NEW AXIOM CONTROLLER KEYBOARDS
Posted on Wed 17 November 2010 in entries
The old Axiom Series of controller keyboards are products that I have used a lot, having been the kit of choice for every studio and workstation on my previous Music Technology University course (ah, how I miss my lazy student days!)
In fact the products were so popular, that many of my coursemates viewed them as a worthy personal investment for their own home studios, and I don’t blame them one bit! After all, it is a fact that they are the best selling MIDI controller keyboards of all time! That’s quite a title to hold, and is one of the many reasons that I grabbed the opportunity to review the new Axiom series with both hands!
The Axiom keyboards come in three forms: the 25 key version, the 49 key version, and the 61 key version. In this little review, I will take a look at each one, and give a little overview of the features that they offer.
M-AUDIO AXIOM 25 ADVANCED
The M-Audio Axiom 25 is the most compact and mobile of all the Axiom series of keyboards, and is even small enough to fit snuggly into a backpack. Designed to integrate seamlessly with your music software and MIDI gear, the Axiom Advanced features semi-weighted keyboard keys, 8 large dynamic trigger pads for programming beats and triggering one-shot samples with ease, 8 encoder knobs, 1 mixer style fader, and a number of buttons.
The DirectLink mode provides a simple way of accessing all your common DAW functions, such as transport, mixer, track pan, and virtual instrument controls. This is an extremely welcome feature of the Axiom keyboard series, meaning you don’t need to spend precious time mapping parameters to the hardware, and it is compatible with all the most popular DAWs including Logic, Pro Tools, Cubase, Live, and Reason.
All of this is encased in a perfectly robust, yet sleek exterior, and the top panel is subtly angled for easy viewing wherever you may be, and a single blue backlit LCD sits on the surface of the unit, giving instant visual feedback to all parameter changes that you make.
The Axiom Instrument mode makes assigning controls to your virtual instruments easier than ever before! Again, a simple touch of a button is all you need, and you’re there; the fader, buttons, and encoders are mapped to any virtual instrument inside your DirectLink compatible host! With the press of a button you gain direct access to all your most common synthesis parameters, such as filter cutoff, LFO rate, and envelope settings, without having to do any manual configuration at all! Avid claim that it’s ‘almost like turning your Axiom into a dedicated hardware synth.’ In a way I guess it kind of is!
M-AUDIO AXIOM 49 ADVANCED
The M-Audio Axiom 49 contains all the fantastic features of it’s little brother, but features an additional 8 mixer style faders (thats 9 in total), and 9 assignable buttons with LED feedback lights are also included in addition to the transport and edit buttons of the Axiom 25. Not much else to report in terms of improvements from the Axiom 25, but it’s a worthwhile upgrade if you require more hardware control over your software parameters. And of course it contains a larger 49 note keyboard!
M-AUDIO AXIOM 61 ADVANCED
The M-Audio Axiom 61 contains all the fantastic features of the M-Audio Axiom 49, but….. it contains more keys! Er….yeh…that’s it! Nothing else to say here!
M-AUDIO AXIOM ADVANCED – THE FAMILY
As expected, there isn’t much bad that i can say about the Axiom series of keyboards, and I would highly recommend any one of them to any studio or aspiring producer. The keys and pads of all Axiom keyboards have a lovely weighted feel to them, and are a real treat to work with. Plus they are designed to slot in with all your software needs, which in this day and age is really essential for any controller keyboard. The M-Audio Axiom series of MIDI controller keyboards are available for pre-order now, from Absolute Music. Trust me, you will not regret any of these purchases!