Axiom Pro 49 in Review

[peppertree]

So i have unwrapped the new Axiom Pro 49 with HyperControl and will post my notes as they come up, in a somewhat disjointed fashion...

Most importantly, this is not an intuitive design. This is RTFM time on all those controls.

The build quality seems good at first blush...better than those cheap novation things.

It would be funny if they get tech support calls saying, "The display doesn't change when I press the buttons!" The tech support people will have to learn that yes, there are people stupid enough to not realize the thing ships with a decal over the actual display that looks like the display is on...

The keybed is OK, the keys aren't that long or that short. The black keys are satin finished but the white keys are shiny...would enjoy satin on both I think. The keybed is recessed with "walls" on either side...I crash into these walls a bit unpleasantly at times. "Walls" could stand being half as high, or angled.

Biggest problem with the keybed is that stock at least hitting velocity of 127 is about the threshold of pain for me personally. The keys aren't cushioned so well, and what's worse, they become quite percussively loud when played that hard, which will interfere with your perception of the actual sound you are playing back.

Aftertouch on the white keys you can feel squish down but not on the black keys, which is an assymetry. Keys are a bit sharp and stiff to make B3 glisses really comfy, but much easier than a full weighted of course.

Drum pads are playable although barely big enough for two simultaneous fingers. Also fairly painful to hit 127. May break in. If not, hope no one gets carpal tunnel.

Faders are really cheapass, very very stiff and heavy, and what's very very wrong with them is if you move them too fast they actually DETACH from the fader mechanism and don't register the full move. So you must move them slowly, as they wish to be moved. These are not pro faders at this price.

Knobs are OK but not touch-sensitive. I can get 0.3db or so increments on the faders (if I'm very careful) and single pan values on the knobs. On the 003 console, you can easily get 0.1db increments.

Transport controls are nice to have. Octave shifting works well enough to actually be a playing technique (instead of modulating up or down an octave, just press). Aftertouch, pitch bend and mod all work well enough. USB power seems fine.

I had hoped to slide this thing into a drawer but the actual clearance over the knobs is roughly 9cm or 3.55 inches. This is 1cm more than the website stated (3.15 inches). My own personal Hubble disaster.

Haven't figured out yet how to flip through presets on Pro Tools VIs without the mouse, which would be a major step toward making this feel like a real synth. I will dig in the manual...

Having a largish display tell you what you're doing is nice, and essential since this thing is quite opaque to the casual user. Too much overloading of operators to be truly intuitive and "unpackable" without the manual. But it might work...

Seems OK for the price so far, these faults notwithstanding.

...More as it comes to me...

[Spirithunter]

Thanks for the review!
Looking forward to more input as you continue to work with the Axiom.

[filosofem]

Originally Posted by peppertree

It would be funny if they get tech support calls saying, "The display doesn't change when I press the buttons!" The tech support people will have to learn that yes, there are people stupid enough to not realize the thing ships with a decal over the actual display that looks like the display is on...

Funny.

Originally Posted by peppertree

Biggest problem with the keybed is that stock at least hitting velocity of 127 is about the threshold of pain for me personally. The keys aren't cushioned so well, and what's worse, they become quite percussively loud when played that hard, which will interfere with your perception of the actual sound you are playing back.

Aftertouch on the white keys you can feel squish down but not on the black keys, which is an assymetry. Keys are a bit sharp and stiff to make B3 glisses really comfy, but much easier than a full weighted of course.

Drum pads are playable although barely big enough for two simultaneous fingers. Also fairly painful to hit 127. May break in. If not, hope no one gets carpal tunnel.

Velocity sensitivity can be adjusted.

Originally Posted by peppertree

Haven't figured out yet how to flip through presets on Pro Tools VIs without the mouse, which would be a major step toward making this feel like a real synth.

Hold Soft-Key 2 and press Soft-Keys 3-4 to step through Presets.







filosofem

[relaxo]

How long is the Axiom Pro 49? I can't find the info anywhere. And the 61? Thanks

[filosofem]

The 49 is around 8180 mm (32") in length and 2850 mm (11") in width.





filosofem

[erthquake]

Thanks for the review, Pepper. So are you using it with an 003? I've seen some reports of the Pro not working well with the C|8. I've got an 002 console, so I'm hoping there are no issues.

[DigiTechSupt]

Originally Posted by erthquake

Thanks for the review, Pepper. So are you using it with an 003? I've seen some reports of the Pro not working well with the C|8. I've got an 002 console, so I'm hoping there are no issues.

Those reports are misleading - we've tested this and it works fine with the C|8 and 003.

[filosofem]

Originally Posted by DigiTechSupt

Those reports are misleading - we've tested this and it works fine with the C|8 and 003.

Latest Driver and Firmware (Axiom Pro)?






filosofem

[peppertree]

This is just something I'm using to doink around with at home. I doubt I'll ever try it with the 003 console.

49 keys is just for single-handed playing into a sequencer...I use the entire 88 key range when actually playing piano and you need more than 49 even for electrics/organs. I got this because it was small and cheap and gave me a transport and some knobs and sliders. It was supposed to fit perfectly in my desk drawer but scratch that.

I find the Hypertransport thing so far to be very "pessimistic"...it doesn't follow the active window on the DAW as I would think it should. E.g. open or bring-to-front a VI plugin window, it should now be controlling that VI without having to press "Mode". (A keyboard is a keyboard...imagine if we had to press a key to sync computer keyboard focus with front windows! ) The parameter selections aren't terribly great either, you have to page through little abbreviated gobbledygook. This is not a mini-Icon.

It might not even be a net improvement over MIDI maps...which is a damning critique...I will have to delve further. You really need to be motivated to dig through the manual on this thing...if you were just trying to make your life easier without taking a college course then you might skip this for something else.

But for my purposes and at the price I paid I guess it stays.

[RussUK]

OK, my findings so far.

The sticker is a b*tch to get off the screen, at one point I had to take a knife to it, then I did start thinking it was the new version of the firmware with one screen only!!!

Second thing, don't expect to be flying around it in minutes, by its very nature it's a complex piece of kit (And I've had the additional benefit of been shown it by the creator) http://airvirtualinstruments.blogspo...ek-part-1.html and there are still moments when I'm looking at the thing and thinking 'what the f**k did I press for that to happen!'

However, minor gripes aside, it is in a different league to other controllers and so is worth the moments of shouting 'work you b*st*rd!' at, for the long term gain in your workflow.

Along with Pepper and Filo I'll be back when I have more time to report back.