Miditech Pianobox Pro HOST

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Piccolo, leggero ma consistente. Involucro in alluminio, pannello frontale in plastica. È un modulo sonoro GM da scrivania, 128 suoni in accesso diretto, polifonia a 81 voci.
La particolarità che giustifica il suffisso HOST è la porta USB frontale: colleghi una master keyboard via USB e questa le fornisce anche alimentazione, senza cavi MIDI separati. Semplice, utile, onesto. Sul retro trovi MIDI DIN In/Out, USB Device per interfacciarsi al DAW, due uscite jack 6,3 stereo, uscita cuffie, ingresso Hi-Z per chitarra o basso. Cento pattern ritmici, riverbero di servizio, aggiornamento firmware via USB.
I suoni sono sample-based 24 bit, General MIDI standard. Grand piano, electric piano, archi, synth, basso, batteria. Non ti aspettare Pianoteq o Keyscape: qui sei nel territorio dell'onesta tastiera GM anni Duemila, quella che trovavi incastrata dentro i moduli da palco prima che i plugin prendessero il sopravvento. Funziona. Non emoziona, ma funziona.
Il layout — una manopola grande, dieci tasti funzione — è immediato; selezioni il suono in tre secondi senza aprire menu. L'interfaccia non ha ambizioni filosofiche e questo è un pregio.
Limite principale: nessuna batteria interna. Vuoi usarlo lontano da una presa? Portati un powerbank. Per il resto, dipende da cosa cerchi. Se ti serve un generatore di suoni compatto, affidabile, che alimenta la tua controller USB senza casino di cavi, questo oggetto fa esattamente quello che promette. Se vuoi suoni da concerto o librerie multi-gigabyte, stai cercando un'altra categoria di prodotto.
Rapporto qualità/prezzo: corretto. Strumento da studio, da prova, da viaggio leggero. Non da palco principale; da tutto il resto, sì.

I bought this to use with a Fishman Triple Play Wireless guitar midi system - and it works perfectly - just plug the FTP's USB receiver into the host socket on this, set the pickup to "hardware" mode and play. There's no noticeable latency and every note played as expected. A little tweaking may be useful in the FTP software to ensure that pitchbends and touch are handled correctly according to the midi "instrument" but otherwise, it's plug and play.

As for the PianoBox itself - it feels solid enough, metal frame and plastic front panel. The packaging is simple enough - the unit and a USB A>B cable. There's also a leaflet offering some free software downloads including Samplitude and a couple of VSTs.

The unit itself sounds like an older GM keyboard, which is what I expected. The sounds are obviously not going to compete with today's software-based sounds but that's not what it's for - it's a quick and simple tool for when you want the sounds without using a computer or tablet. The overall sound output is a bit woolly - whatever amp or preamp is onboard could really have done with EQ as there's absolutely no sparkle or top-end on any of the tones and adding more than a touch of reverb to any bass sounds, especially the kick-drum, sees it distorted quite badly at any volume.

And speaking of volume - the volume control on the front of the unit ONLY controls the headphone output. You can adjust the volume on a channel-by-channel basis but that's more about mixing and there's no master-volume (unless there's "undocumented features" on this). Also note that using headphones does not mute the main outputs.

The display is lacking in any useful (essential?) information - it only shows patch numbers rather than simply naming the virtual instrument - an unacceptable omission on a device that only outputs the standard GM sounds. Same with the drum patterns - all you get is a number. The display also fails to show what PC is currently incoming on any channel - another inexplicable omission.

For all the flaws, it's a rarity in 2024 - a simple GM sound module. It's a little pricey for what it is but that's supply and demand for you. I can't compare it to the smaller alternatives directly but I've heard them via youtube videos and against those, this certainly sounds less like a toy. The drum patterns are not bad and the overall output is no better or worse than a home keyboard at the same sort of price. Where this wins is that USB host plus the USB midi AND din midi connections - plus the additional controls with their own buttons. And for me, mixing these sounds with guitar output using the Fishman TP thanks to the USB host and no computer in sight - that's (almost) priceless.

Immer den Computer hochfahren - die DAW laden - um schnell mal etwas auf dem Keyboard auszuprobieren war mir zu umständlich. Also sollte es ein kleiner Expander werden. Schnell an die Tastatur angeschlossen, Kopfhörer auf und los geht es.
Die kleine schwarze Kiste mit den wertigen Knöpfen sieht schon auf dem 88er MK2 von NativI gut aus ABER .... ich habe sie nicht zum Laufen gebracht. Weder über USB noch Midi. Ja - der Fehler liegt bestimmt bei mir - aber es darf auch nicht zu kompliziert werden.
An der Alesis V25 und der Akai MPK49 - Tatstatur läuft das Kistchen ohne Probleme. Mit USB verbunden und schon kann man losklimpern. So sollte es auch sein. Wäre da nicht das Problem mit dem Stromanschluss .... Die kleine Kiste benötigt halt ihre 5v. Der mitgelieferte Adapter sieht nicht besonders Vertrauenserweckend aus. Klappriges Billigplastik - ohne CE-Kennzeichnung oder ähnliches. Dieses Teil würde ich zumindest nicht unbeobachtet für längere Zeit in einer Steckdose belassen.
Ein weiterer Verwendungszweck des Expanders ist für mich, die Tastatur auch mal Mobil zu nutzen. Und da wird die "Pro" unhandlich. Tastatur, ProPiano und ein erforderliche Stromquelle (Powerbank) macht das Ganze sperrig. Für meine Zwecke dann doch eher die MiniPianobox II.
Fazit: schön anzusehen und abgesehen von dem Adapter eine wertige Kiste. Klang geht in Ordnung und unbeachtet meinen Problemen mit der NI 88 MK2, ist die Verbindung und Benutzung mit einer Miditastatur problemlos. Für den "richtig" mobilen Einsatz ist der Expander aber nur eingeschränkt zu empfehlen (zu schwer - zu sperrig - Stromanschluss)
Ich werde mir wohl die kleinere PianoBoxMini II anschaffen.