help deciding what to buy

dmas722 · Post by **dmas722** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 7:23 pm

I am fairly new to using Live. I have Live 5, a M-Audio MobilePre USB, and a Studio Projects B1 mic. I definitely want to get a Midi controller. Can anyone reccomend a good Midi controller that is not too complicated to use and that is around or under $200? Space is also an issue for me so I was looking at the M-Audio Axiom 25, but I don't want to get anything before hearing other people's suggestions.

thanks

kennerb · Post by **kennerb** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 7:39 pm

What's your preferred programming method? What do you already play? Are you a percussionist, guitarist, keyboard player,etc? There are so many types of controllers out there. What's your budget? Ones that I hear about all the time on this board are;

Remote sl25 - I have and like

Ozone or Oxygen8 - cheap and pretty good. Had the Oxygen since it came out and it has been fine for me.

Korg Microcontrol

Korg PadKontrol - drum pads. My current gear lust object
mpc
trigger finger
akai

Faderfox
behringer controllers

hardware synths with midi.

guitar midi

You can get some of those for around 200

tons more with many under 200

dmas722 · Post by **dmas722** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 7:47 pm

vocalist, keyboard player, and guitarist, although I rarely use guitars these days. The music I basically want to make is electronic/synth/keyboard based with vocals. I just need a keyboard because using the computer keyboard as one is really annoying and I want to be able to play around with different effects and stuff. Any other equipment reccomendations that would help me do any of this without being too complicated would help a lot because as I said, I'm new to all this and all these different options are so overwhelming

kennerb · Post by **kennerb** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 8:19 pm

The ALesis looks cool though I don't have any experience with them. I had my hands on one and it seemed like OK build quality.

At that price range the CME UF5 looks good but I also have not used it. Since you say you play keys I would think that you would at least want semi-weighted keys.

The M-audio controllers work pretty well but I have never felt the build quality was that solid.

JacksinMS · Post by **JacksinMS** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 11:25 pm

I picked up an Alesis Photon 25 while I'm away from my studio & it's pretty nice.

The 12 knobs have great resistance & there's a layer button which turns those 12 into 36.

The keys feel nice & springy.

My only complant is the pitchbend/mod stick as it snaps back to 0 when you let go.

Overall, I paid $120 for it on ebay & I'm getting a lot of use out of it but I would have gone with the Axiom 25 if I didn't already have a TriggerFinger & UC33e.

Rahlo · Post by **Rahlo** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 12:55 pm

I just picked up an Axiom 25 from M-Audio, and I really like it so far. Maybe I'm tripping, but the pads on it feel much better to me than the trigger finger pads, and the keys are semi-weighted I think, so they feel really good too—better than my oxygen 8, and different from the Ozonic I just sold.

Having said that, I'm not a keyboard player, so take my assessment there with a grain of salt. But, I am happy with it so far. Build quality seems better than the usual M-Audio fare, so no complaints there.

djadonis206 · Post by **djadonis206** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 3:38 pm

JacksinMS wrote:I picked up an Alesis Photon 25 while I'm away from my studio & it's pretty nice.

The 12 knobs have great resistance & there's a layer button which turns those 12 into 36.

The keys feel nice & springy.

My only complant is the pitchbend/mod stick as it snaps back to 0 when you let go.

Overall, I paid $120 for it on ebay & I'm getting a lot of use out of it but I would have gone with the Axiom 25 if I didn't already have a TriggerFinger & UC33e.

Hey Jacksin!!!

How's the other side? You got a midi controller so you using some soft synths? Anything you're really feeling

I recommend Albino 3 now that it's out - you can pretty much do anything with that synth

djadonis206 · Post by **djadonis206** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 3:45 pm

AS far as controllers are concerned the Axiom looks tight but really

if you're just looking for a few keys, a couple knobs and a slider or two get the Oxygen 8 for like $40 - $50 off ebay or craigslist

not the prettiest bit fo kit but they work and that's all that matters

peace

JacksinMS · Post by **JacksinMS** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 4:34 pm

Oh yeah, it's great over here.

As for VSTs.. They're alright, I like the Minimonsta & Albino2 is cool. I just can't work as fast as on my Virus or Andromeda but the midi keyboard helps out a lil bit.

I did get something from my host country though, picked up a Faderfox LX2 & it rocks! Having so many buttons really helped out on my latest mix. Peep my site:)

djadonis206 · Post by **djadonis206** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 6:51 pm

JacksinMS wrote:Oh yeah, it's great over here.

As for VSTs.. They're alright, I like the Minimonsta & Albino2 is cool. I just can't work as fast as on my Virus or Andromeda but the midi keyboard helps out a lil bit.

I did get something from my host country though, picked up a Faderfox LX2 & it rocks! Having so many buttons really helped out on my latest mix. Peep my site:)

I just came up on a Nord Lead rack for $80 <--- it's missing some knobs (which I got on the way in the mail) and a couple of the buttons are missing and or stuck so I'm taking it into a electrician this weekend to get some buttons put back on and working - shit I could spend another $100 on repairs and still be ahead of the game at $180

It's pretty dope - hardware

Dive deep into Albino yo - it's hot