which of the two?

[aklisiewicz]

I would like to ask for your opinions on twh controlers/keyboards. I need one mostl;y for studio recording/composing.

M-AUDIO Axion Pro 49

and

NOVATION 49 SL/Mk-II

seems like they both have similar price and they both would work well with Live-7. I would like to hear opinions and eventual problems (if any). Which one would you choose.

Thanks - Arthur

[HorusProject]

I just discovered the Sinn7 Kontrolux 49 USB/MIDI Controller Master keyboard... saving my pennies for it

its German build so its gotta be good

[HeadrickProductions]

If your just controlling live the axiom pro does a solid job. I use it to control more complicated DAW like reason, tools, etc

these days it might be better off just buying a nice midi keyboard and just buy an ipad. But I like knobs, faders

Oh yeah the pads on all the m audio stuff are pretty weak. I like korg and machine pads much better

[smaucher]

I just discovered the Sinn7 Kontrolux 49 USB/MIDI Controller Master keyboard... saving my pennies for it

its German build so its gotta be good

hmm...well. it's chinese, actually. sinn7 is a german trading company, no manufacturer.

[HorusProject]

I just discovered the Sinn7 Kontrolux 49 USB/MIDI Controller Master keyboard... saving my pennies for it

its German build so its gotta be good

hmm...well. it's chinese, actually. sinn7 is a german trading company, no manufacturer.

Ah right, is the Sinn7 keyboard any good?

[JuanSOLO]

I prefer novation keyboards, and their control layouts. However I would look for one that is pre-nocturn or Mk-II knobs.

[3dot...]

Novation ...no question about it..

but I would suggest hands-on testing...

[aklisiewicz]

I prefer novation keyboards, and their control layouts. However I would look for one that is pre-nocturn or Mk-II knobs.

OK, so do you have Mk-II ? what is your opinion if so ?
I plan to visit Buitar Center (US) this weekend to take a look at this one, but not sure if they have it and not sure how much they will allow me to do in the store. I have seen and played with Axiom-Pro for a while, and I liked it, however there was no documentation as to how knobs, and buttons are mapped in Axiom, so it was very hard to get into some more advanced setting. I could not even figure out how to manage the snd knobs on axiom.

Obviously managing another software like Reason would be a great benefit, however I'm more concerned about Live-7 at this moment. Key resistance/sensitivity/feel is also my concern. For that reason I excluded AKAI keyboards (the keys are to hard), altough I liked the rest of the setup.

Arthur

[aklisiewicz]

Novation ...no question about it..

but I would suggest hands-on testing...

I have had a one Novation product in the past and was pretty happy.
What are the pros and cons of the Axiom and Novation ?

Arthur

[Tarekith]

Akai MPK49

[3dot...]

first of all I think m-audio ok...
once upon a time owned the older axiom49 and an oxygen8 ...

with the oxygen8 (my very first controller) ...6 months in..pitch wheel was the first to go...
and slowly but surely .. knobs started crapping out one by one...
it's still alive.. and can be used as a random note/cc generator if I plug it in...

just so you'd know I am by no means a hardware abuser.. I treat my gear with care

with the axiom49...
I hated the semi-weighted keys.. simply horrible..I've bought it and sold it a month later
(simply makes no sense.. it's not good enough for piano players/students...
and for synth players... the keys are too damn high!!)
I loathed the "feel" of the knobs.. .and the faders were too close together..
it is robustly BIG and HEAVY...if that's your thing
other than that it was quite nice.. big pads etc. had some nice features like 'keyboard split'
(the pads are one of Novations' weaker points btw)
didn't have it for long so don't know how it stands the test of time...but it seemed pretty rugged

the Novation sl.. ultimately the reason I got it was for the excellent keys..
(keyboard touch is excellent imo.. I think 'fatar' makes their keys but I could be wrong.)
was the first time I felt like somebody gave more than 30 min. to designing the controller..
I find automap very useful... and a big big plus..
it's like having another realm where you can control vsts directly in style and do much more
no question about it .. with the Novation sl you can go much much deeper ..
I feel I have much more control over live and vst plugins than ever before..
love the xy pad for filter and delays... the pitch bend/mod joystick has always been a favorite
in short .. I enjoy using/playing it much more..
and feel I can do things.. much quicker/easier with it
the cons :
the detented knobs (fixed in sl2)
smallish pads
don't like the template browsing with a knob (maybe fixed in sl2?)
unlit buttons (fixed in sl2)
a bit on the delicate side.. although I dropped it 2 times and tis fine

Akai MPK series is a serious contender as well.. so check that out

this is why I say...try to get hands-on..

[agent314]

I love my MPK49, even if the pads are mediocre on it.

I will say though, the key feel is definitely not for everybody. It seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it thing, not a lot of in between.

[aklisiewicz]

I really do not like MPK keys, other than that AKAI seems to really nice keyboard. As far as AVION, I played with it for about 15 min, and the keys were what I liked the least. They are really to high (for me), especially all other keyboards I have have a low profile keys. So Far The keys I liked the most are my old FANTOM-S (Roland), then Novation (which have very similar touch).

I wonder how AXTIOM compares to REMOTE SL in sense of controling Live and plugins. I also want to know how the mapping works on both. I have EDIROL at the moment and mapping the pads requires much deeper knowledge and experience. One of the things I could not figure out while playing with AXIOM is how to change instrument patch (even if it was Live's instrument I was not able to change it with the know or a button). I'm rather positive there is a way... but this is what I'm having problem with on some other keyboards/controllers.

Arthur

[aklisiewicz]

Does AXIOM come with some documentation for mapped knobs and buttons for Live ?

Arthur

[Serra]

I am having some problems with my m-audio ozonic, as it got older it started sending ghost midi messages creating problems when recording. If I was buying something today, I would try another brand.

http://youtu.be/BXIygTrVIHU