ESI have announced a dinky new MIDI keyboard, called the Keycontrol 25 XT. A 25-note affair, the Keycontrol 25 XT features full-sized, velocity-sensitive keys and is built in a glossy white aluminium chassis.
It has a pitch-bend wheel and modulation slider, plus four endless rotary encoders that can be programmed to send your choice of CC numbers. Octave buttons on the top panel allow you to send note data across the full range that MIDI allows, while a jack input on the back lets you connect a sustain pedal. The keyboard is USB powered (and so doesn’t require an external PSU), and is compatible with all versions of Windows (from XP), as well as OS X. Available now, the Keycontrol 25 XT is priced at £79, and ships with a copy of Cubase LE 5, and Toontrack’s EZ Drummer Lite.
ESI’s UK distributors, Time + Space (www.timespace.com), also say that a 49-key version is in the pipeline and will be shipping soon, for £99.
