Acorn Masterkey 25: 24 facts and highlights

The device is set up and ready to be used with the included software.

The mod wheel is used to add expression, or to modulate (change) various elements of a sound or sample.

The pitch wheel alters the pitch and timbre of a sound in real-time. It can give fine tuning control from fractions of a semi-tone to huge multi-octave pitch swings.

When pressed, the sustain pedal allows all notes to sound and “vibrate” freely. All notes played will continue to sound until the pedal is released. This is perfect when you need a sturdy and responsive control over sustain.

The octave buttons are used to shift the keyboard up or down in one octave increments. This extends the range of the keyboard in either direction, which lets you play notes that lie outside the number of keys available.

Faders can be either channel volume faders, pitch sliders, crossfaders or even EQs.

Devices can communicate in both directions with each other without any additional MIDI interface. The biggest advantage is that the USB connection can be used for everything; power supply, MIDI-in and MIDI-out. This means you need less cables.

A synth-action keyboard feels more like an electronic organ. The spring-loaded keys are light and capable of being moved very quickly. They also tend to return to their resting position much more quickly. Synth-action keys are perfect for musicians who aren’t pianists by nature, such as guitarists wanting to add MIDI functionality to their setup.

The amount of keys the controller has on the keyboard.

Velocity sensitive keys are just spring loaded keys that sound out louder the harder you hit them. If you "lightly" press a key, the sound will be quiet; the harder you press, the louder it gets.

More knobs (rotating controls) can give the user more dedicated control over the device, eg. volume, effects, EQs etc. Types of knobs may differ: endless type or step type.

The device has an electronic display to present information to the user.

It is compatible with Mac OS X devices such as MacBooks and iMacs.

It is compatible with PCs and laptops running the Windows operating system.

A type of knob that has a push button functionality built in. Encoders are for browsing and selecting your digital sound files or turning on a function that makes use of a control's rotation such as sound effects or tempo/tap tempo selection.

Users can map, set and regulate the entire midi controller giving different functionalities to all different buttons, knobs and faders. The device could be also set up with different softwares.

The pads section is ideal to trigger loops and samples, using your finger drum skills.

The more buttons the device has, the more complex the input can be.

Transpose button move automatically your keyboard notes up or down tones (raise or lower the pitch by a number of semitones).