Edirol’s new portable keyboard controller combines good looks and MIDI functionality with audio capability.

Portable and desktop MIDI controllers are popping up at furious rate these days and disappearing almost as quickly as manufacturers continue to refine their products to meet the ever changing demands of the people who use them. Take Edirol for example. With their latest model, the PCR-1, they’re clearly targeting the growing army of laptop DJs as well as their more traditional customers - lap top musicians and home recording enthusiasts.

Wafer thin and light enough to slip into your backpack the PCR-1 has a two octave keyboard, 25 assignable controls and comes complete with a gigbag. It even features a security lock port, just in case it should decide to go walkabout. And just like it’s big brother, the PCR-A30, it doubles as a 24 bit/96 kHz audio interface offering many of the options available on high end sound cards. So, with features like these and over 80 control maps available as an Internet download, is this the most compact keyboard and audio interface available today?

Super slim

First impressions are very important and straight out of the box the PCR-1 looks the part with sleek lines and a remarkably slim body. This is directly attributable to something Edirol call S.L.I.M. (Short-stroke Low -profile Impact Mechanism) a new keyboard design they’ve developed, to improve the playing experience on compact keyboards. Apart from its glamorous appearance, there’s a quality feel to it as well, with full size keys, a solid construction and tactile controls. The gig bag is a nice touch too. It won’t prevent the unit being damaged from serious knocks but it will protect it from dust and scratches.

Being a USB device (a powder blue cable is included) the PCR-1 takes its power from the computer. All connections are made at the back and two stereo inputs and outputs (RCA phono) are provided for connecting your audio devices and speakers along with a small input volume control. A further digital output can be used for connecting devices such as MD or DAT as well as headphones. Unfortunately there are no extra MIDI ports but if security is an issue you can protect the PCR-1 with a cable and lock device that attaches to a Kensington security slot. That’s an extra though and a visit to www.kensington.com is needed to purchase the device.

If you’ve ever played an older compact keyboard you’ll certainly appreciate the full width keys on the PCR-1, particularly if you have large hands. No more tedious editing in your sequencer, deleting all the notes you’ve hit by mistake because the keys were too close together. However, although the keyboard is fully velocity sensitive, accomplished players may find the key travel a touch restrictive. Playing loudly and softly was not a problem but capturing anything in-between was more difficult.

Two separate switches for pitch bend and modulation replace the usual wheels and sliders found on conventional controllers. Press a note, hold it and turn the pitch bend control to the right and, as you’d expect, the note bends up a fifth (or to whatever pitch bend range you’ve set your sound module to receive). But that’s it. You can’t make further bend changes, as you play. However, you can edit the time it takes the pitch bend to reach a certain interval, either up or down. Modulation is simply turned on or off and again, there’s no way of altering the rate while you’re playing.

MIDI functionality is divided into eight modes and switching between them is straightforward and fast. You simply select a mode by pressing either one or two of the four buttons located directly above the keyboard. Play mode is selected by default, on ‘power up’ and when you enter another mode, to change settings and so on, you’re conveniently returned to Play mode once your editing is complete.

Fast Edi

When playing and recording onto a MIDI track using Logic latency was imperceptible and despite minor reservations about velocity sensitivity, the keyboard action proved superb. If you’re a good player, you should be able to capture fast runs and trills with ease.

Recording onto an audio track was just as simple, although the tiny input level knob, located at the back, is awkward to get to and use. A knob next to the master volume control would be much better. The audio performance proved stable and as you might expect from Edirol, the sound quality was excellent.

The two inputs accept direct line level devices - dynamic mics, guitars, keyboards and audio devices such as CD players. To hear what you’re recording with absolutely no latency whatsoever you simply switch to Direct Monitoring which routes the input signal from the audio input jacks directly to the headphone jack. However, you can’t record directly to another digital device via the PCR-1. To do that you first have to record the audio onto your computer’s hard disk and route it to the optical digital out afterwards.

Of course, if you like, you can leave the PCR-1 on your desktop and just use it as your everyday soundcard, never even touching those intriguing looking knobs and buttons. It’ll certainly do a very good job. But that would be wasting the potential of this deceptively powerful little machine. It’s a MIDI controller first and foremost. In fact it’s only when you use the PCR-1 as a controller that it really begins to excel. Editing synths and tone generators becomes a breeze and parameters previously difficult to access like Filter Cutoff and Resonance or Envelope Attack and Decay can be assigned to individual controller knobs and saved as controller maps. You can save up to 16 of these maps, each one containing a total of 25 controllable parameters.

Manual work

Unless you’re already familiar with MIDI controllers you’ll need the manual by your side until you get used to it. It’s not exactly difficult to edit but the sheer amount of functions available necessitates some reading. One way round this is to use the editor software included on the CD (also available as an Internet download). Using this, a virtual representation of the PCR series of controllers can be configured on screen using drop down menus and so on.

But like many people, you may not be conversant with, or even interested in the more complex aspects of MIDI. With the PCR-1 you’ll not have a problem because you can pick and choose from the 80 controller maps available as a free download, at www.edirol.com. Cakewalk, Emagic, Steinberg, MOTU, Reason, Native Instruments and Pro Tools - they’re all represented. Most of these maps have been created by Edirol themselves. Some though have been submitted by enthusiastic users but they’ve been thoroughly tested by Edirol before being made publicly available.

Out of curiosity, we downloaded a controller map for Steinberg’s Virtual Guitarist and put it to the test. It worked beautifully. Being able to tweak two parameters simultaneously (impossible with a mouse) made such a difference. Even better, operating the Virtual Guitarist’s Wah Wah pedal with a ‘hands on’ rotary control was enormous fun and again, so much smoother and far more intuitive than doing it with a mouse.

Edirol manufacture six MIDI keyboard controllers at present all suited to the desktop musician, both amateur and professional. This one however is ideal for touring musicians who need both a portable keyboard and an audio interface for their personal laptop computers. As previously mentioned, the keyboard does lack a few performance features but more than makes up for it with the addition of the audio interface. As a MIDI controller it’s brilliant and with the plethora of controller maps available it’s bound to be a big hit with DJs and musicians alike.

Useful Feature

The PCR-1 keyboard only spans two octaves. However, when playing with your right hand, octave changes (-4,+5) can be made instantly with your left, by pressing the two octave buttons conveniently placed to the left of the keyboard. Press both at once and you’re back to normal.

Tech Spot

When MIDI was first developed, in the early 80s, MIDI controllers were used exclusively for capturing performance data and transmitting it to another device, usually a synthesiser. They came in various guises but the first (and still the most common) was the piano keyboard. Other contraptions were soon invented for wind players, guitarists and drummers. But when sequencing software like Cubase and Notator appeared in the late 80s musicians realised that they could use MIDI not just to capture their performance but also to control the on screen mixing of entire musical projects. Hardware mixers also appeared around this time featuring MIDI muting. Since then MIDI controllers have evolved along with the continuing development of music technology in general and nowadays the words MIDI controller can be used to describe foot pedals (for controlling an effects rack), mixing consoles (for controlling audio software) and portable devices like the Edirol PCR-1.

Product details
Edirol PCR-1 USB MIDI Keyboard Controller/Audio Interface
Manufacturer - Edirol
Contact - Edirol UK
Tel: 0870 350 1515
www.edirol.it/europe

Minimum system requirements
Macintosh
Mac OS 8.5, 8.6, 9.x, and OS X
G3/233 MHz or higher
64 MB or more

Windows
Windows Me/98/98SE/2000/XP
Pentium 200 MHz or higher
64 MB or more
Key features
25 Standard Width Keys
Velocity-Sensitive Keys
6 assignable buttons, 3 with shift
8 assignable knobs with shift
RCA Input/Output
RCA Headphone/Optical output
Separate pitch and modulation controls
Includes PCR-Editor x Gigbag

Pros
Slim, lightweight design
Audio capability
USB powered, for mobile use
25 assignable controllers
Software editor and control maps

Cons

Limited pitch bend and modulation
Restricted key travel

Verdict
Great all round keyboard controller and audio interface for musicians on the move. Excellent value for money.

Copyright 2006 Keith Gemmell

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