M-Audio Axiom 49

Easy with the presets. I use it with reason and with the Axiom surface control installed, it's a breeze using the Axiom !
Manual is very well documented, though it can take some time to understand how to program the assignable keys.

8 drum pads, 8 knobs, 10 sliders and lots of assignable buttons, pitch bend, mod wheel and 20 preset memories, touch sensitive with after touch are all GREAT features.

It's powered via midi connection (optional external powering is possible too), that means a single wire for power+midi transmission to your fav soft synth. That easy and simple!

No inbuilt sounds/synth. Midi only. you need an external synthesizer software/hardware.

This is where it laks a bit. I had to exchange/get replacement twice before I got a good piece. The first two had the problem of screen flickering and MIDI connection dropping out... I think they had problem with some lots. Anyways, the third one is working fine for more than a year now.

So taking the first two pieces as exceptions, the reliability is great!

Customer care in India, (at the time I bought it, they had only one dealer) was nice on phone but slow to respond to e-mails.

A great MIDI controller with lots of great features and high value for money!

+:
Rich in features
Sturdy
midi powered

-:
Can't think of any!


I've been using it for an year now with reason. I also use prodikeys which has no features other than midi keyboard and with mini sized keys but has an advantage - takes less desk space.

Comparing with other keyboards, I think axiom series has good value for money and is rich in features.

Except for Reason which is pretty much plug and play, everything else is pretty tedious to set up. The Enigma software, which wasn't included with the controller (download, with the manual) hasn't been all that useful.

The manual contains a lot of specs and parameter maps but not a lot of "How to..." info for a newbie like myself. To rate the manual I'd say it's not worth the paper it's not printed on.

For the price ($324Cdn) it has a lot of features. I have found that the sliders work well in most applications. The same goes for the rotary dials. The transport buttons are great.

The response of the drum pads is bit quirky and while fun to jam around with, I don't think I'll be able to use them for recording.

Regarding the feel of the keys, I like'em. They're not as good as the synth keys on my old Korg N364 but they work well enough.

The after touch works really well. It's nice that its assignable.

I've had a few issues regarding the velocity when changing between applications. Sometimes the keys feel "mushy", meaning that no matter how hard I hit the keys the velocity doesn't exceed the 60s (out of 127). This may be a defect. It usually goes away if I shut the application down and re-open it.

I think M-Audio designed this controller for hobbyist musicians meaning that it probably wouldn't last very long on the road. For that matter, I don't think it would last very long in the studio if it was being used regularly.

If I had a gig, I would not bring this contoller.

Don't know. Haven't tried.

For the price and the features I think it's still a good deal regardless of its shortcomings. It works as well as I had anticipated. The drum pads are cool but not as good as I expected. I would highly recommend it for use with Reason.

If you're new to computer music and you just want to plug and play, this probably isn't the controller for you. You'll find yourself spending hours configuring the controls and then trying to map them to your applications functions.

I don't understand why M-Audio wouldn't take the time to build presets like they have for Reason.

I haven't read any manuals. (The manual is apparently in PDF form..available from the m-audio website most likely - havent checked it out)

I just got this yesterday. I have yet to do anything more with it. It seemed to set up easily, except it did not show any sort of "your keyboard is ready to use!" message like the 'quick start' manual said it would.

Nonetheless, it did work when I opened Reason. The drum pads are weird, but i may just have to get to reading the manual before i judge this anymore.

Keyboard action is great if you like playing chords and prefer the feel of full sized keys. These are semi-weighted keys, but they don't tire the hands. It actually has a very nice feel. Some people may really not prefer it if they are used to 'synth action' or whatever they call it. THIS IS JUST A CONTROLLER, NO SOUNDS. Use it with a sound box (buy a yamaha motif rack or whatever you want) and it will be like having the actual keyboard (minus the workstation part).

If you want all the other specs just find the official listings. I don't need to tell you about the velocity and all of that.

The pads are a little weird. I presume you could utilize them well if you're not a nitpicking brat...but i would agree that one would want to get a separate pad if these feel a little strange in any way. I experienced minor to moderate frusturation with these pads within 15 minutes...but i'm sure I could still use them!

Only owned it a day.

Never needed yet, see above.

I'll do another one in 2 months. I'm sure this would be even a little bit useful to the pondering consumer.

My Axiom was plug and play. I'm using an iMac G5, and this sucker showed up as soon as I plugged it in.

Action is not the greatest. But for the money, the feature-set is really decent. Transport control, 8 assignable knobs, 8 assignable sliders... Pretty decent for the money.

The action is OK. It's a "semi-weighted." Not the greatest I've ever played, but again...
For the money, not bad. No sounds as it's a controller.

This is where the rubber meets the road. The sliders are extremely crappy build quality. I've broken 2 already and I have no idea how. This thing sits in my studio all day, and I barely use the sliders. Very frustrated with that. Looking back, if I had known the sliders were so cheap, I would have gotten something else. The rest of the board isn't bad, but that kind of poor quality on anything the user will be moving on a regular basis is unacceptable.

Have not dealt with M-Audio as of yet regarding this board. My experience with tech support in the past has been "OK," my only complaint being the long hold time...
M-Audio in the past has been very good about updating drivers and that sort of thing on their web site.

If my Axiom were stolen, I would probably go with something else. For the money, it's decent, but the build quality suffers as a result of the pricepoint. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad controller, FOR THE MONEY. If you can spend $100 more, you can definitely get into a better level in terms of quality.

If you use Reason it is pretty much set up for you. But when using it with other VST or synth modules this thing is a pain to setup. The Enigma software has nice eye candy but it has a few flaws - some which have been reviewed in the press. First I tried it on two new Windows XP sp2 machines, these were new computers (one of them a Pentium 4 Dual processor) with very little software installed on them. On one of the computers the software was very unstable. Not sure if it was the USB port driver or the Enigma software. I tried a Korg Kontrol 49 on the same computer - no problems. Next the software uses drag and drop and it is a pain. The graphical view (eye candy) is a pain you have to turn it off. The on board LCD display does not show the setup names (Korg and Novation do) and there are no labels just codes for the other functions. The Korg Kontrol 49 with its LCD for labelling of controls, the pads that light up, and other display indicators - makes it a lot easier to use than the Axiom. I had problems with the unit transferring setups I created and saving them , it did not seem to work on a consistent basis. Summary - I have found other companies controllers easier to use.

They call the keyboard action semi-weighted and it is but it feels cheap compared to other semi-weighted keyboards I have used. Basically they should have skipped this and gone with a good feel unweighted action. There are only 3 velocity curves and they are terrible. It has aftertouch. Good amount of assignable controls - 8 encoders, sliders, 8 drum pads, assignable switches. The sliders and knobs are OK they just don't have a quality feel. The unit does not come with a Power Supply. So if your USB port can't supply enough power or you want to use it as a stand alone MIDI controller make sure you track down the correct power supply , my dealer did not have one that fit and only Radio Shack had a universal one that worked.

No sounds its a controller. As I said the velocity curves are crap and they only give you 3. The keyboard action is semi-weighted but its action is poor. The drum pads have to be hit dead center to get proper velocity - this may be a defect I am not sure, but I have read on forums that others with the Axiom 25 are having the same issue. If you have used a decent quality synth or if you like piano action - forget this. If you are not a keyboard player - you may find it OK.

This thing is all plastic so I would be careful. After only a few days of use the drum pads seem to be having problems. You must hit them pretty close to center or their velocity values are off. The rotary encoders feel ok but the sliders are already having problems. This thing is CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP in quality. I guess the price should warn you. If you gig - have a back up , if you use it in a home studio and its your only controller - get ready to be without it for a while when it gets repaired.

I contacted customer support and set up a incident report to try to resolve some issues, Three days later NO RESPONCE AT ALL - not even a email saying they are looking into it. I am not looking for 1 day service but 3 days ??? Trying to call them on the phone is also a waste of time they won't take calls - you have to go thru email or the web.

This thing is going back to the store as soon as I can pack it. If it gets lost or stolen on its way back I pity the crook who has to use it. I waited 6 weeks to get this unit what a waste of time. It is low quality from a Company with NO SUPPORT. During the time I had the Axiom I picked up a Korg Kontrol 49 - it may not be the best but so far in my evaluation it is much better than the Axiom 49 , I will also take a look at the Novation SL. A couple of years ago I had a M-Audio Oxygen 8 which was a piece of junk - it only worked for about 2 months in my home studio. I did not buy any M-Audio products since then because of the quality issue. The store told me they got better - but the Axiom 49 quality is just as bad. After this experience. I won't buy anymore M-Audio controllers.