Korg nanoKey2
Portable music keyboard
Only 20 years ago, it was almost unimaginable to have the ability to easily carry around an entire recording studio’s worth of high-end music production equipment on a laptop computer, but that is exactly where we are today. Pros and hobbyists alike can create any type of music, anywhere, at any time, by just pulling out their laptop, setting it down on a flat surface in front of them, and digging into any number of the great Digital Audio Workstations out there. Now, one thing that hasn’t changed is that notes still need to be input by hand. If you’re not working with a touch screen or, reasonably so, have a distaste for trying to enter notes on a QWERTY keyboard, a portable MIDI keyboard is a must have.
The Korg nanoKEY2 is a highly portable USB MIDI keyboard that can easily fit into a baggy jacket pocket, or be tucked into a backpack/messenger bag, taking up the same volumetric space as an average paperback. At only about 13″ wide, 3.25″ deep, and .75″ thick, there’s not much of a footprint to keep a mobile composer from having a keyboard on their person at all times. The nanoKEY2 has basic midi functionality, like Octave up and down, Pitch up and down, Sustain, and Modulation, all with back-lit buttons featuring varying levels of intensity to indicate how many steps up or down it is, a great feature to keep things simple but clear. Its 25 keys are organized like a piano, but a clear concession to portability set the sharp/flat (black) keys on a distinct row above the natural (white) keys, which will be odd to piano purists. The keys themselves feel more like laptop QWERTY presses than a natural piano key touch, but are still pressure sensitive. Finally, for connectivity, it has a micro USB port to get it connected to your laptop, simple as that.
Korg’s nanoKEY2 may handle strangely at first touch, but the fact that it can so easily be taken anywhere make it an excuse breaker. There’s no excuse to miss an opportunity to get a musical idea down with this really cool tool tucked into your laptop bag. At about $50, it doesn’t crush the wallet either.
07/2/14
