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the keys are too light for my liking. i thought they were semi weighted (meaning they are in between hammer action keys and flappy paddle keyboard keys.) They are NOT semi weighted. its 49 keys which i think is enough to produce music on your computer. the pitch wheels are fun. wish the mod wheel was more sensitive. the pitchbend is great. i got this keyboard for dirt cheap and i dont regret. it. Remember... get what you can afford and when you get more money you upgrade. music is all about creation and learning something new. so see what you can do on this keyboard then get something a bit better. All it does is control and thats what it does and it does it well. simple easy no fancy gadgets. id give it a 3.5 but ill give it a 4
So I picked up the M-audio key-station 49e a few days ago. And while i'm not in love with it, I don't dislike it. It defiantly gets the job done and for the price I cant really complain. However I hate the fact that they don't give you a power chord with the keyboard. Instead they give you a USB cable to power it through bus power. The problem with this is that if your short on USB ports like i am then you have to waste a whole port to simply power the keyboard. Another aspect I don't like is the touch sensitivity. It works very poorly and it is difficult to play the keyboard at a normal volume, instead your always banging out the notes or hitting them to softly. Overall I don't dislike the keyboard, obviously I would rather have a full weighted 88 key but that not an option if your on a budget like me. The one thing I would say is i wish i had bought the 61 key instead of the 49 key. that extra free octave can help allot. If your thinking about buying one of these I wouldn't discourage you, as I said it gets the job done. But I wouldn't buy it retail, I think $100 is too much. If you can ebay or craigsist it for $50-$70 i'd say you got a good deal.Read full review
For the price it is solid enough for a beginner. It is an older model that is no longer on the M-Audio website, but has Pitch Bend and Modulation as well as Octave adjustments. Works with XP operating system well. Had no problem using it with Cakewalk products. I would recommend this product to start off on learning music with your computer. For the price you can't expect the best of key quality but good enough to start. I would rate this between Excellent and Good. Cheers!
I researched keyboards on the net to understand, that within this price range, that it had the qualities of good key movements when pressing down on the key. M-Audio Company has an excellent reputation on various forums. I don't have any dislikes. I like the keyboard and the other controls. I am by no means an expert but I understand this unit can be sort of customized. I also like the size as I felt that 49 keys was enough. In the future I would like to also get an M-Audio sound card. In the budget range I had the only other main comparisons were the value of keyboard pressure, the quality construction as opposed the the cost/money going toward things like songs in ROMS (or whatever), fancy light, DJ effects and so on. I'm not knocking that - I just wanted a quality keyboard within my budget and learn more music.Read full review
If you understand what this keyboard is really used for, then you will be extremely happy. This board is an awesome home studio keyboard. If you are looking for an 88 key weighted key board, keep looking! I've seen some disappointed reviews because of this very thing. The board isn't for that purpose. It is great for computer based programs like GarageBand, Finale, and Sibelius. I used it for Finale and I love it. I like the 49e better than the new KeyRigs because the KeyRigs don't have a MIDI out where the 49e does. Newer doesn't always equate with better. I have this hooked up to my Mac via the USB and to a Roland 1080JV via MIDI. You absolutely can not beat this board for the price. If you are cramped for space and need it for all the above reasons, buy it. You won't be sorry!