![]() It feels like E-MU cut a couple of corners with this one in order to keep the price down, but the Xboard is a respectable, well-featured controller keyboard nonetheless. However, although the rotary controls feel good to use, they're simply too close together - and we're not happy about those flimsy momentary buttons either. The Xboard 49 has a great set of keys and some genuinely useful features. This assigns the same continuous controller value to each of the 16 rotaries, so each one controls that value on the corresponding MIDI channel. Another handy feature is 16 Channel Control Mode. This is particularly useful when you want to trigger loops in a performance environment. This enables you to set up a range of keys to operate as triggers - they play continually until they're pressed a second time. ![]() The octave buttons transpose up or down by up to four octaves either way and, when pressed together, send an All Notes Off message (to silence stuck notes).Įlsewhere, the Latch mode is worthy of a quick mention. These are edited using the function buttons, with the slider acting as a data entry control. ![]() The Xboard 49 features fullsize velocity sensitive keys with aftertouch, 16 programmable real-time controllers, Xboard Control editing software, and E-MU's new Proteus X. The 16 memory locations can be used to store keyboard setups. The E-MU Xboard 49 Professional USB/MIDI controller for PC and Mac offers real-time control and programmability in a portable keyboard package ideal for studio and stage use. These are the flimsiest examples we've seen in a long time, pitching and rolling when the lower-octave keys are played. On-keyboard editing is handled by 12 momentary buttons. However, there's much more space on top of the Xboard 49, so it could have been made much wider. This appears to be a case of one-size-fits-all engineering: the panel of rotaries is the same size as the one on the smaller Xboard 25. The 16 rotary controls have a good feel to them - they're pleasantly tactile and operate smoothly. They offer a good compromise for those people who want some of the weight of a piano but the speed of a synth. If you care about the keys and playing with nuance, responsive aftertouch and a full range of natural-feeling velocities, get the Axiom.They're solidly built, and play with an action that's on the heavier side of the semi-weighted spectrum. The Axiom's knobs and faders may "feel cheap" to some, but the controller has never given out on me or stopped working in any way. It's only after a long time that you can notice such faults shining through. I have owned all three and played them extensively. ![]() The Edirol is great, except you need to put your whole body weight into it to get the aftertouch to work. If you're an expressive player, you'll want the Axiom. The keys do not transmit finicky velocities like the Edirol PCR-800 and Xboard, and the aftertouch is very responsive. It's fashionable to rag on the Axiom, but it does everything and does it well. They're so affordable because they don't work. That's why 5 months after it came out, they dropped about $150 in price. The Xboard Control (Windows/Macintosh) software provides an intuitive desktop interface that lets you effortlessly create custom templates for. Also, it's going to stop working after not too much time. The Xboard 49 features full-size velocity sensitive keys with Aftertouch, 16 programmable real-time controllers, Xboard Control editing software and. The black keys transmit at about double the velocity as the white keys, which, if you're playing anything but constant leads and organ sounds, is a disaster. The E-MU Xboard 49 Professional USB MIDI controller for PC and Mac offers unmatched playability, real-time control and programmability in a portable keyboard package ideal for studio and stage use.
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