The knobs are sturdy enough and provide good resistance, though Matt said, “I prefer the feel of the knobs on the M-Audio Oxygen 8.” Matt and I agreed that the buttons on the Xboards didn’t feel as robust and well-put-together as the keyboard action, and they rattled slightly with heavier playing. “And it’s got aftertouch, which is very cool.” Sixteen control knobs give you lots of tweaking power, and each knob can either be assigned to its own MIDI channel and controller number, or set to affect the same parameter on 16 separate channels via the aptly-titled 16 Channel mode. “The action feels good and smooth,” commented Matt Moldover, New York producer/electronic artist/mash-up specialist and my guest set of fingers for this review. HARDWARE The Xboards’ synth keyboard action is surprisingly solid and satisfying, especially given the lightness of the controllers. And with street prices well under $200, both axes offer an intriguing amount of production power for the dollar. Along with an impressive keyboard action and intuitive editing capabilities, the Xboards also come with three pieces of software - a programming interface, Ableton Live 4 Lite (full version reviewed November ’04), and E-mu’s Proteus X LE, a scaled-down version of their excellent soft synth (reviewed July ’05). OVERVIEW Two of the newest - and least expensive - entries in the featherweight keyboard controller category are the internally-identical E-mu Xboards 25 and 49, super-totable tools that can just as easily be USB’d to your DJ set in Ableton Live or MIDI cabled to your Roland V-Synth XT. Multiple power source options, including AA batteries. Editing/programming is fast and intuitive. PROS Keyboard action is arguably the best in its class. Pitch and mod wheels have a textured grip and provide good resistance.Ģ5- and 49-key USB/MIDI controller keyboards with editing, recording, and virtual instrument software. Latch mode lets you define a zone and toggle notes on and off, leaving your hands free to do other things. Sixteen control knobs let you do deep tweaking in real-time.Įdit buttons make for fast, intuitive programming of the Xboards 16 available patches. Keys are labeled with different programmable parameters, so you can quickly customize in Edit mode. Keyboard action is impressive, especially given how little the Xboards weigh. E-MU XBOARD 25 AND 49 25- AND 49-KEY USB/MIDI CONTROLLERS by Michael Gallant
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