25 January 2004
by Noah Kravitz
Reviews Editor

Keys for Your GarageBand

For as much fun as some of us have using GarageBand solely to create music by stringing together its built-in loops and samples, there's more to Apple's trademark music app than that. GarageBand is MIDI-compatible, which means that you can play its wide range of built-in software instruments through any standard MIDI controller (keyboard, drum pads, even guitars and flutes). GarageBand 2, now shipping as part of iLife '05, ups the ante with real-time MIDI notation so you can see what you've been playing written out as musical notes on a real stave.

The new breed of computer-specific MIDI keyboard controllers bypass the standard MIDI cable interface in favor of a USB connection, which means you can plug them directly into your Mac to turn it into anything from a handy practice tool to a full-on music production studio. MacMice (a DVForge brand) recently unveiled their GarageKey keyboard, a small, no-frills USB MIDI controller designed with GarageBand users in mind. As their website states, "The existing keyboards are bulky, complicated designs that may be great for trained keyboard players. But, they just don't match up to the real needs of most Mac users who decide to begin experimenting with GarageBand." They were kind enough to send us one for review.

Simple and Elegant, Like Your Mac

MIDI keyboard controllers are kind of like soulmates -- there's a match out there somewhere for everyone. You can get cheap ones and fancy ones, portable ones and giant ones, ones that feel like plastic and ones that come as close to a baby grand as you can get without wood, piano wire, and a Steinway & Sons logo. GarageKey is an entry-level product, meant to build upon the simple, intuitive nature of GarageBand itself. In that regard, this 37-key controller succeeds, forgoing the myriad knobs and sliders of many of its competitors for a simple interface featuring only the keys themselves on top, and a single USB port flanked by two buttons on the back.

The keyboard is plug-and-play compatible with OS X and draws power from the computer over USB. The pair of rear-panel buttons I mentioned control the keyboard's octave so you can play above and below the 37-note range of the keys. Beyond that, it's pretty standard stuff -- the keys themselves are velocity sensitive, so the harder you play them, the louder the noises GarageBand (or any other MIDI-compatible app) will make. While MacMice calls the keys "professional quality," there's a big difference between the action on a $119 controller and a $1,000 controller, or a real piano for that matter.

Striking a key on the GarageKey is more akin to pressing a key on a computer keyboard than on a grand piano. While the keys are velocity-sensitive, they're not weighted like a piano or semi-weighted like mid-priced MIDI keyboards are. The weighting provides the more responsive, piano-like feel preferred by most keyboardists. To be fair, none of the other MIDI keyboards readily available in this price range are going to feel much different*, so it's not like MacMice is trying to pull a fast one here. The action on the keyboard is very similar to that on other similarly-priced controllers I've tried including those from M-Audio. The keys play just fine for what they are and will be plenty responsive for all you closet electronic musicians and aspiring pianists on a budget out there. However, if you're a seasoned player used to something better, you probably won't care for GarageKey too much. Again, to be fair, MacMice makes no bones about the fact that this isn't the product for you, anyway -- it's all about simplicity here.

* -- Note that there's a new kid on the MIDI keyboard block in Chinese manufacturer CME, who had their line of "Omnipotent Master Keyboards" on display at MacWorld earlier this month. The entry-level model is a 49-key, semi-weighted MIDI controller that lists at $199, which is pretty amazing. I've yet to hear of these being available in stores, but they're sure to make some waves when they come out.

GarageKey is constructed from plastic and styled to compliment Apple's current line of consumer computers -- most notably the iMac G5. What's nice about GarageKey is how sleek it is -- putting nothing on the surface save the keys themselves, MacMice kept the footprint small. In fact, GarageKey is just bigger than a standard Apple keyboard, and MacMice includes two clear acrylic riser legs so you can tuck your QWERTY board under GarageKey when you don't need it to save desk space (see picture above). This is pretty handy, as finding room on a desk for a MIDI keyboard is no small task -- I usually wind up with mine down in my lap.

Conclusion

MacMice designed GarageKey with the novice, space and style-conscious user in mind, and in that regard they've succeeded. The natural comparison to draw is between GarageKey and M-Audio's $129 Keystation 49e, which is now widely available for $99. I haven't reviewed the Keystation, but I have played it enough to tell you that the action on the two keyboards is very similar. With the Keystation, you get a 49-note keyboard that also features pitch bend and modulation wheels and a few other controls that GarageKey lacks. You also get something that will eat up quite a bit more of your desk space.

For the money, GarageKey is as good a USB MIDI keyboard as I've seen available in the US. What you see is what you get, and if you like its good looks and space-saving design and are really just interested in plucking out some melodies and experimenting a bit with GarageBand's MIDI capabilities then you'll probably dig GarageKey. After all, you're just the person MacMice had in mind when they designed it.

Compare prices at PCPrices.

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Noah Kravitz runs the Technology and Culture blog Threebase.com. He is an educator, musician, and writer who lives in Oakland, CA and is the author of Teaching and Learning with Technology.