Client: I need a Master Key!
shopkeeper: with weighted keys or not? must it also have a minimum of controls to manage VSTs? and the Faders for Volumes and Pan? Do you need to program rhythmic grooves in a simple way?
Client: Surely if everything is there, it's soooo better! Um ... but how much does it cost?
Welcome to the world of keyboard controllers, and more specifically M-Audio's new CODE series.
An Master controller must obviously be evaluated according to the needs and, for those who have a piano background, it often happens that the attention is placed almost exclusively on the keyboard. Then it happens that, during the programming phase, you would want to manage volumes faster than what you can do with just the mouse. Then, again, in the case of rhythmic programming, a good number of dynamic Pads would be just as convenient to streamline all the work. What if at some point you need to control the filter and envelope of the virtual synth you are using?
The risk is that in no time at all, your desk can be filled with specific controllers with just as much accumulation of costs that have not previously been well thought out.
Code Series
The new "CODE" series by M-Audio, clearly derived from the AXIOM series, includes 3 models, respectively 25, 49 e 61 keys, sensitive to dynamics andaftertouch, each with a large number of Dynamic PADs (16, RGB backlit, already found on the Trigger Finger Pro), 8 faders structured in four desks/layer + one Master, each correlated by underlying on / off switches (also multicolored RGB), 8 continuous-stroke potentiometers (for the Code 25, Fader, Knob and Switch go down to 4); a two-dimensional X / Y PAD controller; controls for transporting the DAW and buttons foron/off of the four keyboard zones, independent from each other, wheels pitchbend/Modulation Wheel, four selectors for the octave change of both the keyboard and the PADs, and a series of switches to be used for modifications and settings. 6-digit LED display for programming the zones and parameters, as well as reading the values of all controllers, including the keyboard Aftertouch. By default, the display shows one of the 12 memories possible, already set to work with the main DAWs in combination with the two virtual instruments (Loom e Hybrid 3) offered in bundle: if necessary, however, you can overwrite them with your own schedules.
Il rear panel, identical for all three models, has the connection for a possible power supply, not supplied as standard, a very convenient button for turning on / off the machine (not always present on other products), the self-powered connection USB, 2 jack connectors for Sustain pedals e Volume, and the 'In/Oct pentapolar MIDI, parallel to the USB.
Hardware
I state, but this is obvious, that all the default settings described below can be completely changed and overwritten. I refer you to reading the user manual, only in English at the moment, for any further information. Here I anticipate that some checks, Switch/Button e PAD X/Y, they can also act as ASCII commands, allowing the user to control some windows of the DAW itself. Tested with LogicPro X, the first bank of Buttons allows for example to open different editing windows, view the automations, hide and view the plug.ins you are working on. Also in Ableton Live, throwing Obviously, such operational possibilities depend directly on the DAW and not so much on the CODE.
Let's go back to the Master and start from:
Keyboard: is of the semi-weighted type, with synthesizer action, with a good response to the touch and a good dynamics by default. It also manages the aftertouch (AT), of undisputed utility for activating fingertip modulations of synthesized sounds: under the fingers, the AT is very linear and easily manageable.
Preset: the 12 presets, as already mentioned, recall as many configurations that provide for the separate use of the Loom and Hybrid 3 virtual instruments in Live, ProTools, Cubase, Logic Pro, bitwig. The first Preset manages instruments in General MIDI, while the last has a combined management to use Loom and Hybrid 3 simultaneously in Ableton Live. At the end of the article, the default list is shown.
Colors: very convenient as after a short training period it becomes easy to view the settings. It must be said that while the switches can take up to 8 different colors, in the case of PADs, the variations reach 13.
PAD: by default they are set to recall the rhythmic sounds corresponding to the notes ranging from C2 to Eb3, but remember that with the transposer buttons, you can cover practically all the 128 notes (C1 - G8) provided by the MIDI protocol. For this reason, it can also be convenient to use it to activate the KeySwitches of a software sampler, such as Kontakt.
Fader: despite the length of about 40 mm, they are very precise in dosing the values thanks to a slight tactile inertia that avoids uncontrolled jumps.
Buttons: they have three operating modes, MIDI, Mackie Hui, HID (corresponding to ASCII characters). In the HID mode, the Buttons, in effect replace the keyboard commands, provided, of course, they have been assigned to the 4 possible banks.
Knob: with continuous rotation, these too are very reactive to the touch with an excursion that accelerates according to the speed with which you act. This allows you to quickly lock the value of the desired parameter and then check it in detail.
PAD X / Y: allows you to manage two MIDI controls simultaneously. The fact is that it does not stop only at Control Changes, but can also act on Notes (on CODE 49 the excursion goes from C3, MIDI note 36, to C7, MIDI note 84), or control the same DAW, using the characters ASCII. Since the X / Y axes are independent it is also possible to use any mixed combination of the three modes: maybe horizontally (X) to control the Notes and vertically (Y) the Filter!
Areas: up to 4 keyboard zones can be programmed independently to structure different layer / split situations. Each Zone can manage its own MIDI channel, rather than a Program o Control Change separated, complete with octave transposition, just to mention the most typical parameters required by keyboard players.
Software
Together with the keyboard and the brief multilingual guide, in the package you will also find two brochures that refer to the download of the supplied software: Ableton Live Lite (complete with serial code for activation) and two virtual instruments of the AIR Music Technology: Loom (modular additive synthesis) and Hybrid 3 (virtual analog). The latter two are downloaded only after registration of the Code, to be done on the M-Audio website. On the download page, the two serials are also generated to be inserted in the authorization application that is installed together with the software. There is the possibility, during the procedure, to activate the software also on your iLok account, in case you have one (I quickly remember that the new iLok authorization procedure allows you to activate the software also on your computer, if you were not possession of the appropriate key, but be careful not to format the computer, otherwise all authorizations will be irreversibly lost).
I don't say a word about the quality of the software: they play. And, therefore, I believe they represent a good added value to the investment made. After all, AIR for years was the software house that developed tools exclusively in RTAS format for Avid ProTools, as Structure, Strike, Velvet, etc. After a couple of years, sold to the InMusic consortium, all the instruments in the catalog were then improved by expanding their compatibility with the VST, AU and, recently, AAX protocols.
Incidentally, on the Loom and Hybrid 3 download page, a promo code is also generated, should you want to "upgrade" your instrument park with the AIR Instrument Expansion Pack suite which includes, in addition to the two aforementioned software, also Strike (virtual drummer), Structures (Multitimbral sampler), Transfuser (Groove creator), VacuumPro (Analog / tube emulation synth), Velvet (Vintage Electric Piano). The cost of the upgrade, thanks to the code, drops from $299 a $129.
Also included is a license for Ableton Live LE. Personally, however, I preferred to use the full version to see how the CODE adapts to the use of this DAW.
Management and use
As a starting requirement, a latest generation Master is required to enter its operational setup without too many "ifs" or too many "buts". Overall, Code 49 makes it possible to streamline many programming procedures. Thanks to its multiple controls and methods of use (MIDI, MACKIE, HID) and the semi-weighted keyboard, aftertouch and the ability to create layers / splits in a simple way, you can program an entire song quickly even if the software does not it is self-engaging (except for the two plug.ins supplied, Hybrid and Loom. ed): however, it should be noted that the speed of coupling to the various controls does not strictly depend on the CODE, but on the DAW itself. I remember that MIDI learn, now implemented on all the most important musical software, as many know, allows the association of parameter / controller with a simple click of the mouse.
The fact that the CODE series has so many controls, a reading of the manual is a must, it being understood that the programming procedures are very logical so that, once you have grasped the basic concepts, you can then proceed quickly. A manual page to know immediately is undoubtedly the one relating to the Presets, that is to the memory that encompasses all the instrument settings: this is because all 12 presets are set by default to control the two supplied plug.ins. It should be noted that, even if some DAWs are not noted in the list, such as Reason, Studio One, FL Studio, to this link you can find tutorials for specific configuration. On YouTubeinstead, English demos are already available relating to the operational possibilities of the instrument.
The mode should be noted with a convinced thumb Mackie e HID. The first, in addition to the standard Volume and Pan control, provides, by pressing the Shift key, also to alternate the Buttons in the options Track selection, All time lap record, Only e Mute; the second, as already mentioned above, allows you to recall some fundamental windows or functions of your DAW, avoiding the need to use keyboard commands for the programmed functions. In this case, the use of colors, or the reprogramming of the same, becomes crucial in order not to get confused between the different counters.
If you need to make a note, this is to be addressed to the fact that the PADs, although usable in launch clip mode on Ableton Live, with the current firmware do not auto-configure, but must be programmed ad hoc according to the Live Set loaded.
DAW PRESET Plug.ins
1 General ASCII General MIDI
2 Ableton Live AIR Hybrid 3
3 Ableton Live AIR Loom
4 AVID ProTools AIR Hybrid 3
5 AVID ProTools AIR Loom
6 Steinberg Cubase AIR Hybrid 3
7 Steinberg Cubase AIR Loom
8 Apple Logic Pro AIR Hybrid 3
9 Apple Logic Pro AIR Loom
10 Bitwig Studio AIR Hybrid 3
11 Bitwig Studio AIR Loom
12 Ableton Live AIR Hybrid 3 & Loom
Thumb up
* Multiple controls (Pad, Fader, Knob, Buttons, Pad X / Y);
* HID mode for calling functions / DAW windows, in addition to MIDI and Mackie HUI;
* Synth software in Bundle (Hybrid 3, Loom!);
* 4 Layer / Zone MIDI;
* RGB colors;
Thumb Towards
* Autoconfiguration for Ableton Live clips;
USEFUL INFORMATION
Approximate price in € uro
Code 25: 190,00
Code 49: 255,00
Code 61: 298,00
Distributor: soundwave
Nota: while wanting to be fully objective, this test is in any case based on the direct experience of the writer, so all the assessments and indications reported must be mediated by the skills and knowledge of the end user.
