M-Audio CODE49 USB MIDI Controller Keyboard
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M-Audio CODE49 USB MIDI Controller Keyboard

MA-K-CODE49_1.jpg

A LOT IN ONE BOX

Home studio producers who want a lot of control in a slick package will be keen to get their hands on this. It should sit as a centrepiece for any modest recording setup, being the ideal home MIDI control surface and keyboard in one. You get transport controls, rotary encoders, 9 faders, an X-Y touch pad and 16 pressure sensitive drum pads, along with the 49-note keyboard. The Code49 offers so much control over your software given that it works as a keyboard, a sample player, a transport system, a mixing device and
 an effects editor, allowing you to take control of all aspects of your DAW on this one device. The centrally located controls above the keyboard have them right at your fingertips, however having the pitch and modulation wheels off to the side above the drum pads is a little annoying. I think this is more to do with what I am used 
to, as I naturally reach for the pitch bend wheel to the left of the lower keys. Having the drum pads there, on the left hand, is a little odd. But, you’ll soon get used to it I am sure.

THE FEEL

The keybed itself has a nice touch to it. It’s light and easy to play when you want fast touch synth work, and slightly springy so it offers a little resistance and returns sharply to its stand still position. The rotary encoders feel a little delicate, as is always the case with tall thin knobs on any pot. It would have been nice to have had longer throw fader, but that would have made the entire unit so much bigger, so the eight channel and one master fader are really more than satisfactory for the job at hand. As for the drum pads, they respond nicely to subtle changes in pressure and velocity. I never really like using this sort of pad
 as I prefer the depression of a keystroke instead, but the beauty of the Code49 is that you have both on offer for various applications. 

 

For more details, head to proaudiogroup.com.au.