Rating

First, I want to apologize for the length of this post, but the content demands it.

After my review, I have two emails that come straight from M-Audio that address the “lead paint and dangerous chemicals” issue. This information goes out to Donald Sosin “farmhouse41, and anyone else that is concerned about this issue. I bought the 49e version because it’s size is perfect for my space as a secondary keyboard, but this information applies to all models.

I have a Korg Triton Pro in my home studio, and bought the 49e version of this excellent keyboard to use in my living room. It operates flawlessly with my Mac G5 and Garageband, which was truly a plug and play experience. I opened Garageband, turned on the Keystation and the midi device was immediately recognized, and I began to play. It was just that easy. In short.. I love it!

Now for the “Product contains lead and chemicals causing cancer and birth defects” issue. I will post two responses that I received from M-Audio yesterday after I sent them a single email that clearly and strongly questioned every aspect of this “Warning”. In my email I wanted to know where the lead was used and if it could harm my family and me. My primary concern was that they had used lead in the silver paint or anywhere on the exterior of the keyboard. Here are the two responses from my single email:

“Al,

This warning label is now required on all electronics devices that contain lead. The keyboard contains lead soldering on the circuit board, which is something you will never come in contact with under normal use. If you ever take the unit apart, which we don’t recommend, you’ll just want to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water afterwards. This will remove any trace of lead that may have rubbed of on you. We understand the concern that such a label would cause, but we can assure you that you are not in any danger while using this product as intended.

Best Regards,

Name withheld for privacy. Here is the second response from another M-Audio employee:

Hi Al,

Just to chime in here…

The warning posted in our 49e Keystudio manual is also found in the manuals for all of our other electronic products. We are located in California, where we are required by state law to use this warning on any product containing even minute, trace amounts of lead (et al). The warning is State of California boilerplate.

Since the RoHS act (Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive) was passed in the European Union, our products are safer than ever. We have updated the components and materials in all of our current products to comply with the standards set forth therein. [...]

Also, don’t hesitate to contact us with any further questions you may have regarding this matter.

All the best,

Name withheld for privacy.

I suggested that they amend the Warning in the Quick Start Guide to include this additional information. I don’t know if they can or will do this, so I’m not holding my breath. I hope this information that comes “straight from the horses mouth” proves helpful in alleviating the concerns that a lot of us experienced and does not keep anyone from buying this excellent line of keyboards.

Rating

I’m an amateur musician, and I always wanted a big keyboard, something close enough to a piano, but the big keyboards were always so expensive. In top of that, they always come with lots of knobs and features that I never wanted to learn or try. I just wanted a piano-like keyboard to play.

When I saw this keyboard for first time, I loved its ‘minimalistic’ style: no knobs, no screens, no buttons. Just the 88 keys and the minimum necessary controllers (3 buttons, 2 wheels and 1 slider), all in a beautiful and solid silver case. When I checked its price, I suspected maybe its quality was poor, but I had good references for the M-audio brand. So I decided to give it a chance and I’m still very proud of my purchase: just plugged it into the usb port of my PC and it was inmediately recognized. I was using FL Studio, but right now I’m trying Sonar and it works flawlessly. The keys offer some resistance to pressure, so it almost feel like piano keys.

If you’re interested on this keyboard, I strongly recommend it. But if you don’t to know that much of keyboards (and you don’t want to, anyway), you have to know this keyboard is not a exactly a toy, nor is the kind that comes with lots of sounds and rythms. It is a controller, which means you have to use some kind of software or synth device for it to produce any sound. If you know exactly what you’re buying, I don’t think you will ever regret of buying this keyboard. It’s great!

Rating

I bought an Oxygen 8 keyboard about 2 years ago to use with Sonar. I didn’t really expect to become a keyboard player, but, over time, I have. And the Oxygens two octaves just don’t cut it. So I browsed around here on Amazon and found this keyboard. It’s just what I was looking for – a piano-sized keyboard, and no dials (I never use the ones on the Oxygen, anyway).

The keys feel great (semi-weighted as opposed to the Oxygens non-weighted synth-action keys), it seems quite sturdy, and set-up is a breeze. If you use soft synths and are looking for a full-sized no-nonsense keyboard – this is it!