Feature:
Giving it a 9 because there are other midi controllers with more knobs and such to play around with. But this isn't a bad thing. Too much is too much. Plys, since you can label the actual slidersknobs .. very very nice. Better to have less with labels than a bunch with no "LCD Labels". Nice touch. on top of that, labeling them yourself is a sinch. Plus full size keys - 49 of them. I wouldn't be able to stand anything less than 49. Those other controllers with two octave ranges or waht not are next to useless for my personal situation. Then the drum pads are nice as well for offering more "interaction" and as well as a place to hit your drums out instead of the keys - better feel. Apparently the pads get better and more responsive as they age. Of course, not AKAI pads, but still cool to have with the package. As with most similar keyboards (MicroKorg/MicroKontrol) it has the octave shift buttons that give you a total of 10 octaves (or virtually 120 keys). Nice. This also has a vector joystick that lets you assign two functions - one per axis .. which then allows you to blend them around. Quite cool. Also, this has a MOD and PITCH wheel (something which it's little sibling, the MicroKontrol, lacks.

Quality:
I was hoping for it to be made of aluminum as I believe the MicroKontrol is made of it. That alone would have made this definitely a 10!!! ;) Never the less, it LOOKS like it's brushed aluminum. It's aluminum looking plastic though .. good enough. The knobs and slider seem a touch wobbly/delicate .. but even still, they don't seem like they're going to break or anything. All the buttons/pads feel good with a nice little click like a good cellphone button when you push them. The vector joystick does seem quite delicate though. It doesn't autocenter when let go and really feels totally weightless. That said, it feels very very comfortable to use - even relaxing!

Value:
Minus one for there being some other crazier stuff out there for a few hundred more. I don't know if this is a good enough reason for it to loose a point, but what the heck. A lot of midi controllers with lots of functions come with low-octave count keybeds. I find them useless with anything less than what the Kontrol49 has (as I mentioned) but if you're alright with the fewer physical octaves, then perhaps one of the other kontrollers could do. Or there are keyboard ONLY controllers for less with no extra features. In the end, I guess a 9 is a good score in this section.

Desirability:
Definitely a sexy piece for the studio. For everything midi-controlled, this is absolutely perfect. The only thing better would be (with unlimited funds) would be a fullsize 88 key midicontroller, a seperate slider/encoder section all LCD labeled, and a seperate AKAI MPD16 pad controller. That's basically what this is all in one - less physical keys and no akai pads. Looks very sharp as well with it's sleek lines. The moment I unpacked it. "This has high sex appeal!" Yes yes.

Sound:
I can't rate the actual "Sound" it makes since it's a MIDI controller .. so I'm going to say that the control of sounds is really good. Nice velocity sensitive keys let you play your virtual piano very nicely ;) .. as well as any other instrument you throw at it from a bell to a symphony orchestra.

Support:
I've never dealt with them. I'm HOPING they're good. Online registration gives you an extended year of warrenty. So that'll give them a 10.

Overall:
I like this a lot. Good for everything I can possibly throw at it. The only thing it lacks is weighted keys. If it were to have that though, then it'd feel weird with every other sound I control with it. For real piano controlling, one would have to get a seperate nice weigthed keyboard along side this. That said, this is still very well suited for acoustic piano controlling on the PC. Just have to wait for the weigthed keyboard I guess. ;) All the nice features (LCD labels, sliders, encoders, drum pads, joystick, pitch and mod wheels, velocity sensitive keys, 4 octaves, etc.) .. all make it out to be a nice piece for any home studio. Comes with some nice demo software as well. go buy one ;) These are selling like hotcakes .. I wonder why? ;)