Alesis V49 | 49-Key USB MIDI Keyboard Controller with 8 Backlit Pads, 4 Assignable Knobs and Buttons, Plus a Professional Software Suite

EXCELLENT. I have only had this for just under a day and i knew it was a solid purchase right out of the box. What is important to note with this is that it is aimed at the music composer who wants to minimalize hardware as much as possible hence the alesis 's very small amount of features. but what it lacks in function it makes up for in build quality for sure. i traded my M audio oxygen 49, a keyboard which despite having 4 extra knobs, 9 sliders, transport controls and another feature or two, it just pales in comparison to the alesis V49's construction. The V49 has semi weight keys which feel so much more responsive, the 4 knobs are a little stiff but smooth and sit solid in the side panel, the pitch and mod wheels have a very firm slick feel for accuracy with added rubber coating for a nice grip, and the drum pads are SO MUCH BETTER then the oxygen's in terms touch and responsiveness. the assignable buttons and octave buttons are a little too clicky for my own taste but its a minor thing i can live with. The entire thing overall feels like it has weight yet simplicity with the controls sifted to the left side leaving room on your desk for your monitors or display. One of the biggest issues with controller keyboards today is having too many features for the sake of variety when we live in an age where software is king and can do so much more with the click of a mouse, and for me i prefer to keep most of my function and editing in the software and not the hardware. If you are one who wants a very straight to the point, no hassle, and very neat clean laid out keyboard then the alesis V series is for you. I have not tested the mapping software that comes with it, then again i never bother with it anyway because it can be a hit r miss situation setting things up. its easy to just plug it in and use your DAW's built in midi learn function as and when you need hands on editing done =)

This is one of the best MIDI keyboards I have purchased so far.Comparing this to the popular akai mini, it is much better in terms of quality, design and price. The keys are much thicker and smoother which is good for people who struggle to use smaller midi keyboards like myself. The touch pads are very responsive and reveals a soft touch. The Blue LED is quite bright which gives a futuristic look which will enhance your set up!Only problem, as it is much thicker and longer midi than the akai mini, it will be harder to pack in your bags and carry around for travel. However this is not a issue for me as I do not travel to studios with my midi.

A marked improvement over the Alesis Q25 which this purchase replaces. The Q25 feels cheap in comparison and the keys and their action on the V61 far exceed those on the Q25. The V61 appears pretty solid and well made and the key spacing and height is uniform on the whole with a couple of exceptions. Nothing that will annoy me. A couple of the keys have a slight squeak but keyboards in this price range usually do and it is nothing compared to what I experienced with the Q series of controllers or my very old Fatar SL-161. To be fair, the key action actually feels better than on some far more expensive 'quality' synths that I've used. So no issues with the quality of the product. The form factor suits me due to my restricted desk space so it's 'slim' form factor is a winner and one of the reasons I chose this model.In use I immediately checked the Firmware was bang up to date (it was) and using the V61 Editor I changed the keyboard sensitivity from 4 to 2 as is advised by many on the relevant online forums.Spent a good day messing about in Logic and I am very impressed with the positive action of the keyboard. The drum pads really do appear to suffer from double tap midi messages. However, I actually found this handy when doing snare rolls as it inadvertently put in the odd double hit which sounded quite good. To guarantee a single hit you must hit the pad fair and square in the middle but to trigger doubles try hitting near the corners. Believe it or not it actually works quite well and I was coming up with some interesting patterns. I really like the addition of the pads on the keyboard. This means I can get rid of my Akai pads and further minimise the amount of kit on my desk.So all in all a good product at this price point which exceeds my personal expectations.

This item is in a class of it's own. The key bed is no clackety (cheap feel to the keys). It also has arpreggio function (which is not usual in such a cheap keyboard). I am using with Roland cloud and it feels every bit as good as using a real bit of Roland hardware (bass synths). I have a studiologic sl88 and studiologic numa compact 2, and the quality of Alesis key bed is every bit as nice as the numa compact. I got this keyboard to stop my more expensive keyboard instruments from getting the keys wrecked by the keys getting slapped for bass synth noises. I thought I was getting a cheap keybed, but have got an excellent and robust and feature rich controller. I am a reaper user.

I bought this to get a 5 octave controller, having used another makes 4 octave product. One of the main features I wanted was that the pitch wheel was not sprung loaded, as all the Organ VST I have found, use the pitch wheel to control fast/ slow Leslie, and with certain makes, the spring means it will not stay on the selcted speed. A big feature I value, is that the Key size is Full Size width. Many Japanese keyboards are slightly thinner, and I use 2 keyboards (organ style) and they often don't line up with the lower Weighted Piano keyboard I use. Although this is not weighted, for the price this keyboard works well, and feels good.