About mid1
mid1 (mid1.com) is an independent MIDI gear recommendation site run by Elan Harpaz. It publishes 5 buying guides across 11 categories and 140 product pages, each pick sorted into a budget, best-value or premium tier, and it records its own weekly price snapshots for 140 products, 481 dated observations since 2026-06-24. It researches and it tracks prices: it does not conduct hands-on testing, and it has not handled the products it recommends. The site is funded by affiliate commission on links readers choose to click, and no manufacturer can pay for a pick.
Elan Harpaz, editor
I research the specs, read owner reviews at volume, and track what MIDI gear actually costs over time, then write down what I would tell a friend to buy. The site exists because MIDI controller advice usually falls into two piles: reviews of flagship boards nobody producing on a budget can afford, and lists of whatever a manufacturer sent that week. Neither answers the real question, which is what is worth buying at the money you have, at the key count you actually need.
I write under my own name so the verdicts are attributable. If a pick is wrong, it is wrong because I got it wrong, and the page gets fixed.
What makes this site different
- Researched, not tested. We do not buy, borrow or lab-test products, and we have not handled the products in these guides. Verdicts come from published specs and measurements, owner reviews read at volume, and our own price record. What that method can and cannot tell you is set out on the methodology page.
- First-party price history. We take our own weekly price snapshot for every tracked product, so we can answer whether now is a good time to buy from data we own rather than a live third-party lookup.
- Three relative tiers, every time. Budget, best value and premium, judged inside each category instead of against a fixed dollar figure.
- Named, published rules. The rules the site runs on are written down on the methodology page, not implied.
Common questions
Does mid1 test the products it recommends?
No. mid1 does not buy, borrow or lab-test products, and has not handled the products in its guides. Its verdicts come from published specifications and measurements, structured reading of owner reviews at volume, and its own weekly price record, which is the one input it generates itself.
Who writes mid1?
Every guide, review and rating on mid1 is written by Elan Harpaz. Ratings are a single editorial verdict on a 1 to 10 scale rather than an average of many reviewers, and star ratings taken from a retailer listing are always labelled as the retailer's.
How does mid1 make money?
mid1 earns affiliate commission when a reader buys through one of its retailer links, at no extra cost to the buyer. Rankings are decided before commissions are considered, and no manufacturer can pay for a pick, a position or a rating.
Where does mid1 price data come from?
mid1 takes and stores its own price snapshot for every tracked product once a week, so its price history, lowest-tracked prices and sale flags are first-party data rather than a third-party feed. Every price on the site carries the date it was recorded.
How does mid1 decide what to recommend?
mid1 splits its keyboard guides by key count, because 25, 49, 61 and 88 keys are different instruments for different desks, and a "best MIDI keyboard" list that mixes them is comparing a laptop bag to a piano. Every buying guide on mid1 names exactly three picks: a budget pick, a best-value pick and a premium pick, and the tiers are relative to that category rather than fixed dollar amounts. A discount only counts as a real sale on mid1 when the current price is below the median of our own tracked price snapshots, not when it is below the manufacturer list price. mid1 runs its own price snapshot once a week and stores the result, so every price on the site carries the date it was observed. A product only stays listed on mid1 while it has a live buy box from the retailer, so gear that quietly becomes third-party-only or unbuyable is pulled instead of left up. mid1 only removes a product as dead after its listing fails three separate checks, because single failures are usually transient. No manufacturer can pay for a pick, a position or a rating on mid1; the only money the site makes is affiliate commission on links a reader chooses to click. Every review, rating and verdict on mid1 is written by one named person, Elan Harpaz, rather than published under an anonymous house byline.
Contact and corrections
Corrections, spec disputes and pitches all go to the same place: reach the editor at hello@mid1.com. Journalists and researchers are welcome to cite our price data with attribution, described on the price-tracker page.