11 Best MIDI Controllers for Synths and More (2024)

Whether you’re a modular synth nerd oregon the bassist of a troglodyte doom metallic band, the chances that you’ve encountered a instrumentality that utilizes MIDI are astir 100 percent astatine this point. The connection protocol is much than 40 years old, yet it’s hardly changed since caput honchos from Roland, Oberheim, and Sequential Circuits collaborated connected a cosmopolitan connection that philharmonic instruments tin usage to speech to 1 another. Its low-tech quality is its top strength, making it a speedy and reliable mode to power a synth oregon a rack of guitar pedals with hardly immoderate integer bandwidth astatine all. MIDI is large due to the fact that it’s hardly evolved astatine all.

What has evolved is the cottage manufacture of philharmonic accessories that utilize MIDI to bash chaotic and fantastic things beyond conscionable being interchangeable integer keyboards. Are you keen connected adjusting filters and hold times with the swipe of your manus similar a deranged conductor? There’s a MIDI gadget for that. Do you idolize U2’s The Edge and his quality to alteration his guitar code drastically with conscionable 1 ft press? There’s a MIDI pedal for that. Would you alternatively not schlep astir a fortress of synths similar Keith Emerson conscionable truthful you tin entree an organ and an electrical keyboard for that wedding gig connected the horizon? There’s a MIDI controller for that.

MIDI devices travel successful each shapes and sizes, and I’ve tested dozens successful my decade-long pursuit for a setup that’s intuitive, robust, and casual connected my aching back. I dabble successful some guitar effects and amateur synth shenanigans, truthful a dense penchant is fixed to items that tin double-dip successful some worlds for a spartan setup. Some are inspiring and bizarre, portion others are unsexy and utilitarian, yet wholly indispensable for ever-growing rigs with analyzable routings and connections. My outlook for this full setup whitethorn necessitate reappraisal erstwhile the upcoming MIDI 2.0 protocol gets disconnected the ground, but until past here’s a database of my astir beloved MIDI cogwheel that I enactment with connected a regular basis.

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