M-Audio Axiom 61 - Review by Home Recording Studio Equipment on Blogspot

M-Audio’s Axiom 61 can be one of the basic equipment for your home recording studio. This keyboard is not just a controller, it combines all the performace and production you may need to get from your music recording software or a MIDI gear.

Axiom 61 has 61 semi-weighted, velocity sensitive keys with assignable aftertouch. Of course this does not provide you with the ability to fully get a real feel of a piano, however you can still get a satisfying playing experience even when playing acoustic piano style. But Axiom 61 is just a wonderful keyboard for playing synthesizer, pads, organs and all non-acoustic VSTs.

Axiom 61 comes with 8 large dynamic trigger pads. These pads are extremely useful for making one-shot samples. Your beat creation creativity has endless possibilities with Axiom 61.

What is more, Axiom 61 comes with 9 assignable faders, 8 assignable rotary encoder knobs and buttons that enable you to have direct real-time control of your music recording software. With Axiom 61’s DirectLink concept you can control all the features like mixer, track pan, transpose, sound level, other virtual instrument parameters and other features of your digital audio workstatioin directly from your MIDI keyboard while playing. DirectLink does not require complicated setup. It is easy and convenient.

Axiom 61’s LCD display is quite intuitive and is centered on the keyboard for optimum visibility.

Dedicated Instrument Mode – Axiom 61’s another important feature that lets you switch between controlling virtual instrument and mixer parameters instantly.

I really love Axiom 61’s modulation wheels and assignable pitch bend. They act in full accord with your intuition.

There are many MIDI keyboards available on market, however I think Axiom 61 is best to start with. In my future posts I will introduce  Axiom 61 Pro which I think is a revolutionary MIDI keyboard.

Music Studio Equipment - M-Audio MobilePre USB - Review

In the modern world musicians prefer recording music at home to paying much money for studio time. All you need is just a powerful computer and the rest of home music recording equipment and you are ready to start spontaneous live performance, make a demo or a pro-quality recordings for your next album. If you got a computer the next thing needed is a digital audio interface. If 2 microphone inputs (XLR balanced) with 48v phantom power, a stereo microphone input, 2 high-impedance instrument/line inputs and 2 analog outputs gathered in a mobile audio interface match your needs then I strongly advise buying M-Audio’s MobilePre USB. This audio interface gives you possibility to record music wherever and whenever you wish.

Nowadays music studio equipment are being optimized on being easy to use and this audio interface is great example of it as it is incredibly simple to use. Forget all the internal hardware installations and all the confusing software drivers. Even Ac adapter is not necessary as this audio interface is supported by USB BUS power feature! All you need to start making home recordings is attaching the USB cable to your PC and M-Audio MobilePre.

This music recording equipment has two input channels, giving you possibility of recording anything you wish. Both of the channels feature an XLR jack for mics. High-impedance instruments are supported by a 0.25 inch jack input. Different indicators show you that the channel is active, or you are pushing too hard. This music studio equipment also features switchable phantom power, that gives you possibility to accommodate condesner mics of studio-quality. So you just have to plug microphone to the first channel and a guitar to the second channel, run a stereo keybord into both channels, add a drum machine to get the sound that matches your needs. MobilePre USB works with any music recording software, so this music recording equipment makes your possibilities endless.