THE MUSICIAN

IK MULTIMEDIA IRIG KEYS I/O 25

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₹18,299 / bajaao.com

Whatever music software and platform you use, it’s not very rock’n’roll to paw at a glass screen or click a mouse.

But when starting out, the sheer range of kit available for live play can be intimidating. IK Multimedia’s iRig Keys I/O 25 does a good job of packaging everything you need into a compact gadget that won’t take over your house.

Plug it into a computer or tablet – irritatingly short proprietary USB-C, USB-A and Lightning cables are bundled – and you can smash out a chart-topper on the 25 full-size keys and eight pads. There are knobs to twiddle, two sliders, and buttons to trigger secondary functions and (in theory) play/record in software.

Around the back, there’s a 3.5mm headphone port, stereo jack outputs and a pedal input. But the best bit is the combo input jack (with 48V phantom power), which lets you connect a guitar or mic – so you don’t even need to have a separate audio interface.

In use, the velocity-sensitive keys feel great, as do the pads (although they need a bit of a whack to trigger). Usefully, IK Multimedia bundles software to drive it all; less usefully, the version for Logic and GarageBand doesn’t work beyond the keyboard and sliders with M1 Macs. However, the unit can be programmed so you can coax its pads and knobs to control Logic – and aspects of other apps (like Korg Gadget) too.