Three Surprisingly Cool MIDI Controllers Under
Pages: 1, 2, 3

Control This

Software instruments are great, but editing them with a mouse doesn't cut it. The X25's 10 rotary encoders (endless knobs) and 10 buttons give you instant access to any software or hardware parameter that supports MIDI Control Change data. Toss in full-size Pitch Bend and Mod wheels, jacks for sustain and expression pedals, and the hip AXYZ dome, and you've got some potent control indeed.



And that's only the beginning, because the knobs and buttons have three independent layers. So knob 1 might tweak the filter cutoff frequency in layer 1, change the envelope attack in layer 2, and adjust the effects balance in layer 3.

But wait! There's more! Not only do you get three programmable layers, but act today and we'll thow in 20 library locations to store all of the individual assignments! And, as a special bonus, we'll include 14 presets for popular software like Propellerhead Reason, Native Instruments FM-7 and Pro 53, Steinberg Cubase, MOTU Digital Performer, and Ableton Live! Wait, don't touch that dial...

Seriously, the X25 affords a huge amount of control in a very compact space. And don't be put off by the two-octave keyboard; you can switch it up or down (plus or minus three octaves) at the touch of a button. Because the majority of my keyboard work consists of laying down bass lines or entering simple chords in step time—yes, my keyboard chops really are that lame—the Photon's keyboard fits the bill nicely. I really appreciate having full-size keys to match my full-size fingers.

Just Ask the AXYZ

When it comes to expression, keyboardists have it tough. Other instrumentalists can bend, slur, add vibrato, and twist a note into shape in myriad ways. Sure, your average MIDI keyboard's got pitch and mod wheels, and maybe aftertouch and an input for an expression pedal. But where's the drama in that?

Enter the AXYZ. Wave your hand in space and amazing things happen to the sound. The dome controller senses motion in three planes—left-right, front-back, and vertical—and translates the movement into three MIDI Control Changes of your choice.

A little deft programming yields astonishing effects. Use the dome to crossfade between samples, change filter parameters, add theremin-esque vibrato, or just about anything you can imagine. Talk about instant gratification!

Figure 3 and the MP3 example below give you a taste, but this is one of those times when you really have to experience it for yourself.

AXYZ Control Change Output

Fig. 3: The top pane shows how I changed the level of three MIDI parameters over time by waving my hand near the AXYZ Dome. (Click to enlarge.) The bottom shows the audio file being processed.

Knobby Needs

For more conventional control, use the 10 continuous knobs and 10 buttons. You can assign virtually any MIDI message to any of them—and don't forget you have three layers. Not enough? Add a momentary footswitch and expression pedal. Buttons are useful for both momentary data (like triggering a sound effect) or toggling a loop on or off. The cool lighting scheme helps you keep track: in trigger mode buttons flash when pressed; in toggle mode they glows red when turned on. Speaking of lighting, both the pitch and mod wheels glow more intensely as you push them to the limits. Sweet!

All of this control comes at a price: expect to do a lot of programming to wrangle the Photon into line. But you may only have to do it once, because there are 20 preset locations to store your assignments. You can upload the whole schmeer, or any part, to your computer over USB for safekeeping.

Alesis includes a healthy dose of presets (complete with printed templates to stick next to the controllers) for popular programs like Live, Cubase LE, Sonar, and several software instruments. But I found that few worked as advertised and some didn't work at all. According to Alesis, the presets were designed for earlier versions of the software. I guess you can't stop progress, but it would be cool to offer current presets as downloads. (Check Alesis's SysEx download page for updates.)

Audio and MIDI I/O

The Photon X25 acts as a simple one-in/one-out USB MIDI interface. The MIDI Out port is smart: hook up a USB cable and the MIDI Out passes MIDI data from your computer. With no USB cable connected it sends data from the keyboard. Slick.

Audio in and out chores are handled by pairs of 1/4" TRS jacks; both balanced and unbalanced connections are supported. The Photon slaves to your DAW's sample rate—as long as it's 44.1 or 48kHz. However, if you want 16 bits you're out of luck, because the Photon only passes 24-bit audio. If you do record at 16-bit resolution, the Photon simply chops off the last 8 bits rather than dithering them down to the lower resolution.

Many audio engineers feel truncating bits in this manner is a bad thing, but I'm not sure it's a problem for the Photon's users. I found the audio interface to be on a par with most other USB interfaces: it works, it sounds just fine, and it's dang convenient. If you want audiophile audio, use audiophile gear.

You'll need a mixer or preamp to use microphones, though I did plug in an electric guitar with no ill effects. Direct monitoring is available to compensate for latency, the amount of time it takes your software to process incoming audio and spit it back out. In other words, the Photon can pass the audio you're recording directly to the keyboard's hardware output, so you hear it without groove-squashing delay.

Wrap It Up

Kudos to Alesis for cramming so much functionality into such a small package. The Photon X25 would be a great choice for anyone building a studio around a laptop or in a limited space. Likewise, check it out if you use a lot of software instruments. Heck, check it out if you use software, period. In spite of its small size, the full sized keys and large wheels make it easy to use, and it has a rock-solid feel. If you've ever tweaked a virtual instrument, you'll love the hands-on approach. And the AXYZ controller is just too cool for words.

Oh sure, my usual gear curse kicked in: I went through three units in the course of this review. The good news is the problems were mechanical, easy to spot, and quickly rectified. Still, if you decide to buy one after reading this be sure you give it a thorough going over before the exchange date runs out.

Coolness: Have you any doubt? Three banks of 10 assignable knobs, 10 assignable buttons, and 20 preset locations. Full-size keys and glowing wheels. Plug-and-play USB audio and MIDI interfacing. Nice colors, too.

Not Cool: The presets don't work as advertised. There's no way to change the audio bit depth. There's no easy reset. Way not cool: The first unit I received had problems with the audio inputs; its replacement was also defective.

Surprisingly Cool: One word—AXYZ. Yow, this thing can be addictive. Okay, bonus coolness for the audio and MIDI interface, USB bus power (or battery) support, and the low price.

I'll give it four ice cubes. I'd have given it all five had I not encountered quality issues. It's that cool.

4 Cubes

Yep, the DD-55, EZ-AG, and Photon X25 are three surprisingly cool MIDI controllers. So stop reading and make some music already!

Product Info and Specs

Yamaha DD-55C Digital Percussion
List Price $299.95
Pads 7
Included Accessories Two assignable foot pedals
Sound Source General MIDI Compatible
Sounds 198 + 128 GM + 8 Drums
Songs 100 Preset, 1 User
Memory Up to 20,000 notes
Connectivity 1/4" TRS Headphone/Audio Out
  MIDI In/Out
  (2) Assignable Pedal Inputs
Speakers (2) 5W x 8cm
Power Supply Adapter (supplied) or batteries (6 "C" size)
Dimensions 55.8cm x 35.5cm x 17.4cm (W x D x H); 3.9kg

 

Yamaha EZ-AG Self-Teaching Electronic Guitar
List Price $349.95
Fretboard 12 frets (6 lighted); Virtual Capo
Strings 6 velocity sensitive
Songs 25 built-in songs and practice progressions.
Teaching Modes Chord Training (left hand), Strum (right hand) and Both
Sounds 20
Sound Source GM and Yamaha XF compatible
Tempo range 32–280 BPM
Connectivity MIDI In/Out; Headphones/Main out
Power Supply Adapter (supplied), or batteries
Speaker Built-in amplifier and speaker
Dimensions 86.3cm x 30.7cm x 8.1cm (L x W x D); 1.9 kg

 

Alesis Photon X25
List Price $299
Controls 25-key, velocity-sensitive keyboard with Pitch and Modulation wheels
  AXYZ Controller Dome with 3D control
  (10) endless knobs, (10) buttons, and (3) active layers for over 60 immediately accessible controls
  Expression and Sustain pedal inputs
Display 2x16 character LCD
Audio Interface 24-bit, 44.1/48kHz with balanced TRS stereo audio inputs and outputs
  Max Input: 19dBu /16.8dBV
  Max Gain: 30dB
  Max Output: 7dBV/9.2dBu
  SNR > 94dB (A-weighted) @ –1dBFS
  THD+N < 0.005% @ –1dBFS
Memory (20) editable, storable configurations
Power USB bus power, external 9VAC adapter (optional), or (4) C-size batteries
OS Support Windows XP and Mac OSX
Dimensions 18" x 9.5" x 3.5" (W x D x H); 4.0 lbs

 

MIDI Guitar 101

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) was designed for the on/off world of electronic keyboards. Press a key (or whack a drum pad) and you send data that says, "Play note such-and-such on channel so-and-so." (There are 16 MIDI channels.)

Take your finger off the key and you send a "Note Off" message. You add expression via velocity and—on some keyboards—pressure-sensitive membranes under the keys. ("The fool hit the key this hard...and now he's really pressing down harder!") Little wheels and knobs add pitch-bend, modulation, and other Control Change data to further shape the sound.

Contrast that with your average guitar. Not only are there multiple places to play each note, but string-bends, vibrato, slides, whammy-bar scoops, hammer-ons and pull-offs are essential to expressive playing. How do you translate all of that wonderful chaos into nice tidy MIDI?

The short answer is: it ain't easy. That's why MIDI guitar has always been somewhere on the fringe.

Historically there have been two main camps. On the one hand you marry some kind of pitch- and velocity-sensing technology, such Roland's popular GK pickups, to a real guitar or grab an off-the-shelf solution like the Brian Moore iGuitar. These instruments have the advantage of looking, feeling, and playing like guitars.

The downside is that pitch-to-MIDI conversion takes time, so there's always some built in latency. Worse, normal guitar techniques like rapid playing, aggressive attacks, multiple bends—even a string's natural overtones—can confuse the heck out of the circuitry; resulting in glitches, false triggers, missed notes, and other sonic mayhem. (After one particularly egregious flub some years back my drummer commented, "Nice sample of a piano dropped down a mine shaft.")

One way to avoid these problems is to build something that sort of looks like a guitar, and sort of plays like a guitar, but uses switches or some other technology to trigger the notes. The Yamaha G10 was but one of many such. The only contemporary guitar controller is the Starr Labs Ztar. That is, until the Yamaha EZ-AG and EZ-EG came along.

No matter which route you choose, playing a MIDI guitar controller takes getting used to. But the new sonic results may be worth it.

Links

Mark Nelson is both an acoustic musician and the author of Getting Started in Computer Music (Thomson Course Technology). He oscillates between Oregon and Hawaii, where he co-produces the Aloha Music Camp.

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