M-Audio Oxygen 61 61-Key USB MIDI Controller

by M-Audio

Product Features

• bus-powered 61-key USB MIDI controller - east computer connectivity
• 8 assignable knobs, 9 assignable sliders - control DAW and virtual instrument parameters
• DirectLink mode - instant controller mapping to DAW functions
• dedicated transport and track slected buttons - streamlined session control

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 37 x 11 x 5 inches ; 10 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0030CIBFQ
• Item model number: Oxygen 61
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,434 in Musical Instruments (See Top 100 in Musical Instruments)
  • #29 in Musical Instruments > Recording Equipment > Computer Recording > MIDI Controllers

Product Description

The Oxygen 61 USB MIDI controller delivers next-generation functionality from M-Audio, the leading innovator in mobile music production technology. Oxygen 61 features eight assignable knobs and nine assignable sliders, plus dedicated transport and track select buttons. DirectLink mode automatically maps these controls to common DAW functions including transport, mixer, track pan and plug-in parameters. Built-in factory presets offer support for popular virtual instruments right out of the box—no complicated setup required. Velocity-sensitive keys and a sleek, compact design round out a portable keyboard that’s perfect for both production and performance. No other MIDI controller in this price range has so much functionality while remaining easy to use.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but there are a couple issues, December 28, 2010

By 

Joshua E. Hunsaker (Los Gatos, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: M-Audio Oxygen 61 61-Key USB MIDI Controller (Electronics)

This is really quite a decent controller. Velocity-sensitivity, sliders/knobs and transport controls, pitch-bend and mod wheel and good feeling keys with a 1/4" jack for sustain pedal. Definitely good feature set right off the bat. However, there are a couple things I'm not fond of.

1. No MIDI output jack - this device can only be used as a usb connection to the computer, you cannot use this with midi-based hardware (hardware synths, rackmount soundbanks, etc.) The usb driver is also a little finicky, requiring reinstallation on my windows system everytime I change the usb port it is plugged into (annoying).

2. Touch response is lacking - velocity sensitivity was actually much more refined on an old Yamaha PSR-220 that I owned. It's not totally wonky or unusable but there is definitely better to be had out there, even with adjustments via FL Studio response curve control for velocity input, it never responds very well to the lowest velocities.

3. Certain features are finicky - transport controls require MMC (MIDI machine control) to be sent to the host in the case it isn't setup to function right off the bat (integrates awesomely with Pro Tools supposedly, gee no surprise there I guess). Also, the pitch bend controller never works correctly on my setup.

4. Sustain pedal weirdness - depressing the sustain pedal doesn't by default send CC #64 message - it actually just tells the host to "hold" the note itself, which is obnoxious when trying to edit note data (screws up retriggering and you have to manually set the pedal to respond to CC64 for each individual instrument if there is a special function affected by the sustain pedal being held down).

It's usable however. Gets the job done. The sliders are pretty chintzy feeling (tons of 'give' to them, could see those snapping off real easy) and the knobs are so-so to decent. Supports a lot of advanced functions/programming but really it fails to nail the important things the way I would like so I can only give this 3 stars. It's a decent product for the money but don't expect it to knock your socks off.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good buy, May 16, 2011

By 

A. King (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: M-Audio Oxygen 61 61-Key USB MIDI Controller (Electronics)

Length:: 3:50 Mins

A review of the M Audio Oxygen61 MIDI keyboard and controller.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best MIDI Keyboard in This Price Range, March 31, 2010

By 

DCLXVI - See all my reviews

This review is from: M-Audio Oxygen 61 61-Key USB MIDI Controller (Electronics)

I paid $160 for this keyboard about a month or so ago. I'm not a keyboard player but I was looking for an easier way to lay down realistic sounding drum tracks. I run a PC based studio in my house using an HP Envy Laptop with Sony Acid Pro 7 as my DAW. I am able to control all the transport functions (i.e. stop, play, rec, etc.) via the keyboar as well as control the volume levels and panning for the first 8 tracks. I can configure the keyboard to do more but I haven't messed with these extra functions much beyond this. The keys are a little stiff but work well for what I primarily use it for. I'm not a piano player so I'm not sure how the keys would feel to someone who plays that is looking for a MIDI controller to use for this function. As I said, I use the keyboard to lay down drum tracks using Toontracks Drumkit From Hell and it works flawlessly. I am able to lay down complex drum tracks from 60 beats per minute to 300+ beats per minute almost effortlessly.

I recommend this keyboard to anyone that wants to add quality MIDI functionality to their setup for a small price.