Theres an ongoing trend of making all edges of midi keyboards have sharp square edges.
Its a special kind of evil when corners near keybed are sharp, but outer edges are rounded.
This is akin to having spikes on a guitar neck, there is no fucntion in this design.
Only benefit it might provide is that 3d designer for the mold can spend less time on it.
I feel like its the case with many niche markets, when manufacturers focus making products “look good” on camera rather than usability of the thing.
Post some goddamn midi devices that feel nice to use, because i cant find any.
Or reply with anything if you agree that this trend has to go away.
I just looked at M-AUDIO website.
MK4 and MK5 lineups for sure look like they were designed for humans.
Its interesting that more expensive “pro” models of their devices ditch smooth corners and go for sharp square pain.
If you’re after premium then Nord keyboards would be a good bet - but they’re synths so a lot more expensive. Everything but the lead looks like it has wooden end cheeks. But then there are loads of synths like that so probably not helpful.
I would hazard a guess that it’s not an issue for most people - what are you doing fondling the edges anyway?
Yea OK I’m with you on that one - I think often that’s a problem when translating a product from design into development. The intention was likely for there to be a subtle indicator, but for some reason (spite?) the engineer decided that they’d use the most powerful LED they could order.
Whenever one of my hands is not doing anything, chances are i want to put it somewhere, and the place where i naturally land is the edges of the keyboard.
This is worth creating another topic for.
No off button is not that bad because you can have a powerstrip with on/off, but LEDs are just - no.
Worst offenders are LEDs that not only so bright they leave “burn marks” in your vision, but also blink not in tempo.
Sounds like you built up a habit - did you use a keyboard with very comfy edges at some point maybe? I feel like it wouldn’t be the natural place for you to rest your hands if you’d always used a keyboard with corners.
I’m looking around at my gear now and nothing as a curved edge - it’s all boxes - they teselate well are easier to build (as you point out) and tend to look better.
It;s kind of funny to me having this conversation here, as Elektron primarily make boxes haha
I understand your gripe though - I can’t say I’ve heard it before. Maybe now is the time to start a movement - I support your quest for rounded edges but I’m gonna be honest I like boxes.
If it is a habit and not just common sense to not have sharp edges on the handling areas of music tools, then i might have picked it up from playing acoustic instruments.
I think boxy look has its place, especially for stacking things together. Elektron sound modules for example are just fine with it.
Model cycles/sample have smoother edges because they are intended to be not only sound modules, but main controllers aswel.
In general, if its strictly a controller for other gear, i dont see a reason to go form over function.
Unless you are stacking midi keyboards next to each other, there is no benefit for boxyness other than for the look.
Not sure I follow this one tbh - all elektron boxes are performance tools, especially the boxy ones! I’ve never heard anyone complain about the corners - I just don’t rest my hands there personally.
But it’s not form over function - it’s form as well as function - unless you’re suggesting that these keyboards don’t work - given their high ratings I think most people like them
I’d suggest trying to realign yourself with the gear. Hard edges can be useful for resting your hand in a stable way - where a curved edge might allow it to slip or roll. There’s probably a good quote about going with the flow rather than against it.
but…
I want to clarify that i dont think edges on elektrons are bad, never had issues with them.
What im not happy with is the direction of the midi keyboard market with its boxy design monopoly.
I will follow the flow eventually, and im happy that i can talk to someone about issues that might be only relevant to me. What made me create this topic initially - i noticed that keyboard that is great for my setup, has been disconnected and not used for a long while now.
Sure one can say that problem is entirely within the user and be entirely correct, but it also doesnt nullify my expirience of checking out midi keyboard market and not seeing much variety.
Difficult to find a keyboard that has modern features and wont hurt my baby hands.
Very true, and sorry I didn’t mean to dismiss your issue - I totally get your position.
I have a really nice armchair that I love, looks beautiful and is comfortable, but the arms are just slightly too narrow, which means that when my hands rest on the ends they dig into my palms just slightly, where wider arms (even 1cm) would have made all the difference. I could not put my hands there, but it’s where my hands want to be.
As a Product Designer I can confirm that this is 100% led by the look, not time savings or laziness. A large rounded corner would be far easier to remove from a mold.
The roundness of the fillet is a single number on a element in the model.
