My M-Audio Axiom 25 Midi keyboard Review

Using a MIDI Controller is a great experience! You can just plug it into your computer, load some software and you can compose your own music! They even offer you unparalleled versatility because you can even add sound effects and other instruments to your compositions! In short, you can control an entire band or orchestra with just a midi keyboard!

All this is great, but learning how to do all those cool things mentioned above can be a very intimidating task! Most advanced Midi Keyboard Controllers have like a million buttons, knobs and sliders on them, not to mention LCD screens and whatnot!

In other words, they look more like something out of a sci fi movie than a musical instrument!

So, I did a bit of research on the internet trying to find a good MIDI controller for beginners of hobbyists who just want to learn the basics or use just some of the great features of these fantastic machines! I think I found what I was looking for, it’s the Axiom 25 by M-Audio! Let’s find out why!

• The Midi Controller Keys

The M-Audio Axiom 25 is not even close to a full range keyboard! It only has twenty five keys, but at least they are semi-weighted and come complete with aftertouch which gives you great feel and expression for both synth parts and pianistic passages.

The fact that they’re semi weighted, means that the keys don’t bounce right back up after being depressed, but there’s a slight delay to help simulate the feel of the keys of a real piano! Twenty five keys may seem like too few, especially considering that a full range keyboard has 88 keys, but it’s perfect for an entry level MIDI Controller like this!

• M-Audio Axiom 25 Buttons and Sliders

On the M-Audio Axiom 25 Midi Controller, you will find eight rotary encoders that can be assigned to mixer controls and do stuff like panning or add various sound effects! They can even be assigned to any synth parameters that you want control over! You can also map the nine sliders to the software mixer faders or drawbars on your virtual organ that you can play with using your Midi Controller.

The Axiom 25 also has six buttons, pitch and mod control wheels, and you can also add sustain and expression pedals using the special, these however must be bought separately, which is a shame! Finally, there are also eight rubberized trigger pads that you can use to come up with your very own drum beats, using just your fingertips! They can also be used  for programming with feel or easy fire samples or even visual effects.You can get the Axiom 25 on sale here.

Assigning the MIDI controllers is extremely simple, but it’s also very important if you want to delve deeper into the amazing capabilities of the Axiom 25 MIDI controller! Each controller can be mapped map to just about any applicable parameter in the MIDI spec that you can come up with, including independent channel addressing for each of them. The possibilities are endless and limited only by your imagination!

• LCD Display

The M-Audio Axiom 25 usb MIDI controller keyboard features a large back lit LCD Display which will provide you with all the necessary visual feedback You’ll also find 9 dedicated front-panel function buttons that allow for easy access to common operations like preset / program change or MIDI channel +/-, octave +/-, and transpose +/-. You can use the Controller Mute button to prevent parameters from jumping when you change them, for example, then press Snapshot to transmit all current settings.

It also has 20 non-volatile memory locations that you can use to instantly save and load all your favorite presets which you can then manage on your computer using SysEx dumps and M-Audio’s free Enigma software editor/librarian for PC and Mac.

• Axiom 25 Midi controller Software

The M-Audio Axiom 25 comes bundled with some great music software! First there’s the Lite Version of  Ableton Live which delivers much of the functionality of the full  Ableton Live program! For those not in the know, it’s a revolutionary, music production software that has won multiple awards over the years, because it  allows you to spontaneously and effortlessly compose, record, remix, improvise and edit your music in a seamless audio/MIDI environment. Live brings all your acoustic, electronic and virtual instruments together in a single interface which is extremely easy to use!

Then there’s the Enigma and librarian software that you can download for free from M-Audio’s website. Enigma is a powerful software editor/librarian for Mac and PC that allows you to easily program, store and load setups for M-Audio and Evolution USB MIDI controllers. Enigma comes with a huge library of files for your favorite VST plug-ins, instruments and host apps. Programming is very simple and uses a drag and drop interface. With Enigma, your library of controller presets is virtually unlimited. You can find the Best Price for Axiom 25 Midi Controller through this link.

Unfortunately, there are a few drawbacks with this product!

First of all, like I mentioned above, the midi keyboard is only semi weighted which unfortunately doesn’t quite compare to what it feels like playing a real piano. Piano enthusiasts or trained pianists will definitely need some time to adjust and combined with the fact that the Axiom 25 only has twenty five keys, they might opt not to bother with it at all!

Also, at least a sustain pedal should have been included in the package! Furthermore, the preset library can only be accessed and managed by using M-Audio’s Enigma software! Sure, you get it for free, but If you don’t like it or you’re used to using other software that you actually, tough luck, you’re stuck with it! Pretty much like with iTunes and iPods…

Finally, I don’t like the fact that it’s USB powered! The USB ports of some PCs and most laptops, simply can not produce the amount of power necessary for USB powered products to operate! If that’s the case with your system, then you’re gonna have to buy a power adapter…

Where to buy and how much to pay for it

The M-Audio Axiom 25 MIDI Controller, should set you back around 260 dollars. More than that will be too much I guess… Finally, I think that the best place to get this is amazon.com! You can find many other user reviews and the cheapest prices for this and many other keyboards for sale through this link.

Affiliate Disclaimer
If you like my Midi Keyboard Controllers Reviews and think that is was helpful, then help me continue by offering your support. I am not asking for donations. Just buy the M-Audio Axiom 25 through this link here.

Axiom 25 | Korg Microkorg | M-Audio Axiom 49 | Akai apc40 | M-Audio Keystation 88es