Background:

Amateur/hobby player, mostly interested in live playing skills. Own a Yamaha PSR-E373, Arturia Keystep 37, and Korg NTS-1

The keystep already fills the need for something with programmable knobs and 5-pin midi-out and CV outs. I wanted a full-size 49-key controller that would fit on my desktop that I could use with an iPad or iPhone with little hassle. Price limit was $200.

Because the price was so low and reviews were mixed I was skeptical, but decided to give the 49 MK3 a chance.

Likes:

• The keybed exceeded my expectations: Mechanical noise is far quieter than the Keystep and Yamaha. No springy sounds or high clacks. They keys are dampened in a way that feels like semi-weighted keys. a flicked key "returns" as a quiet thump that doesn't resonate in the chassis at all. It's the quietest keybed I've ever played.

• Compliant plug and play is nice: Since the controller is simple, it requires no drivers or configuration software.

• EDIT Low-power device: even iPad or iPhone will provide power for it without extra power supply or batteries.

• Programmable slider & mod wheel... the "fader" or volume slider can be easily programmed to a midi or CC signal. Additionally the mod wheel can be mapped to any CC signal.

• Real mod/pitch wheels... I dislike touch sliders that provide no visual or tactile feedback, and can react if they are lightly brushed by your headphone cable.

• Inexpensive!

• Air Velvet Electric piano VST included ($80 value). I am an e-piano fan, and I love the layout and sound of the Air Velvet compared to all the others I've tried. It emulates all the rhodes, wurlis, and Pianet(!) with great samples and comprehensive control and effects. Pairs well with the freely available Valhalla Supermassive to create lush ambient soundscapes.

• Compact width and depth, but also has high enough "feet" to allow my computer keyboard cable to go under it.

Dislikes:

• Octave up and down buttons make a loud click noise. The other top control buttons are soft and make less noise, but the octave buttons are hard plastic, and they clack. With 49 keys, I don't need them too much, so it's ok.

• Not sure about the longevity of the pitch/mod wheel coating. If it is silicone, it should last, but if it is some kind of synthetic rubber, it will surely dry out and get flaky depending on the environment. To be fair, I hardly use these. If they get really bad someday, I'd probably remove them and strip the rubber coating off.

• No midi-din out - I would love for this to have that one option...but it would probably involve some kind of extra power source.

• No expression pedal input: In a way the fader control can be used as the same. A clever hacker might be able to wire up an expression pedal input to feed that fader signal.

• Was supposed to be a low-power device but my iPad cannot power it

Overall I'm happy and it has fulfilled it's desired purpose of allowing me to practice more at my desk at less than half my budget.