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# the rock band 3 keyboard
- URL: https://wootangent.net/the-rock-band-3-keyboard/
- Published: 2010-11-16T02:27:47.000Z
- Updated: 2010-11-16T02:27:47.000Z
- Author: Leigh Dyer
- Tags: Music, keytar, midi, rock band, rock band 3, #Migrated-1792830072870, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-10-24 08:21

It's worth mentioning that for my keyboard-playing in Rock Band 3, I'm using the official keyboard controller, and I'm really quite impressed by it -- it's solid, the keys feel great, and it has a standard MIDI output for use with a PC or other MIDI gear, so for the money (AU$135-ish locally, US$80 on Amazon), I think it's a bargain. There's a Rock Band 3 MIDI interface coming, which I could've used with one of the keyboards we already have in the house, but they're a bit big for the lounge, especially with the drums set up. The official keyboard is tiny in comparison, and you can hold it like a keytar, which means you can play it standing up (and look totally bad-ass, 80s-style, while doing so).

The MIDI output works really well -- if you're in the market for a small, cheap MIDI controller, it's definitely worth considering, and if you're in the market for a cheap keytar, it's a no-brainer. The touch strip on the neck, which can be used like a whammy bar in the game, acts as a mod wheel in MIDI mode, and the Xbox controller buttons are all repurposed to cover useful features, like octave up/down controls and program changes; Create Digital Music has a great article that [covers all of the MIDI features](http://createdigitalmusic.com/2010/10/hands-on-rock-band-3s-keytar-a-surprisingly-serious-80-midi-keyboard/?ref=wootangent.net).

The one thing it lacks compared to a modern MIDI controller is a USB port, but when you can get a basic, class-compliant USB-MIDI adapter online for [less than $10](http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11277?ref=wootangent.net), it's not a deal-breaker. I hooked it up to my laptop using one of those adapters, and within seconds I was pumping basslines out of XSynth-DSSI, using the touch strip to control the filter cutoff while I played. Awesome!