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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

Great quality hardware, (blows my older Roland controller out of the water). Knobs, buttons and sliders feel solid and precise. Keys are high quality, with a nice feel, although the black keys make a tiny squeak when released. Just the feel of the keys is musically inspiring to me.The VIP software is wonderful, although I had to "blacklist" some of my poorly programmed VSTs (I can still use them directly from my DAW). The included Xpand!2 VST with hundreds of top quality, usable sounds (my new favorite VST) more than makes up for that loss.The patch-librarian aspect of VIP is amazing! To have thousands of sounds from dozens of VSTs sorted by instrument, timbre, etc. is a Godsend.Getting the faders and transport controls to work in Reaper was a complete mystery, due to the complete lack of documentation on this from M-Audio. I finally found step-by-step instructions on an Akai Advance support forum: https://getsatisfaction (DOT) com/akai_professional/topics/akai-advance-61-transport-and-reaper.. Works well now!One Multi setup with 8 patches from multiple VSTs can get me through an entire set. I can mix, blend and mute the loaded patches as needed right from the keyboard, (one of the reasons I chose this over the Akai Advance 61 was the CTRL 49's bank of 9 faders that the Akai lacks).There is so much more to this keyboard/software combination to discover. If as they say, learning keeps you you young, the CTRL49 may be the fountain of youth, LOL...I would recommend this keyboard to only my more tech-savvy friends, not the ones that need help setting up a delay pedal, due to the learning curve. I am pretty sure these are no longer in production due to the support nightmare they caused inMusic Brands.The more powerful and flexible a product is the more complex it becomes and the less likely you will be to satisfy the average user. Power users rejoice! The hardware/software combo of your dreams is now discounted very heavily, from 699.00 list down to under 300.

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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

This is an amazing piece of equipment that actually does simplify the recording process. Seems like it's built sturdy and it definitely has smooth key action along with durable feeling knobs and faders. The color screen it easy to see and read and this thing looks GREAT when it's all lit up! One thing, be prepared to watch a few videos and read a little to be able to use the CRTL 49 to its maximum capabilities. That being said, it isn't hard to get it up and running, but it may take some time to master. I have had mine for a few months and I really like it.. It puts all your plug-ins in a easy to use format with its software and and far as integration to your DAW, bing bam boom, easy! (I use Pro Tools).. Also all the software that is included with the CTRL 49 is amazing & expansive and adds to the overall value of the product.. Overall I gave it a 5, but I haven't used support (4) and it may have a bigger learning curve for some people.(ease of use-4) . Make no mistake, it is worth the small amount of time and video watching to add this tool to your studio...

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The CTRL-49 was meant to be am-Audio’s top of the line controller with advanced features including VIP software integration. M-Audio distinguished its unit from similar controllers by stablemates Akai and Alexis by including a bunch of faders as well as knobs. M-Audio’s mistake was setting it up so the faders can only be used for DAW control and not instrument control. The jury is still out on VIP. It is very powerful, but the added complexity may not be worth it. I use the AIR software instruments that came bundled with the CTRL-49 a lot more than I use VIP. In fact the bundled instruments are much better than the Komplete Select that comes with the Native Instruments S-series.

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