Korg nanoKEY2 (Black) Reviews

Rob
from South Carolina
September 22, 2011Music Background:
Musician, Technical Engineer

Perfected!

The nanokey2 is simply a perfection of the first nanokey. No more keys breaking or popping off. Great MIDI controller.

from Piteå, Sweden
December 7, 2011Music Background:
percussionist, computer musician

Cute keyboard, works nicely with iPad

Extremely light and thin. I carry it around a lot and basically forget about it in my bag.

Works nicely with iPad using the camera connection kit.

Velocity is not super sensitive, but it works.

Keys are kind of loud, like a loose computer keyboard. but it's bearable.

Greg
from NC
January 15, 2013Music Background:
singer/songwriter

Nice

The Korg nanoKey2 is compact and it does everything I need. If had to buy it again, I most definitely would!!!

Pearse Scudder
from Dayton, OH USA
June 17, 2012Music Background:
DJ, Band Leader, Gear Nut, Electronic Music Producer

Korg nanoKEY2: innocent to the untrained eye...

I bought this keyboard on an extremely tight budget and found it to be a little more than what I expected. The basic statement is that you are getting what you pay for. The USB MIDI driver was a sinch to install and route to the controller and the editor software has a great basic MIDI clock. So yeah, it's not a proffesinal studio choice, but gets stuff done well on the go whether your in a coffee shop or on a plane, the nanoKEY2 likes to show off its portability. It's great how it is bus-fed power through the USB link. For my rig, stage and studio, I used it for Native Instruments software like Reaktor, Massive, and FM8 (my superman), but I found it useful that it is versitile enough for sampling and even can be used for drum triggers for programs like Battery 3. The keys have no feel, but are velocity sensitive. But the price makes up for the no feel. So overall, it is a great portable solution to on-the-go music making and has earned a spot in my studio-in-a-backpack and on my stage rig. I am now attempting DAW trials, but for production like that, leave it to the bigger brothers like the Axioms.

Pearse Scudder
from Dayton, OH USA
June 17, 2012Music Background:
DJ, Band Leader, Gear Nut, Electronic Music Producer

Korg nanoKEY2: innocent to the untrained eye...

I bought this keyboard on an extremely tight budget and found it to be a little more than what I expected. The basic statement is that you are getting what you pay for. The USB MIDI driver was a sinch to install and route to the controller and the editor software has a great basic MIDI clock. So yeah, it's not a proffesinal studio choice, but gets stuff done well on the go whether your in a coffee shop or on a plane, the nanoKEY2 likes to show off its portability. It's great how it is bus-fed power through the USB link. For my rig, stage and studio, I used it for Native Instruments software like Reaktor, Massive, and FM8 (my superman), but I found it useful that it is versitile enough for sampling and even can be used for drum triggers for programs like Battery 3. The keys have no feel, but are velocity sensitive. But the price makes up for the no feel. So overall, it is a great portable solution to on-the-go music making and has earned a spot in my studio-in-a-backpack and on my stage rig. I am now attempting DAW trials, but for production like that, leave it to the bigger brothers like the Axioms.

Mike T
from San Diego
December 30, 2011Music Background:
Hobbyist

Korg nanoKey2

Works well on my 2009 Mac Mini with Garageband 9. It did not work with my older 1.42 Ghz PPC Mac Mini, it just bleeps sound weakly.

The bundled software (Korg M1 and EZdrummer) is a pain to install. They make you jump through hoops with Key codes, authorizations codes, passwords,
verification codes, computer ID's, locking codes license codes, PIN keys... After the trauma of installing, these two peices of software seem to have value though.

I like the action and sensitivity of the keys. Playing chords on the cramped little button-keys is awkward.

drone jockey
from Kentucky
May 15, 2011Music Background:
professional hobbyist

vast improvment

I have the first white versions of the nanoKey, Kontrol and Pad. The nanoKontrol and nanoPad are excellent products. The nanoKey was the letdown of the bunch. The key action was really bad and I flipped a couple of the keys off the controller while playing. I was able to reattach the keys, but it put the breaks on what was otherwise a productive session. The nanoKey2 is vastly superior. The keys are still more like a laptop keyboard than a synth, but i am not worried about having them fly off while I'm playing. If you are looking for a mini-keyboard controller for a small pricetag, I would give this one a try.

Carroll Bassett
from SE WV
February 24, 2012Music Background:
Occasional player

nanoKey2 review

I bought this to go along with my MacBook Air and am generally pleased but would get a larger real keyboard if I had to do it again. Works seamlessly with Garage Band. I am a very amateur musician so I will not criticize any further as I am not really qualified but I am having fun with this new "toy".

Mike Abelson
from Pittsburgh PA
September 4, 2011Music Background:
Classical composer and arranger

So you think you want this controller!?

The width of the individual keys is about the only thing this Korg has going for it. They are almost as wide as full-sized keys. In practice, though, the controller is useless. It requires a very forceful touch to achieve a high velocity, the feel is like pushing your index finger through a raw chicken, the resulting tones are pretty much either very loud or very soft, so playing expressively is out. Also, there is no way to assign the keyboard to a particular midi channel, so it is useless for auditioning patches. A total waste of money. I have ordered an Alesis. It has to be better than this thing.

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