Woot : One Day, One Deal (SM)

Got the Torq mixlab last time, which was purported to be a refurb. It was not. I received (a week late) a B-stock model without the necessary cable or software. After waiting another week to get the necessary accessories, I found out the controller didn't even work properly. Several of the faders didn't work and neither did half of the knobs. I checked the forum frequently and realized that about half the other buyers had the same problem. Keyboards with discolored/broken keys, nonfunctional mixlabs, etc. Mine has been sitting in my closet for months as I haven't been able to hock it for any decent price on craigslist. I'd say buy only with caution.

b00ks wrote:I would be hesitant buying this if you are running Windows 7 64 bit.

I have been waiting for them to make drivers for an older keyboard (oxygen 8)for windows vista 64 bit... and I am still waiting. Doesn't look like they will ever make them, so I am basically sitting on a keyboard that does not work since all my os's are now 64bit. (great eh?)

I was thinking about picking this up, but I see that they have not developed win7 drivers for this, so that sort of sends up red flags for me.. as they have drivers for the 49i but are lacking them for the 49.

I really want to purchase this, but I can't bring myself to have another paperweight.

I have Windows 7 32 bit. Will these work with that or not?

Will the mic work with Adobe Audition?

How would the mic compare to the Blue Snowball mic?

http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Microphones-Snowball-USB-Bundle/dp/B000EOPQ7E

Looks like they have released some Windows 7 drivers that will work with the Producer.. I didn't look that close, but possibly there is software that will work with the others as well.

http://www.m-audio.com/news/en_us-1870.html

saw this exact same woot back at the end of august i think. looks gooder than before.

Hmmm... this professional quality stuff?

b00ks wrote:I would be hesitant buying this if you are running Windows 7 64 bit.

I have been waiting for them to make drivers for an older keyboard (oxygen 8)for windows vista 64 bit... and I am still waiting. Doesn't look like they will ever make them, so I am basically sitting on a keyboard that does not work since all my os's are now 64bit. (great eh?)

I was thinking about picking this up, but I see that they have not developed win7 drivers for this, so that sort of sends up red flags for me.. as they have drivers for the 49i but are lacking them for the 49.

I really want to purchase this, but I can't bring myself to have another paperweight.

I have the keyboard and am running Windows 7 64 bit, and it works fine. Keep in mind that you'll still need a decent sound card if you want to have unnoticeable latency, I haven't been able to get ASIO4ALL to work.

Kynes wrote:I have the keyboard and am running Windows 7 64 bit, and it works fine. Keep in mind that you'll still need a decent sound card if you want to have unnoticeable latency, I haven't been able to get ASIO4ALL to work.

mattlscc wrote:Hmmm... this professional quality stuff?

kingsbro wrote:I have Windows 7 32 bit. Will these work with that or not?

Kynes wrote:Yes, but as with Windows 7 64 bit, you'll need a good sound card. I wasn't able to get ASIO4ALL to work in 32 bit either.

What is ASIO4ALL?

kingsbro wrote:What is ASIO4ALL?

ASIO (Audio Stream Input/Output) is a protocol for low latency audio. If you don't have a sound card capable of it there are drivers called ASIO4ALL that will handle it through software, but I've only been able to get them working in XP and Vista.

In short, if you don't use ASIO4ALL and don't have an ASIO capable sound card, pressing a key on the keyboard will result in a couple hundred milliseconds of delay, at least.

hashpling wrote:Will the mic work with Adobe Audition?

Ahem, I asked this. Throw me a bone, huh?

Dang! I want to pick some of these up and the last two times woot had them I've been dead broke.

ATrontis wrote:How would the mic compare to the Blue Snowball mic?

http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Microphones-Snowball-USB-Bundle/dp/B000EOPQ7E

I haven't used the M-Audio mic and I can't find the specs anywhere so I can't address that, but I do own the Blue Snowball and can vouch for it being a great cheap condenser. For that price you won't find anything better.

Leslie14 wrote:Does this keyboard have the red light up keys so kids can learn to play their favorite songs??

Nope. No red light up keys. If you have the sheet music, it's pretty easy to learn to play. Just plug it in and run the sound through your computer speakers.

Kynes wrote:ASIO (Audio Stream Input/Output) is a protocol for low latency audio. If you don't have a sound card capable of it there are drivers called ASIO4ALL that will handle it through software, but I've only been able to get them working in XP and Vista.

In short, if you don't use ASIO4ALL and don't have an ASIO capable sound card, pressing a key on the keyboard will result in a couple hundred milliseconds of delay, at least.

Is Conexant High Definition SmartAudio 221 a capable sound card?

servili007 wrote:This already supports windows 7 64 bit, the vista 64 bit drivers work just as well....

could you direct the link for these drivers? im in the boat as the guy with the oxygen 8 series 2....now working on vista 64...

Why do they have to have this Woot when I don't have the money for it?!?

I'm a professional musician and a semi-professional home studio geek, so M-Audio stuff is a godsend for me. They make very good quality stuff for the price, and this Woot makes the prices almost silly... I'm having to hold myself back from buying something even though this is an absolutely horrible time for me to be throwing around money.

The keyboard won't have any built-in sounds, by the way... it's strictly a MIDI controller, so you'll need some sound software to use it. I like Logic the best.

one question!!!

i can care less about the torq mixer or the mic cus i already have better m-audio ones of those but i want to know more about the controller...

i want a controller strictly for finale 2009 which is a piano notation software?

will this work with the software?? i need answers from people who know for sure.

thanks :]

btw, whats the difference between keyrig49 and keystudio49?
thankss!

Kynes wrote:I haven't used the M-Audio mic and I can't find the specs anywhere so I can't address that, but I do own the Blue Snowball and can vouch for it being a great cheap condenser. For that price you won't find anything better.

Here are mic specs from M-Audio:

audio quality: 16-bit, 44.1 or 48kHz audio
capsule sensitivity: -48dB ref to 1V/Pa

I don't know what any of that means but how does that stack against the Snowball?

I was ready to buy at $59.99. Great deal. Then when I went to order, I noticed it's $59.99 for each of the 3 items. $179.97 for all three. Dang.

please any1...

does this work with finale 2010? the controller of course

hashpling wrote:Ahem, I asked this. Throw me a bone, huh?

It's using a USB connection to do the A/D conversion. No reason why it should not work with Adobe Audition. I only use Audition3 for post production, so am not very familiar with how it likes or dislikes various inputs, but again it should work. Just checked Sweetwater and Musicians Friend, but neither site has the mic offered.

I'm no computer expert, but I play piano and want to create MIDI files using the keyboard to convert to sheet music. Would this keyboard and the Session software work for that?

bobslove wrote:please any1...

does this work with finale 2010? the controller of course

i don't own either the controller or finale but yes they will work fine

jamal were pretty much asking the same question.

does it work with finale 2009 or 2010?

bobslove wrote:one question!!!

i can care less about the torq mixer or the mic cus i already have better m-audio ones of those but i want to know more about the controller...

i want a controller strictly for finale 2009 which is a piano notation software?

will this work with the software?? i need answers from people who know for sure.

thanks :]

btw, whats the difference between keyrig49 and keystudio49?
thankss!

Last first, what Woot are showing as keystudio looks exactly like what Musician's Friend are showing as the keyrig:
http://keyboards-midi.musiciansfriend.com/product/MAudio-KeyRig-49-USB-Keyboard?sku=700932
What Musicians Friend have as keystudio 49i has more controls and I/O than what's on offer here at Woot.

As for using this with Finale, or any other software, it would be strictly for lightweight note entering as there are so few control knobs, buttons, & keys!, and the key action of this is definitely going to be nonweighted. Not anywhere near enough controllers for manipulating soft synths or other music editing duties.

Not the kind of controller you could play outside of the center four octaves of a piano's 88, at least not both ends at the same time, or without using octave up/down buttons. I just don't like being limited by 49/37/25 key controllers, though they are fine for tight quarters I guess. I run with 4 controllers in my Open Labs Miko (music computer) setup: an 88 note CME hammer-action weighted for piano stuff, 76 note CME semi-weighted for fast synth work, 61 note Studiologic VMK waterfall key for organ, and Miko has its own 37 note keyboard built in that I use for loop triggering.

tercathian wrote:Last first, what Woot are showing as keystudio looks exactly like what Musician's Friend are showing as the keyrig:
http://keyboards-midi.musiciansfriend.com/product/MAudio-KeyRig-49-USB-Keyboard?sku=700932
What Musicians Friend have as keystudio 49i has more controls and I/O than what's on offer here at Woot.

As for using this with Finale, or any other software, it would be strictly for lightweight note entering as there are so few control knobs, buttons, & keys!, and the key action of this is definitely going to be nonweighted. Not anywhere near enough controllers for manipulating soft synths or other music editing duties.

hey, i just wanna be able to play a chord and have it show on finale like that, on tempo and accurate. because i am a a capella arranger and wanted to used an actual controller rathern than mouse. i do not need more than 49 but more than 25 so 49 is just right in terms of size. you think it would be ok??

Jamal27 wrote:I'm no computer expert, but I play piano and want to create MIDI files using the keyboard to convert to sheet music. Would this keyboard and the Session software work for that?

From what I've been able to find, Session doesn't have any sort of MIDI notation system built in. To do what you're describing, your best bet would be a Finale product; the least expensive option is Finale NotePad, which is only $10.

bobslove wrote:

hey, i just wanna be able to play a chord and have it show on finale like that, on tempo and accurate. because i am a a capella arranger and wanted to used an actual controller rathern than mouse. i do not need more than 49 but more than 25 so 49 is just right in terms of size. you think it would be ok??

Yeah, it'd be fine for that. Sorry to go off all orchestral/prog on ya.

servili007 wrote:This already supports windows 7 64 bit, the vista 64 bit drivers work just as well....

I checked the m-audio site and didn't see windows 7 64 bit drivers for the 49, only saw them for the 49i.

i'll start by saying i have the Torq Mixlab and i love it, great for live parties.

however, i am looking into doing mash-ups and i was wondering if the keyboard is good for making beats. would a drum kit or smaller keyboard be better? Also, is the mic good enough for semi-pro music recording?

If you were to hook up the keyboard to your computer will it still work with reason 4.0 or any music software? The main difference between the 49 and the 49i is that there's no sound coming from the keyboard itself right?

Thinking of getting this mic for overdubbing home videos (or whatever you would call adding in commentary) in Adobe Premiere somehow as well as internet video phone calls...

Does it make sense to use it for those purposes as would I be better served with a different solution?

anyone else having a hard time checking out with woot on these items?

This is perfect, I already have a Casio PX-320 as my weighted keys board, and a Yamaha Motif-ES66 as my non-weighted keys controller, but I've been looking for a small keyboard for soft synths and notation input. This should work well enough, even though it doesn't have a whole lot of faders for midi.

For those who are confused about whether this can control can input into Reason or Finale, understand that the USB connection is how the MIDI data will be routed to your software. You only need a midi out port if you have external midi modules (like a Triton Rack) that you want to control with the Keystation. Remember that this is a midi controller, there are no sounds that will come out of the keyboard. You use the keystation to controll a sound module (i.e. a Soft Synth or an external hardware). This is why the Session software is included, so that you'll have sounds to play on your computer.

Also, for notation software, I recommend Sibelius. They are currently on version 6.1. I've used both Finale and Sibelius, and prefer the user interface of Sibelius, but to each his own.

sutefani wrote:re-wootoff woot!

sept 25

those that got em before like em?

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have keyboard and love it for a lightweight, velocity-sensitive midi controller for software synths

very easy to install on MACs

I bought this entire kit the last time around and love it. Everything works perfectly in Windows 7/64-bit.

I have never loaded any of the software that comes with it or so much as looked at the CD's, but I use the keyboard and mixlab as Midi controllers in FruityLoops and a couple of other programs and they work fine. The mixlab is nice because you can assign the knobs to all sorts of controls, volume, filters, X/Y controllers, etc.

The keyboard has buttons that transparently shift you up/down octaves. I normally use a full size 88 key semi-weighted keyboard as my controller, but I find this little 49 keyboard does the job nicely 90% of the time.

Have not used the mic very much yet due to some silly restrictions on input/output in FL - I use a firewire interface for just about everything and FL doesn't like to mix audio interfaces.

Because the devices work as standard MIDI interfaces, they should work on just about anything. Have not tried them with Linux yet but I don't see why they would have any trouble.

Kynes wrote:Yes, but as with Windows 7 64 bit, you'll need a good sound card. I wasn't able to get ASIO4ALL to work in 32 bit either.

The little USB dongle the keyboard comes with is an ASIO sound card thingy.

I never really read the description last time these were on woot and didn't know it came with the audio interface. Talk about a pleasant surprise when the box came!