M-Audio

swing of your choosing whilst the
pads feature ‘Note Repeat’, which is
a lot of fun. You can trigger repeats
and rolls for as long as you keep a
pad depressed or, in Latch Mode,
indefi nitely. The Oxygen Pro’s
feature-set is rich and you’ll need
time to recognise just how deeply it
can integrate with your DAW.
Both as a front-end for extended
functionality (accessing Pan dials
and Auxiliary sends, as well as
triggering key commands like Save
and Undo) and as a performance
instrument with tricks to inspire new
ideas, the Oxygen Pro fully deserves
its status as M-Audio’s new top-end
controller keyboard.
control and more. The keyboard is
both velocity and aftertouch sensitive
and feels pretty good; a little too
springy for my taste, but perfectly
playable. The pads, however, are
excellent – they respond musically to
varied playing pressure, with the
display updating to provide the most
recent velocity setting when tapped.
Pro-formance
But what really sets the ‘Pro’ apart is
its array of performance controls.
First come two new modes – Scale
and Chord – which switch the
keyboard out of a regular ‘chromatic’
piano voicing to facilitate
performances within particular keys
and scales. For instance, choose
‘Chord Mode’ and select C major and
you’ll fi nd playing the note ‘C’
triggers C, E and G – all three notes
of a C major chord. Press ‘D’ and
you’ll hear the chord of D minor,
which keeps the notes used (D, F, A)
within the scale of C major, making
it a complementary chord. Scale
Mode deliberately limits the notes
you can trigger to a scale of your
choice, eradicating ‘wrong’ notes.
You can choose one of M-Audio’s
voicings, or customise your own. The
onboard Arpeggiator generates MIDI
sequences at the rate, gate and
THE PROS & CONS
+
Chord and Scale
Modes for ‘foolproof’
musical alternative
playing styles
Arp and Note Repeat
Mode bring
sequences to life via
real-time
performance
Deep DAW
integration for all
leading DAWs and
generous software
suite included
-
The keyboard feels a
touch ‘light’ to play
Takes some getting
used to; lots of great
features will require
familiarity and plenty
of time with the
‘Shift’ button
FM VERDICT
8.9
The ‘Pro’ breathes new life
and inspiration into the
Oxygen range. Plus, despite
some neat tricks up its
sleeve, it’s still affordable
What really sets the
‘Pro’ apart is its array of
performance controls
F
or years, M-Audio’s
Axiom Pro-61 was my
controller keyboard of
choice. It blended
cost-effectiveness
with immediacy and,
at the time, its design
and functionality felt fresh and slick
too. Time passes and the Axiom Pro
is long gone – replaced by M-Audio’s
Oxygen range. So successful has this
series been that the current Oxygen
line-up is the fourth iteration of the
brand. However, having checked out
the features and design of some of
Oxygen’s competitors, M-Audio have
now returned to the drawing board
and now offer a ‘Pro’ range to sit
atop the Oxygen tree. These new
keyboards don’t replace the current
line-up but instead offer a more
feature-rich alternative.
Immediately, the design feels
classy; gone are the slightly rounded
edges and amber backlights of
Oxygen’s keyboards and in comes a
more square-edged, sleekly-designed
front panel. The 49-key review model
manages to pack 16 back-lit pads,
eight rotaries, nine short-throw
faders, an OLED display, a swathe of
buttons, plus pitch and modulation
wheels into its frame, without
anything feeling too cluttered. At the
back, the USB/MIDI connector
doubles as the bus power source,
alongside a regular MIDI Out port
and a Sustain pedal input. The
Oxygen Pro 49 is immediately
plug-and-play but to experience
deeper integration, follow the
specifi ed steps to connect it to your
software of choice to enjoy the
benefi ts of auto-mapping, transport
M-Audio Oxygen Pro 49 | Reviews
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FMU369.rev_maudio.indd 87 16/03/2021 16:55