A few quick questions about the M-Audio Axiom Pro

[zenvision]

so, i sold my korg microkontrol and after seeing the axiom pro in action with it's flashy hypercontrol technology, it looks like the perfect controller for ableton. i'm about 90% sure i'm going for the pro 49...BUT

how the pads are in ableton? i really want to use them with impulse or drum rack to trigger samples and record stuff live...i hate using the keyboard for that

secondly, i run live 7.0.18, i'm completely happy with it so don't really want to upgrade to 8. will the axiom pro work as normal with live 7?

and finally, are there any plug-ins that hypercontrol has trouble with? i hear novation's automap is a little better for that...

[joshspoon]

I have a reg Axiom and the pads are decent. I'd say keep the real keyboard and get a mpd16 or padKontrol.

[zenvision]

cheers for the suggestion, but i'm looking for an all in one solution (keyboard, pads, faders etc.) as i don't have a midi controller anymore and really need one

i'll probably go with either the axiom pro 49 (if it does what i need it to) or maybe even a novation 49sl mk2 (if the automap software is better than hypercontrol...)

but would love to know if either do what i need them to. anyone?

[dancerchris]

I second the notion of separate controllers. As much as the Axiom has a lot of features that on paper sound good:

The pads are not that sensetive to velocity gradients, and there are only 8.

The sliders and rotary knobs are POS.

The keyboard is POS from a synth/organ or weighted piano action POV.

Yes it is an all in one tool, but as such it is highly degraded. Just think of a swiss army knife. Doesn't do any of its functions well, but can provide some degree of emergency make-do service.

I have an older axiom and wish I had not bothered. The hardware controls between the older axiom and the axiom pro are essentially the same

[zenvision]

cheers for your thoughts chris.

i've personally tried the axiom pro keys in a shop and they feel much better than the old axiom. certainly a step up.

i'm actually completely fine with the build quality, pads, faders etc. that isn't the issue for me.

what i'm trying to find out about is the hypercontrol system and whether i can use the pads with impulse/drum rack, if it runs ok on live 7.0.18 and if there are any issues with plugin compatibility.

[zenvision]

*bump*

there must be someone here with an axiom pro, surely?

:/

[sleezy]

You can custom map any action to the keys and pads. the pads take a bit to get used to. i mostly use mine in cubase because i only have the demo version of live. but my roomate uses his axiom pro 25 in live and says it is awesome. so far he has had nothing go wrong with the hypercontrol conflicting with anything. hope that helps.

[zenvision]

thanks sleezy...so i assume he uses the pads with drum rack or impulse?

it's always a pain in the arse to have to map and assign them manually, so i'm assuming hypercontrol does that automatically?

[Submersible]

it's always a pain in the arse to have to map and assign them manually, so i'm assuming hypercontrol does that automatically?

You would think. I couldn't get the impulse pads mapped with any amount of tweaking. I guess impulse is a "legacy plug-in" now that drum rack is out.

However, I have to disagree between the differences in feel between the old Axiom and the Axiom pro. The old Axiom has these steppy rotary encoders and the Axiom Pro has smooth encoders. I greatly prefer the smooth ones.

To complicate matters I believe the brand new Axiom (not Pro) does have the smooth encoders instead of the stepped ones.

[zenvision]

cheers for letting me know

shame about impulse...was really hoping that would work

suppose i can make do with drum rack if that automatically maps to the axiom pro pads?