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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1451520
Feels Like a Pro The 25, variable velocity-sensitive keys are firm, but not too much so. They respond nicely to a light touch but it doesn’t take too much strength when you need to get heavy-handed (or -fingered, as the case may be). Like many other mini keyboards, they also serve double-duty as software controls. What’s nice about them is that they are primarily for setup-related controls and not functions you would normally need to access while composing or playing. There are enough physical controls on the device to handle all of those needs. Above the keyboard are the eight lighted, programmable, touch-sensitive. Seven of them also double-up with setup functions. The eight knob controls to their left do double duty via a press of the Function key and, of course, can be reprogrammed in the DAW to do whatever you’d like. As labeled, they cover the important bases and do what they say they do, with Logic Pro anyway, right out of the box. A larger knob to their left maps to volume by default. The pots have a nice, firm, fluid feel, a very nice touch we wouldn’t expect to find in a keyboard in this price range. At the bottom left is an programmable joystick that can play a variety of different roles in performing and composing but is primarily for pitch/bend. The interface connectors on the left side is our one big disappointment with the Impact LX. Nektar chose to use a USB Micro-B connector, neither as durable nor roadworthy as a conventional USB Type-B or as future-conscious as USB Type-C. A cable is included, but we’d opt to keep a spare on hand. The foot switch connector is an eighth-inch mini jack. The keyboards includes a quarter-inch adapter so it can work with standard expression pedals. Both serve to keep the device thin, barely thicker than the keys, but would give us pause if we were using the keyboard for performing on the road regularly. On the other hand, the panel has a useful on/off control. That way you can keep the LX Mini connected without possibly conflicting with other control surfaces in other software or unnecessarily draining your laptop battery.