to hardware synths, Eurorack modules, drum machines, etc, alongside your DAW. On the down side, it’s quite a hefty beast and has to be mains-powered – you can’t just plug it into your laptop for powering over USB, alas.

Ticking just about every conceivable box, the SL MkIII brilliantly centralises control of your hardware and software instruments, and makes manual operation of supported DAWs easy and intuitive.

Roland A-88MKIII

For the serious pianist, only a full-sized hammer action keyboard will do, and Roland’s primo offering is one of the best you can get your fingers on. The superb PHA-4 keyboard boasts Ivory Feel keys with escapement, progressive hammer action and a variety of velocity curves, while the left hand end of the casing is home to eight assignable backlit pads, eight assignable backlit knobs, two assignable buttons, a pitch/mod lever, and all the requisite keys for transposition and programming. Hook-up to Mac or PC is done over USB-C (bus powered), while 5-pin DIN MIDI I/O enables connectivity to hardware, and the keyboard can be split and layered for using both output options together. There’s a simple arpeggiator in there as well, a Mac/PC app for making assignments and mappings, and full MIDI 2.0 compatibility for future proofing. And while it’s certainly not a lightweight unit, weighing in at 17.5KG, the A-88MKII is surprisingly compact for a hammer action ’board, given its unavoidable length, at just 274mm deep and 119m high.

Although perfectly serviceable in the controller department, it’s the piano-style authenticity of the A-88MKII’s key action that makes it such a triumph – close your eyes and you’ll almost think you’re on a Steinway.

Nektar Impact LX25+

At the other end of the size (and price!) range, Nektar’s wee controller keyboard gives you 25 full-size synth action keys, pitch and mod wheels, eight four-colour backlit pads, eight knobs, a 30mm fader, a transport section, and a host of programming and function buttons. The big story here, though, is Nektar DAW Integration, which automatically maps the aforementioned controls to the transport, mixer and plugins of any supported DAW, specifically Logic, Garageband, Studio One, Cubase, Nuendo, Reaper, Cakewalk, Digital Performer, Reason and FL Studio. For un-Integrated DAWs, regular CC assignment via MIDI learn is, of course, fully viable, and five user presets are available for defining and storing your own setup schemes. We really like the handy Pad Learn feature, too, with which playing a key instantly assigns its output note to the currently selected pad.

Deceptively powerful and wallet-cheeringly affordable, Nektar’s Impact LX25+ backpack-sized controller keyboard is well worth a look if full-scale playability isn’t a priority.

Arturia MiniLab 3

Even smaller than the Impact LX25+, the third incarnation of Arturia’s well-established keyboard shrinks 25 synth action keys down to ‘mini’ format without compromising on feel and playability, and partners them with pitch and mod touchstrips, eight backlit pads (switchable between two banks, and featuring polyphonic aftertouch), eight rotary encoders and four sliders. Power is provided over USB-C, and the back panel also includes a single pedal input and 5-pin DIN MIDI Out.

One of the main selling points of the MiniLab 3 is its linkage with the groovy Analog Lab virtual instrument (the Intro edition of which is included), which puts thousands of presets from Arturia’s extensive ‘V’ line of synths behind a macro-driven interface that mirrors and maps to the MiniLab’s controls. Simply scroll through presets with the dedicated Browser push-knob, and get immediately hands-on with whatever synthesis parameters the sound designer has chosen to map to the knobs and sliders for each one. And that’s not where the MiniLab 3’s talents end by any means: flip it into DAW mode and it takes control of Logic, Live, Bitwig Studio, Reason or FL Studio, with Mackie Control Universal (MCU) transport control available to other DAWs.

A no-brainer for heavy users of Arturia synths, and a hugely compelling option for anyone putting together a portable setup centring on any of the supported DAWs.

IK Multimedia iRig Keys I/O

IK’s flagship controller keyboard comes in 25- and 49-key (synth action) configurations, and is currently unique in its onboarding of an audio interface, comprising a single combi mic/instrument/line input (with 48V phantom power), two quarter-inch line outs and a minijack headphone socket, and operating at up to 24-bit/96kHz. That alone makes the iRig Keys I/O a smart option for producing on the go (as long as you only require one input), but there’s a good amount of MIDI control on offer too. The pitch and modulation touchstrips work well enough; the four assignable knobs can be switched between two banks to cover eight CCs between them; the eight pads can output note, CC or Program Change data; and 99 user preset slots let you store more mapping schemes than you’re ever likely to need. Both models are amazingly compact as well, and they can even be battery powered (4xAA) for untethered use with iOS devices.

The keyboards themselves might not be of the highest quality, but with decent enough playability to get the job done, audio interfacing built in, a ton of preset memories and a hefty bundle of software in tow, the iRig Keys I/O hits more than enough of the right notes to deserve the attention of producers and performers alike.

What’s your favourite MIDI controller keyboard? Let us know in the comments.