M-Audio Oxygen 49 (Blue)

Some of the features that motivated my choice were the 49 velocity sensitive keys, the DirectLink technology that creates a quick connections to your DAW functions.

There are two type of controls , both midi and pedal based.

UTILIZATION

The general configuration and setup is quite simple , nothing really advanced for the configuration stage , thanks to the technology that comes with this product , you get an instant connection with your working DAW trough the Direct Link feature.

The manual is a saver , very easy to follow starting from the basic to the more complex.

OVERALL OPINION

What I like most about this product , is the great price , the powerful design by M-audio , the eight assignable knobs and nine assignable sliders, the Direct Link mode and may other cool features.

You get also 6 dedicated transport controls , a bend wheel , and some dedicated track up/down buttons which take you away from your qwerty keyboard.

What I don't like about it , is the lack of drum pads , if you would get at least 8 drum pads , this would be a perfect product , also another thing that I found quite disturbing , is the feeling of the keys , they feel like a toy , not really high quality.

However, my opinion about the price is great , this is a very cheap product , and probably one of the best in this quality price range , you can get it for 120$.

Precision and quality of the sound is very good , no issues found in this area.

I've tried several midi controllers , this would be probably the easiest to work it , the faster to setup doe to its Direct Link Mode , and the cheapest , good midi controller for amateurs.

Knowing what I know, I would buy this midi controller.

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.

The M-Audio Oxygen 49 is a good keyboard controller with Direct link technology, the transport buttons are very useful for recording MIDI and playback, touch sensitive control gives the realism of playing in a soft or in a hammer keyboard and is not expansive. I like it too much. You can compare this too the other boards A audio makes that are midi keyboards.


UTILIZATION

Works great and didn’t have any problems getting it set up and running. I ran it on a mac computer and went into the midi connections to set it up. I didn’t even need a manual. Very easy and straight forward. Everything with this board makes your whole set up easier, not to mention its small and compact incase you have to carry it where ever you go!


OVERALL OPINION

Overall, I needed something with more keys than the Axiom 25 so was looking at this very hard. Arrived and found it to be everything I wanted and more. The Axiom has high side plates that make playing the lowest and highest notes difficult. The Oxygen has low side plates and you can play it with no difficulties at all. The Oxygen doesn't have MIDI input, output or thru but I don't need as I'm using the usb connection without problems. I also didn't need the drum pads that the Axiom comes with. These items where not of importance to me. What is important is the ability to use the sliders like drawbars on the vintage organ b3 and the transport buttons that work with most any daw. I have stand alone keyboards I could use as controllers but this is lightweight, small footprint on my computer desk. Really haven't found a thing wrong with this purchase and would recommend to anyone looking for an easy to use and affordable controller. The only reason for the 4.5 versus 5.0 is anything can be improved.

The 2009 version of the M-Audio Oxygen 49 is the newest version of this popular MIDI Controller. It comes in black as opposed to the original models which are gray. It's got a 1/4" output in the back for a sustain pedal as well as a USB port for hooking it up to your computer, which will also power it up. It's very simple, but it gets the job done and then some.

UTILIZATION

The feel of the M-Audio Oxygen 8 2009 isn't great, but it's still enough to lay down parts and play it easily enough, just don't expect it to feel like a real piano or anything since the keys aren't weighted. Obviously, the keyboard has 49 keys, but it also features nine sliders and eight programmable knobs for assigning parameters, as well as transport buttons, a pitch and modulation wheel, and track and transpose buttons. It's all pretty simple to use even if you're new to the world of MIDI controllers.

OVERALL OPINION

The 2009 version of the M-Audio Oxygen 49 is the perfect choice for anyone looking for a budget conscious MIDI controller for any purpose. While I do not own one of these myself, my room mate does and I've used it a bunch in his home studio here. I also used to have the original Oxygen 49, so I've got something to compare it to. I definitely think this version is a big upgrade as you've not only got more parameters and options to work with, but also a sleeker looking design. The price is really the best thing about the 2009 M-Audio Oxygen 49 as it won't cost you much at all to get a full fledged MIDI studio here. This is great for any DAW owner, even if you're not using MIDI all the time, as having the capability this day and age is a must. If you want a MIDI controller but don't want to spend too much, the Oxygen 49 is the way to go.