M-Audio Code 49 USB MIDI Keyboard Controller Standard

The Code 49 is a marvel of efficiency in MIDI controller design. Somehow, M-Audio has manged to fit this much control into a small, lightweight and efficient keyboard controller footprint. In a chassis that measures less than two feet across, you get 49 keys with aftertouch, 16 backlit drum pads, 5 faders, 4 knobs, an XY Pad and bundled software. Expression pedal input as well.

The Keys
The keyboard itself feels great. Somewhere between hammer action and synth action, this blocked-end key design provides enough resistance for an accomplished player to be able to really dig in and get the most out of the patches he or she is using. There is room enough on this keyboard to input any bass line you are likely to need, and you can fit most chord shapes into the available key space as well.

The Pads
In addition to 49 velocity sensitive keys with aftertouch, you get 16 backlit drum pads. These are automapped to typical MIDI drum layouts, and they can be reassigned to any MIDI note number and stored in a preset. The pads supply a satisfying tactile experience and just like the keys, are easy to get used to and play expressively. With responsive drum pads, your beats achieve a far greater dynamic presence and expression. You can accent some hi-hat strikes relative to others, deliver heart-stopping flams and rim shots, and come up with driving bass drum work that make a track move. You can use the pads to launch clips in Ableton, influence the behavior of arpeggiation schemes and anything else your devious imagination can come up with.

The Faders and Knobs
The Code 49 comes with five assignable faders, four individual and one master. Use them for mixing tracks, live control of clips, or use the master for fade in and fade out. Below each fader is a track button that can be used to mute and solo individual tracks in your session. These are also tremendously useful in live DJ applications. The Code 49 additionally includes four encoder knobs that, like the faders, can be assigned to any continuous controller parameter. Probably the most common application for knobs in a MIDI controller is for panning assignment, and that is typically where they are auto apped, but these knobs can be edited to control other functions within your DAW.

The XY Grid
Especially useful for controlling synthesizer patches and for inputting articulations such as vibrato and pitch bending into timbres that are emulating acoustic instruments. Like all of the control features of the Code 49, the XY grid can easily control parameters outside of their automaps. In fact, the X versus the Y can be independently programmed to attach to other parameters, or even parameters within separate sound sources.

The Automapping
Every major DAW is addressed in the automapping templates. Buy with confidence. If you have a super obscure DAW or you created one of your own or you are travelling to another planet where things are done differently, you can reassign these automaps to reflect the particularities of your DAW or the way you prefer your DAW to be set up. In the majority of cases, you'll be able to plug it in and go.

The Software
M-Audio Code controllers each now come with a free copy of AIR's Loom and Hybrid 3 virtual synthesizers. Loom is an award-winning modular additive synthesizer plug-in with a shape-shifting Morph Pad that makes it easy to create rich, swirling, and captivating sounds. Loom takes a unique modular approach to additive synthesis, a synthesis technique that involves combining simple waveforms together to create complex sounds, by allowing anyone to select from and combine 30 editable modules. Create anything from wobbles, ethereal pads, ambient soundscapes, and much more. The programmable Morph Pad brings your Loom patches to life by morphing between user-defined variations of your patch, adding motion and momentum that continues to evolve.

Hybrid 3.0 is the next generation in synthesis. This high-definition virtual synthesizer combines the coveted warmth of analog synths with a full range of futuristic digital manipulation capabilities. The result is the best of both worlds ” a virtual instrument with a comprehensive set of precisely adjustable parameters that can sound like a synth you remember or something no one has ever heard before.