It's also a shame that the M32 takes more power than my iPad device can provide. To be fair, most other mini keyboards are USB only (as are the A-series keyboards), but MIDI on the M32 would have made it a much more all-round useful bit of travel kit.

It's disappointing that there's no regular MIDI output. Round the back there's a Foot Pedal input and a USB port that supplies power. The four-way combined encoder/selector is present, the same as on all of NI's current generation of controllers bar the Maschine Mikro. The front panel sports exactly the same set of controls as the A-series, except that the mod and pitch wheels have been replaced with touch sliders like those on Maschine and the original S-series. It's around half as thick and half as heavy as the A25, but it's actually quite long for a portable USB keyboard and didn't fit into my usual backpack. While the A25 looks like an A49 that's been cut in half, the M32 appears scaled down, giving it the same miniaturised appeal as Yamaha's Reface keyboards. This new form factor is aimed at anyone willing to trade key size for a wider range and lower profile.

Scale & Polishīefore the M32, NI's portable keyboards have had 25 full-sized keys. I mentioned the M32 in my recent review of the A49 keyboard and Maschine Mikro MkIII, but until now I hadn't actually seen one in the flesh. The M32 is the newest, smallest and least expensive of NI's keyboards, all of which serve as integrated controllers for the company's Komplete Kontrol and Maschine software, as well as performing some general MIDI and DAW control duties. We see how the baby of the NI controller range measures up to its siblings.

Komplete kontrol a25 review