M AUDIO AXIOM 49, anyone have one yet? (+other questions)

Sales Dude McBoob · Post by **Sales Dude McBoob** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 3:03 pm

I am impressed + satisfied with the build quality of the SL. If it were built much more rugged than it already is it would set you back way more than 500 bones.

I haven't had a go at the Axiom yet, but we do have the 49 key in stock. Keep looking around and you'll find one.

If I were going to buy one of these I'd get the 37 key SL. I think 37 keys is ideal. Small enough to travel with on the subway without sticking out too much - doesn't eat up too much space on the desk at the DAW, large enough to play at the gig / during recording and not feel comprimised.

iterate · Post by **iterate** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 7:56 pm

The new Ableton email newsletter has this spicy tidbit in it:

Ableton and M-Audio are pleased to announce that Live will soon be
updated to support the new Axiom series of keyboards, which will
automatically control many of Live's features via built-in mapping. So
buying this new bundle now is a solid future investment.

And the manual for the Faderfox LV2 has similar language about Ableton working on a device-specific driver (my words, not theirs) for the Faderfox line of controllers.

Now THAT sounds like something I'd be VERY happy to see in the as-of-yet-mythical Live 6.

Steven

plain · Post by **plain** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 11:41 pm

i just got my axiom 49..i love this thing..it's great...

LOFA · Post by **LOFA** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 3:02 am

These are definately cheap enough, so I will probably pickup the 49 key version at some point- if the software really is that special. I Specifically got the sl 25 to try out instead of a 61 because I already have a fugly 49 key generic keyboard (quick shot-$5.00, and at least 7 years old) and I had a hinch that despite the lacck of big-momma-LCD's this would be the better supported controller.

It's still a shame about the lack of support for the microkontrol. It's so unfortunate that half of my gear performs better in reason in Live. Then again, there are a lot of suckers using reason...

plain · Post by **plain** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 5:48 am

one thing i cant stand about this thing is the click encoders....terrible.....it just feels so weird doing sweeps with them...

but bottom line..i still can't believe how good the keys feel

eyeknow · Post by **eyeknow** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 6:16 am

plain wrote:one thing i cant stand about this thing is the click encoders....terrible.....it just feels so weird doing sweeps with them...

but bottom line..i still can't believe how good the keys feel

YES! you are right..........I guess there is a "sweep" range you can change....I'd rather just use the sliders for now!

But the way the keys feel..........and the pads! Damn (sorry to those who like the sl, I'm super happy for you) the sl's pads were useless on the one I tried. These are not bad at all.

I don't wanna come across as some kinda fan boy......I'm not trying to "convince" everyone this is the one or anything.....It's just I've gone through a hard time trying to get something I can use.......that actually works......so I'm a bit excited

LOFA · Post by **LOFA** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 6:25 am

Not only do I think the sl pads suck, but I wish mine would sync with impulse like I hear yours can.

Machinate · Post by **Machinate** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 6:29 am

eyeknow wrote:
plain wrote:one thing i cant stand about this thing is the click encoders....terrible.....it just feels so weird doing sweeps with them...

but bottom line..i still can't believe how good the keys feel
YES! you are right..........I guess there is a "sweep" range you can change....I'd rather just use the sliders for now!

That would be "Encoder Acceleration", try mode 2 or 3, and until you've tried that you really haven't even gotten close to the coolness of those encoders.

I was so happy to see that enc. accel. was built-in! not a lot of companies have this.

fluid · Post by **fluid** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 3:36 pm

I just picked up a 49 the other day and so far I'm thoroughly impressed.

My only gripe is that I haven't been able to make the loop button work with Live. Everything else maps out the way I want, but when I assign the loop button, it will only turn looping on, and pushing it after that does nothing. Anyone else had this problem?

The Revrend · Post by **The Revrend** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 6:28 pm

I got the Axiom 25 recently, and I love the thing, just going through and getting it all set up to work correctly with live. I'm amazed with this peice of gear. The 49 key would be nice, but the 25 key is definately workable. .

Rev

jamester · Post by **jamester** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 6:30 pm

Fluid:

I've gotten the transport controls to work okay, but they require two clicks for a new command (like "on" "off"), kinda weird...

But I still CANNOT get the drum pads to trigger Impulse! It's so frustrating, I've tried both presets 17 and 20, everything's fine except the pads. I dunno what's going on...the computer keys work for it, so that's cool I guess...

Otherwise, still loving the Axiom; I think it's cool looking too (I think someone said it was fugly).

The Revrend · Post by **The Revrend** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 6:41 pm

fluid wrote:I just picked up a 49 the other day and so far I'm thoroughly impressed.

My only gripe is that I haven't been able to make the loop button work with Live. Everything else maps out the way I want, but when I assign the loop button, it will only turn looping on, and pushing it after that does nothing. Anyone else had this problem?

From the manual. . . I realize this isnt specificly what you are looking about, and although I'm at work and can't test it, you *should* be able to do this with the button in question.

3.5.1 Sample/Loop Triggers With MIDI Notes

Setting a pad to controller 147 sets the pad to send a MIDI Note On message when you press it, and a MIDI Note Off message when you release it. This is useful when triggering samples on your external MIDI gear or software. When you program a pad to controller 148, the MIDI Note Off message is not sent until you press the pad a second time (toggle effect). This can be useful if you want to keep a loop playing continuously.

To program the pads to send a MIDI note on/off message:
49- and 61-note versions:

Select the pad as described in section 2.

Press the Ctrl Assign button.

The LCD display will show the controller number currently assigned to the pad.

Enter 147 for Note on/off (press/release), or 148 for Note on/off toggle
Press the Data 1 button.

The LCD display will show the currently assigned note for the pad.
Enter the note number you want the pad to transmit using the numeric keypad.

The Data 2 and Data 3 buttons can be used to specify the note off velocity, and note on velocity respectively.

Press the Data 3 button and enter the ON value (this should be 127 in most cases).

Press the Data 2 button and enter the OFF value (this should be 0 in most cases).

Rev