In order to truly appreciate the freedom that comes with adding a wireless MIDI transmitter to your keyboard, you need your keyboard to be battery-powerable. Hit the Connect button, and you should be feeding MIDI to your computer. On your Mac, turn on Bluetooth, open Audio MIDI Setup, go to Window > Show MIDI Studio, double-click the Bluetooth icon, and bam - the MB01 pops up in a list of MIDI Bluetooth devices. Plug it into your keyboard’s MIDI IN and MIDI OUT jacks, and it (magically) lights up red. The MD-BT01 was simple to set up on my MacBook Pro. Plug this bad boy into your MIDI controller keyboard’s 5-pin DIN MIDI ports, and it’ll send MIDI data from the board to a Bluetooth-enabled computer or tablet, allowing you to trigger sounds in software instruments.

If yours does not, never fear - the Yamaha MD-BT01 Bluetooth wireless MIDI adapter is here. Some keyboards, like the Alesis Vortex Wireless 2 or ROLI Seaboard Block, have a built-in wireless MIDI system. That’s when it’s time to put your keyboard into service as a MIDI controller for software synths on a laptop…wirelessly! Adding Wireless MIDI to Your Keyboard It you need to do piano plus a string pad, or if you want to trigger arpeggiated synth bass with your left hand while playing sick leads with your right, the on-board sound engine isn’t going to cover it. But while the AX-Synth has decent internal sounds, it’s not multi-timbral, which means it can only play one sound at a time - no splits or layers. This stripped-down setup serves me well for small shows. Add a 15-pound Bose S1 Pro or the 16-pound Roland KC-220 as your (battery-powerable!) keyboard amp, and you’ve got a super-lightweight keys rig. The Roland AX-Synth weighs about 10 pounds (even with 8 AA batteries in it), and although it’s longer than the typical 49-key board, it can squeeze into a 61-key keyboard gig bag (I use one of the Fusion keyboard bags) along with its stand, sustain pedal, and cables.

Read on for a closer look at this keyboard rig that gives you access to myriad sounds while remaining ridiculously easy to carry.

That’s when it’s time to get a Yamaha MD-BT01 Bluetooth wireless MIDI interface and a laptop loaded with software synths. But there comes a time when you need more than what your keytar’s on-board sound engine can provide. Besides the keytar’s distinctive look, the appeal of this board is its eminent portability. My main gigging board is a Roland AX-Synth Shoulder Synthesizer - or a keytar, as it’s affectionately known. Playing keyboards is my jam, but schlepping a lot of gear around is definitely not.

Roland ax synth patches ableton