Evolution MK-449C

Keep in mind that I am writing this review as a recording guitar player with little to no keyboard experience. I cannot comment on "key-feel" or other playing nuances. I can only describe my experiences from my perspective.

I bought this keyboard controller on a Musician's Friend "Stupid Deal of the Day" listing. The price was right and the feature/price ratio was through the roof so I took the plunge. I got this controller specifically to use with soft-synth instruments such as Native Instruments "B4 II" and "Elektrik Piano". I wanted the ability to add some background keyboards to my own recordings.

This keyboard was billed as a "Class Compliant" device that would work under Windows XP with no driver. The manual even states this and offers no more information on running under XP than that! The applications that came with it recognized the MK-449C but B4 II did not and Windows XP did not recognize it! I went to the M-Audio website (they purchased Evolution) and downloaded an XP driver for the "Series II" Evolution keyboards and everything started working!

I will subtract a few points for the wasted time this little omission put me through before I wised-up and installed the downloadable driver (that the manual said I didn't need).

The MK-449C can connect via USB or MIDI, but the beauty of a direct USB 2.0 connection is that the keyboard is powered directly from the computer and no external power supply is required (which is good since it does not ship with one!). I have found that the USB connection is very stable and have experienced no problems. The unit has no MIDI In or Thru capabilities, however.

This keyboard controller has a template for B4 built in (#2) and for the most part it provides full control of all the major B4 II functions (including drawbars and swell pedal). The two products work well together and the sound through an ASIO audio driver through an M-Audio "Duo" USB audio interface to a pair of M-Audio BX-8 powered monitors is glorious!

The blue backlit LCD display is quite handy for programming AND for checking the setting or status of any control you fiddle with. The 10-button keypad allows direct numeric entry for programming choices.

The wealth of controls available makes this a versatile human interface device (49 key keyboard, 9 sliders/drawbars, 8 rotary controllers, etc.). It is lightweight and relatively small... definitely portable but also at home next to the computer in the studio. This is not an expensive controller by any means, but a very functional and feature-packed one for the price.

No sounds (since it is a MIDI/USB controller).

It has no after-touch but does have 9 velocity settings you can select. This helps a lot when trying to get a "feel" for the B4 II by tailoring the key travel to optimize key clicks and percussion at the head of each note and the delay of same between notes.

I have only owned the MK-449C for a few weeks, but I am most impressed with its operation and features (once the undocumented USB driver issue was resolved).

I have left it on and connected to the B4 II software for many hours at a time and it has never failed to work when I press a key. One thing you might want to watch out for is that BIOS or Windows settings related to "EnergyStar" or power-saving (especially on laptops) might turn the USB-connected keyboard OFF after a period of time which could require a restart of the driver or the connected software in order to get full functionality to return. Turn off all power-saving features to prevent them from interfering on any software instrument or recording system.

Haven't needed them on this product, but I have dealt with M-Audio on one other issue regarding my monitor loudspeakers and it was quickly and effectively dealt with by their Customer Support group.

I think I would buy this or its 61-key brother again. If I was more sophisticated in a keyboard sense I might not feel that the keyboard action is adequate (it does not feel like a piano or a Hammond B3 by an means) but it is OK for what I do with it.

I would have liked to see after-touch on this and perhaps better (less cheap) feeling keys but overall I am satisfied, especially for the price. When I researched other keyboards anywhere near the price of this one I did not find anything as stable as this product turned out to be for me. I would rather have a plastic controller that is stable with less-than-stellar key feel than a gorgeous feeling aluminum controller that only works 5-minutes at a time if at all!