M-Audio 49-Key MIDI Keyboards

Characteristics that motivated my choice was the HyperControl Technology, 49-Note that are hypersensitive, semi-weighted piano style, 64 MIDI assignable controls total and the great design provided by M-audio Axiom Pro 49. M-audio Axiom Pro 49 has a Midi type of connection, also 2 sustained pedals. UTILIZATION The general configuration of the program it's very simple, it has a well detailed manual that clears some things out,I like the LCD and its cool features , the pads, knobs, sliders, pitch control, and many cool features. The manual is quite clear and advanced at the same time, so if you've never worked with an Midi Controller you should check also some tutorials regarding the HyperControl function and the real time playing provided by the product. OVERALL OPINION What I really like about it is the design, that white looks damn good, I do enjoy the HyperControl Technology, and I gotta admit that those keys feel and look Pro, and they are expressive and well manufactured. Another advantage that has M-audio Axiom Pro 49 is the enhanced DAW Integration with HyperControl Technology that makes possible to just plug-in-play feature available. I can't say it's the cheapest Midi Controller on the market, it costs around 400$ on Amazon, having said that,it's probably one of greatest, world-wide used by many and many producers and musicians. Mike Shinoda uses it in his productions as well as many others. The precision and quality of sounds is on a very high level, you can barely see the difference between a real piano and this well made midi controller, the timing, sync, is purely perfect with the DAW that you're using it. I really do recommend to buy this product if you're serious about music production and want something that feels great, would work as a piano and as a controller, M-audio made that possible and also provided the unique feature of controlling the whole DAW action from the LCD.

M-audio oxygen 49 is a midi controller, pretty cheap but yet very high quality for it's price. Characteristics that motivated my choice was the eight assignable knobs and nine assignable sliders, also I did enjoy the direct link mode. It has a midi connection that works really great with Pro Tools and other daw's also a sustain pedal input. UTILIZATION The general configuration of the program it's very simple, yet very very fast. The manual has a nice description regarding the knobs, slides, velocity sensitive keys, and also about the unique Select buttons for on-the-fly step-through of presets, program changes and MIDI channels. The patch selection is easy to follow even for an amateur, it's very straight-forward and sensitive. OVERALL OPINION What I like most about are the 49 velocity-sensitive keys , I also enjoy 8 MIDI-assignable knobs 9 MIDI-assignable sliders, 6 dedicated transport controls, dedicated track up/down buttons, and many other cool features, like DirectLink and full compatibility with Windows XP, Windows Vista and Mac OS X. The prices is just around 150 $ , check on amazon, I really think you couldn't find something better for this price, and generally you can do some great things with a small controller like Oxygen 49. I do enjoy how the keys feel, however it's not the greatest velocity sensitive keyboard out there, but it works pretty decent for it's money, quality of sound is on a high level and I like the material of the midi. I tried several models, some more expensive, some less, however M-audio made me a fan, I really think they create a nice balance between price and quality. Keys are quick, velocity sensitive, the controllers work great, it's bad it doesn't have some drums features, however if you're looking something for your own studio, this is your best choice for a small amount of money. I would buy this product again and again, even just for fun, and it works pretty good if you're on the road a lot, check it out.

M Audio Key Rig 49 is a midi controller that can be used in almost any software that is on the market. I think it’s a good handy little midi controller even though I got rid of it because I wanted more octaves so I when with a 61 midi keyboard in the end. But the M Audio Key Rig will get the job done especially if you aren’t really a pianist and don’t need that many octaves. The keys are pretty light and plastic like, they really don’t have any weight to them but to most people that is fine but if you every messed with a real piano or a good digital piano then you will know the difference and it will feel like a toy. But its not designed to be like a digital piano, even though there are midi keyboards on the market that do have weighted keys this isn’t one of them. Setting it up is really easy just go into your midi options, and with this board you can use USB it doesn’t have to be used with midi. If you don’t have a preset for it available in your software just use a generic controller that will be fine. Trying to use the touch sensitive option wont work though because the keys arent weighted so its point this to try to get tension and release with the keys. Overall, it’s a pretty basic controller there are a lot on the market just like it. There are no programmable knobs or sliders that you can automate on this board. Check into some of the other M Audio boards if you need more options that are available the Key Rig 49 is just a standard midi keyboard that will get the job done. Its also very portable and extremely light, and takes up hardly any space at all. Great for use with a laptop.

Axiom 49 - Advanced 49-Key Semi-Weighted USB MIDI Controller I set up a student music studio/computer lab in college, the lab had these keyboards hooked up to them. I have experience setting up and playing with this keyboard for Garage Band, Logic Pro, and Albeton Live This is a great keyboard. I love the way the keys feel, the semi-weighted keys play just as I want them to. It reads velocities correctly, some other keyboards I have played will play either too soft or too loud of a velocity compared to what you are actually playing. It comes with a driver disk, but I never needed to use them. However I never tried to use it on a windows machine. But for Macs it will work no problem. All of the knobs on the keyboard can be customized to different midi functions depending on what software you are using. Channel pressure, pitch bend, modulation, etc. Its a great keyboard and will work well and with minimal setup for many programs. I honestly can't think of any cons, It is big and not as easy to carry around as a smaller 25-key midi controller, but if you want more keys you need a bigger keyboard. Although the top and low ends of the pitch bends kind of maxed out before you extend them all the way. The best way for me to explain it is, when I go to bend the pitch up, about 1/8' before the pitch bend knob reaches its end, The controller reaches the highest point. So basically you don't have as much control of your pitch bends as you had ought to. Hope that makes sense. Great quality, durable construction. It is a great keyboard, and is no that expensive. You can do a lot with it and is a great addition for your studio, or for performance if you play through a laptop, the possibilities are endless depending on what software you use. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

This is a really cheap 49 key board. Features? What features? It has a mod wheel and that's about it. This is truly a product geared toward budget studios. That's exactly the application I bought it for way back when. I was starting up a studio and needed a good USB keyboard to play instruments. I didn't need any frills or crazy controls. This one has none. The price was right so I got one. UTILIZATION Setup is easy enough. Just install the driver and plug it in. M-audio generally has pretty good drivers. Any issues I've had with them have always been my own error. No need for a manual since this thing is literally a piano and nothing more. I guess it would be nice if there was a velocity selection. It's not like it matters though. This is truthfully a beginners unit. The price and features reflect that. OVERALL OPINION My big gripe with this keyboard, has to be the keys themselves. Yes I understand that this is a very cheap and budget unit, but you would think that for what we lose in features, we could get some good keys. Or some decent keys. They are advertised as semi weighted I believe but they don't feel like it. This keyboard is comparable in feel to those $50 Wal mart keyboards you buy for your daughter at Christmas. I have used a few other M-audio keyboards like the Axiom series and I must say the key quality and feel on those is much much better. The difference in price makes it worth it imo. I suppose though if you are a beginner and you don't care about the feel, this is a fine studio unit. I mean it gets the job done. Never junked out on me. I wish M-audio would make a no-feature keyboard with good keys though. I don't need all the crazy knobs that the axioms have and would like one of those with good keys alone. I guess a good way to sum up my thoughts is that I am upset with the quality but for the price I really don't feel right complaining. You get what you pay for.

The M-Audio Oxygen 49 is a basic MIDI controller that is USB based. It's a plug-in and play device, only requiring you to install a driver where necessary on a PC computer. There is a newer version of the Oxygen 49, but this review is for the original version. Obviously, it's got 49 keys to go along with a nice array of assignable MIDI parameters in the form of both knobs and faders. This is more or less than same controller as the Oxygen 61, as I believe just the number of keys is different. The controller has both pitch and modulation wheels as well. It's also bus powered so you can power it up just by plugging it into a USB port on your computer, although I believe you can also power it via a nine volt supply if you're not plugging it into a computer. Lastly, in the back it has a MIDI jack and a 1/4" connection for a sustain pedal. UTILIZATION It's difficult at all to get used to using the M-Audio Oxygen 49. The feel of the keyboard itself isn't great but it's suitable for laying down parts as long as you're not looking for the feel of a true piano. The nine sliders and eight knobs are all assignable to just about whatever you want, and it also has transport buttons which is always nice to have. It's got everything you need but at the same time it's not convoluted and it's very easy to use. I don't know that a manual is necessary at all here... OVERALL OPINION The M-Audio Oxygen 49 is pretty much the perfect MIDI controller for those on a budget. It's not too fancy and isn't at all the best of what's available out there, but it will certainly get the job done most of the time and actually has a lot to offer, especially for the price. I don't own this at home since I have the M-Audio Keystation Pro 88, but I've used a few of these before in different studios and they are definitely adequate. The price is the best part about the M-Audio Oxygen 49 as it's affordable for everyone and it's definitely a solid controller.

The features are excellent for a controller in it's price range. 49 keys and octave preset buttons, letting you go -3 octaves or +3 octaves. The perfect solution versus buying a board with more keys, which equals more space. It has a pitch control wheel and modulation wheel, both of which prove very useful, and has a slider for data entry (volume). It is GREAT for when I'm recording in Reason and think what I'm playing is too loud or quiet, and saves time against turning and finding the volume on the sound module on the screen. Has 10 faders and 8 knobs, both of which are very responsive and feel great. I only wish the faders weren't flat, and were more switch like so they'd be easier to control precisely. It can be phantom powered through your computer or you can use a power block. I use phantom power, it saves outlets. The keys themselves feel nice enough. They're velocity sensitive, but as soon as you let go of the key, the sound dies. That's one of the unit's few drawbacks, but it's easily worked around. Price paid $150 UTILIZATION Very easy. Plug it in, pop in the installation CD and it's very self explanatory. My only complaint is that the mod wheel is a little light, if it was weighted it'd be VERY nice. These are easily overlooked, though. Overall it's built solid. I've had it for 2 months and nothing has gone wrong with it, and on the flipside it's easily moved from place to place because of its lightness. OVERALL OPINION No sounds; it's a controller - but the notes cut off once the key is released. Kind of a drawback, and the keys aren't weighted. It's everything I was hoping it would be. Very responsive and it's just what I needed. Best piece of gear to start with. Originally posted on FutureProducers.com Posted by: smjVersion1 ( 6-, 2005)