Keith McMillen Instruments

Well-designed, compact and sturdy, this is really a well-thought device! The box is very classy, reminds of Apple products and gives a positive impression of the whole which is only confirmed when using it! You can instantly feel the care that was given to designing this product. I’m still a bit more reserved as to the cover which I can only hope won’t degrade with time. It looks soft as peach with a very classy matte aspect. The faders and 4 white wheels look like rubber and are pleasant to touch, hopefully the white won’t fade but only time will tell. The Master fader could have been bigger to allow for a better output volume control precision. There’s a “Fine” setting, still I consider the fader could have been bigger. For live, I believe I will adjust its position with the K-Mix Editor app instead of using it directly – we’ll see… The device is class compliant so no need for a driver, this is one of the reasons why y chose it. It works right Out of the box (MIDI and 10out/8in audio) with MacOSX Maverick, El Capitan, GNU/Linux, iPad Pro/Mini4/iPhone5S. It’s very compact but not too small, it can take place on the left or right of a Pa4X 76 or Korg Kronos 73 without risking to fall. The osund seems to be nice, but I’ll tell more after a more thorough testing and listening. I’ll complete this review after a few days using it So here we go, after a few hours using it, Soundwise: no problem, it’s great. As I’ve worked with an RME UCX, i’d say it stands the test. Compared with my tiny Echo Audio2 USB interface, I’d say that the Audio2 sounds rounder and nicer. I’ve never compared them thoroughly in that regard, but that’s how I feel so far (I felt the same with the RME UCX). The EQ: it’s a nice surprise, very useable and rather efficient, unlike what Mackie does these days (I have a Reack powered speaker which EQ section is really crap). The Compressor/ Gate: it’s also a nice surprise, it’s very good considering it’s an included DSP Use: I was afraid it would turn out complex to use, but in the end all appears quite logic and the small LEDs indicating the parameters here and there help to find your way, the whole is easy to understand. We’ll see what it gives for live use… The faders and four wheels are not very finely precise, but that was to be expected – this is exactly why there’s the “Fine” mode for adjusting more precisely. It’s a bit disturbing at first, time will tell how fast (and if) I get used to it. However, using it with a computer and the K-Mix Editor software which controls the K-Mix allows for more precision using the mouse. As a whole, it does the job and i consider this small mixer to be really efficient!

I was looking for the smallest keyboard to use together with a macbook and be able to record melodies quickly with Reason (as well as some ipad synths). I first bought a Nanokorg (V1), which was inexpensive but terrible regarding the keyboard itself. I already had a Xiosynth, which is very practical, but I wanted something in micro format. Regarding the most important element, namely, the keyboard itself: Well, it's amazing. Granted, the silicone keys demand some time to get used to them, and you don't play the same way you would on a piano, because they are more like pads. The keyboard is relatively subtle and comfortable, the (adjustable) velocity boasted about on the website is true and allows for enough amplitude when attacking the keys (although real piano players ought to know it's definitely not enough). It has a good finish, the chassis is made of plastic covered with some sort of rubber, but it's not indestructible like they say on the website. It's not like you are going to amuse yourself twisting the keyboard, but you can tell that it bends easily when twisting it with both hands Once in place, it's really stable on its pads and doesn't slip at all. The pitchbend control responds very poorly and is hard to use correctly, it would've been better to integrate a slider like on the QuNeo for this function. Once connected, the QuNexus is immediately recognized by Reason on my Macbook (same with a PC), as well as by all the synths I use on my ipad: Moog - Sunrise - Thor - Korg MS20 etc. There's no need to install any drivers, besides the editor, of course, which is much appreciated. The editor is rather comprehensive, easy to use and it perfectly meets my (modest) needs under Reason. You can use the various templates included of the most common DAWs, but you can also configure the entire keyboard manually, key by key, and it works really well on the vertical axis, too (as a sort of slider, for instance). The "sliding" keys require some dexterity, but they can come in handy. Do note that it's a limited product in this regard and cannot be intended to replace a master keyboard with X controls. The main reason to buy such a product is its extreme compactness, since you can carry it around anywhere with you. It doesn't do many things, but it does them well. I'll nevertheless keep the Xiosynth, which is more practical to play at home. You can also control analog devices via CV, but I haven't tested this feature yet. The QuNexus is, to me, a very handy tool that fulfills perfectly two goals: It's tiny but the keyboard remains usable and better than most mini-keyboards you can find out there for about $80/$120. I haven't tried them all, obviously, but they are rather spongy with a travel that isn't really useful in terms of velocity. In this regard, the QuNexus' different approach is very welcome. To warp it up, this product promises a lot and I will follow V2 carefully. The price ($150) is too high, though. A new light version just came out, you might want to consider it, depending on your needs.

What I love about it, it's the design, I really love what Keith McMillen did with its interface and how such an amazing product got on the market for all of us. What I also like about it is that each of the 27 pads, sliders and rotary sensors are pressure, velocity, and location sensitive and the 17 switches are also touch sensitive which makes a huge difference in creating unusual patters either drum patters or even melodic patterns with different velocity and timing. I also like that the 16 square pads provide 127 levels of Velocity response. And X-Y location is also provided. The sliders are very well made , they are extremely sensitive , so the velocity and timing can be well manipulated. This product is compatible with Windows XP , Windows 7 , Vista , Mac OSX. My opinion about the value for the price of Keith McMillen Instruments QuNeo 3D Multi-Touch USB Pad Controller is decent, its a great product that is affordable , it costs around 250 - 200 $ , but believe me, this is a unique product is very wotyh every penny. Precision and quality of the sound is priceless , this product has an amazing sensibility , it's very well made , the precision of the knobs , sliders , pads is very pro , it's always on time , it's velocity sensitive , it has a very pro feel to it. I've tried several models that try to get at the level that Keith McMillen Instruments QuNeo 3D Multi-Touch USB Pad Controller is , but frankly this is one of the best made in terms of balance between quality and price and feedback. Knowing what I know, I would buy this hardware again , it's a very high quality product that takes your creativity level up an level.