IK Multimedia iRig Keys I/O 49 - 49-key Keyboard Controller with Audio Interface for iOS, Mac/PC Reviews

This keyboard is working out very well for me. As a guitar player, I was having trouble with my other keyboard even though it was a good brand. A Korg pa600, and the short comings were mine, not the board, and the learning curve too much for me. The iRig has simplified things so that I can get back to playing instead of reading manuals. A more experienced person might not like this, but for a novice keyboardist like me, it's heaven. The one problem I had was Irig had poor support for the cool software that came with this keyboard. That's where Sweetwater came in. Your tech support had me up and running in minutes. I definitely will purchase from you guys again!

Sweetwater always adds that personal touch. Speedy delivery, a phone call, and the candy. Always friendly and knowledgeable when I call, willing to help.

I started taking piano lessons three months ago. When at home practicing is a short walk away to my man cave, but when we travel no practice. No practice no improvement.

This little keyboard is portable with optional bag and it plays with iPad or IPhone on Garage band. As a beginner most of my playing will be within three octaves.

The people at Ik Multimedia are incredible. They are responsive and made it easy to take advantage of the free gooseneck microphone promotion. Upon buying the carrying bag, they gave me all the software licenses and $5 discount.

This is going to be kind of long - but I feel that by writing a review I have a responsibility to help potential buyers make an informed decision. And also, c'mon guys we all know Sweetwater is awesome, that's why we shop here. Please review the PRODUCT, not the retailer!


The drum pads - I have to really hammer on these to get them to trigger sounds at a reasonable velocity. It's uncomfortable and I find myself never using them as a result.

The synth-action keys feel loose in the housing and wiggle easily while playing, resulting in clicking noises on the regular. Very distracting.

The touch sensitive buttons are easy to accidentally trigger when performing with this keyboard. On more than one occasion I found myself in the settings menu when trying to just play a song because I brushed one of the buttons with my hand.

The included software isn't bad at all, in fact the orchestral VST that they include sounds amazing. However, I don't like how much addons cost - holy expensive! And also, on the iPad side of things, registering the apps is a joke. When I tried to connect the apps to my IK account, I was met with error after error. The synth app that they give you doesn't even load on my iPad Pro 10.5. It hasn't been updated in months. Ugh.

Oh lord the included cables - probably the biggest gotcha in this whole package - not only are they proprietary, meaning you can't use any of your existing USB cables with this keyboard, they're too short! My computer tower sits under my desk, and the included cable for connecting to Mac/PC is only a foot and a half long, and there are no options to get a longer cable, except to go and buy a USB extension cable. Ugh.

The included iPad stand, while a nice touch, only slides under the keyboard. It doesn't connect to it. So any time I needed to tweak something on the iPad while playing caused the iPad and stand to slide all over my desk. Not cool at all.

In conclusion, I couldn't recommend this keyboard to any serious musicians. It feels like a cheap plastic toy. It creaks and clicks and bends, the keys are too loose, the pads require a heavy hand. If I could go back into the research phase of choosing a midi controller, I'd choose something else. I'm going to keep this to use it exclusively with my iOS devices, but I'll be searching for a better controller for my more serious music making needs. It's clear that IK Multimedia put more money into advertising this product, even packaging it, than the product itself. Do yourself a favor and don't fall for the hype like I did.

Although they announce this device as compatible with modern Ios devices, the Irig I/O does have a lot of issues with the new ipad pro 2018 USB-C, It stops working after some minutes, and that does not happen with the old Ipad pro. I bought the official IK Multimedia cable Mini Din to USB-C that is expensive… as I thought that was the problem, but i have the same issue, although they announce the cable as compatible with new ipad pro in their website,

After asking their support site, they say they have not tried the new ipads and they dont have a date to do so to fix the interface or update the apps, so i am stuck with a device that does not work properly without even a date to fix the problemmm

I really wanted this thing to work. I spent hours trying to figure out why it had such bad clocking issues, which in other words meant i"d be using it with my basically brand new Ipad and after five minutes the sounds would suddenly turn into horrible screaching jet engine noises.
I talked to sweetwater support, who of course were extremely helpful, but we couldnt figure it out. I got midi clocking apps, i tried everything, i returned it and got a new one because sweetwater and my sales engineer (Matt Alexander) are the best, but still it did the same things. I tried getting in contact with IK in any way, but their support is almost non existent, and they never got back to me.
Finally, i returned it, for the second time, and put the money towards a ROLI seaboard Block, which was a great decision. Maybe other people didn't have this problem, but both units i got did not at all work for me. But, of course, sweetwater saved the day, and i now am happily ever after with my way cooler Seaboard, and you should check those out if youre looking at this thing.