M-Audio Oxygen 61 (MK IV) - 61 Key MIDI Controller

You'll love this if... You're looking to make the most of the fantastic range of virtual instruments on your DAW and want a comprehensive midi keyboard controller that allows you to perform all your midi takes with its range of keys, pads, buttons and knobs. A fully tactile controller for expressive performances.

The Oxygen Legacy

The M-Audio Oxygen has for a long time been a staple piece of kit in project studios, due to it's fantastic balance of quality, reliability and a fantastic price. If you want to start incorporating the wide range of software instruments available in your DAW and don't know much about keyboards, it can be hard to know what to get. Many project studio owners looking to dip their toe in the water focus solely on price and the number of keys. But if they are not careful, they will be looking for that upgrade straight out the box as the quality just isn't there.

The Oxygen has always had the balance just right when it comes to controller keyboards in this price point. Not only is it comparably light on the wallet, this keyboard is sturdy and feels great under the fingers. The construction doesn't feel cheap, so the keyboard will fit right into your setup as a fantastic compositional tool.

The MK IV

Thanks to over a decade of continued innovation, the 4th installment of the Oxygen Keyboard controller takes the fantastic design to a whole new level. Featuring a new sleek look with 8 Back-lit and velocity sensitive trigger pads, an array of assignable knobs and faders, the Oxygen keyboard offers you so much more than a simple midi keyboard.

Thanks to deep hardware/and software integration, the new oxygen offers more control than ever. Using DirectLink, you can plug in and the oxygen's controls instantly map to key parameters in your DAW and finally have tactile control of your mixers, editors and transport windows. You also have access to 25 built in mapping presets that instantly allow you to control your favourite plugins. And if these presets aren't perfect for your personal setup, you can customise those maps to work exactly the way you want.

More bang for your buck

At this price, the Oxygen Midi controller offers enough bang for your buck to be a serious contender for your cold hard cash. However just to sweeten the deal even more for the cash-strapped musician, M Audio have struck some deals with some top manufacturers for some awesome free software.

First off is Ableton Live Lite. If you're new to recording this DAW is for you; this piece of software offers a powerful music creation tool - all you need to get started recording and laying down those killer ideas. Ableton offers a completely new look for your workflow which will get your mind working in a different way to create completely new ideas and a different way of forming a song.

AIR Music Tech's Xpand!2 is a multitimbral workstation, which essentially allows you to combine instruments together to create a rich and layered patch. You can, of course, use the fantastic instruments by themselves, however with up to 4 instrument slots you can create lush and complex patches which is where the full power of this instrument lies.

SONiVOX Twist is a spectral morphing synthesis virtual instrument. It's a powerful synthesizer which allows you to create some serious sounds using a simple control interface. There's plenty to get stuck into, but if you get stuck, you can always make use of the great range of presets for great sounds at a simple click.

VIP 3.1 provides unparalleled control of your virtual instruments in an intuitive interface which allows you to search your entire VST library by instrument type, timbre, style or articulation to quickly achieve your desired sound. Up to eight instruments and patches can be layered per VIP instance for deep, multifaceted sounds, and four effects can be loaded per instrument for even greater sound manipulation.

Pro Tools | First is the lite version of the recording industry standard Pro Tools. Pro Tools | First is a great tool for amateurs and those just starting out in the world of recording giving some of the great features of Pro Tools in a slimmer, more accessible version. Pro Tools | First offers unlimited busses, elastic time and pitch, offline bounce and 1 GB of free cloud storage.

Touch Loops is a great resource of high-quality samples for you to chop up and mix into your own music. Access to Touch Loops comes with your M-Audio account.

They all come free with your M-Audio Oxygen so they're all well worth a try!

Features

• 61 velocity-sensitive keys8 MIDI-assignable knobs
• 9 MIDI-assignable sliders
• 6 dedicated transport controls
• Dedicated track up/down buttons
• DirectLink mode automatically maps controls to common DAW parameters
• Factory presets map controllers to popular virtual instrument software
• Unique Select buttons for on-the-fly step through of presets, program changes and MIDI channels
• 4 velocity curves and 3 fixed velocity settings
• Sustain pedal input
• Class-compliant with Windows XP, Windows Vista and Mac OS X
• USB bus powered
• Includes Ableton Live Lite
• Includes Ignite music creation software

Specifications

• MIDI Data from variable controllers:
• MIDI Control Number
• RPN/NRPN
• Program, Bank LSB, Bank MSB
• Pitch Bend
• GM/GM2/XG SysEx Messages

MIDI Data from buttons/switches

• Note On
• Note On/Off toggle
• MIDI CC On/Off toggle
• Program, Bank LSB, Bank MSB presets
• MIDI Machine Control functions
• GM/GM2/XG SysEx messages

• Weight: 7.5lbs. (3.4kg)
• Size: 35.7" L x 9.4" W x 3.7" H

Requirements

For system requirements see here