M-Audio AXIOM 49 Advanced 49-Key Semi-Weighted USB MIDI Controller

 "It works well WHEN it works" 2009-12-28
By Barry Lovelace (Trinidad)
I bought my Axiom 49 on November 22 from Amazon... it worked fine up till December 26th... I was able to make a couple demos with it before the screen when blank and it stopped communicating with my laptop. This happened all of a sudden and all indications are (from the M-Audio forum) that this is a manufacture's defect. I am in the process of returning this item to Amazon for an exchange; I hope this process goes smoothly. I will let you all know how it goes!

Axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs

 "A pleasant surprise" 2009-11-30
By Laura C. Edwards (Indianapolis, IN)
I have been involved in leadership development for years. Read so many books by great authors. When I saw the words "Proverbs" in the subtitle, I almost did not buy it. I thought it would be one more of those marketing ploys in which books come from "compilations" of what was said a million times... but because of a recommendation from someone I deeply respect, I bought it. Wow. Refreshing. A hard word to describe books on the subject of leadership as so much is rehashed stuff. Not this one. Refreshing. Good. Great really. I highly recommend it. We gave it to our business executive coach (who has given us many good books on the subject). He was impressed and bought several for his clients and friends. If you are ready to put into practice what you have read, this book will give you great, simple, practical yet non-negotiable tools to practice TODAY. It also applies to any relationships.

Axiom 40-Litre Lasalle Front/Rear Pannier Set

 "Big and Well Made!" 2010-01-27
By Steven M. Bell (Onekama,MI)
These are by far the best value out there on front panniers.There are better but at three to four times the cost! I will stick with these as they are a lifetime product.I bought these for a cross contry tour and do they have room to spare.I am a single legged cyclist and need to carry more than the avarage person.With these on the front and the bigger Champlains on the rear I had plenty room.They are dependable never came loose or gave me any problems.With all the space in these I was able to put my things in color coded stuff sacks. I took out only what I needed each night.Which was a god send as I didn't have to go through everything to get at some thing at the bottom.I would recomend these to anyone looking for a great Pannier at any price.

M-Audio AXIOM 25-Key Semi-Weighted Keyboard USB MIDI Controller

 "Absolutely worth the price" 2010-05-17
By Sang Woo Im (Port Jeff Station, NY USA)
I use it with Logic Express. There is no extra installation step required. I just plugged in to a usb port. It worked perfectly. (Even though, I had to manually configure the some buttons and knobs in order for Logic Express to detect the input signals.) So far there's no problem!

M-Audio AXIOM 61 Advanced 61-Key Semi-Weighted USB MIDI Controller 9900-51413-10

 "Decent mid-range MIDI keyboard" 2010-01-18
By ShoppingSmart
Review of the M-Audio Axiom 61 (non-Pro model) keyboard after 1 month of use:

** See warning at end of this review **

1-star for semi-weighted velocity-sensitive keys.
1-star for having LOTS of controls to use.
1-star for having standard 5-pin MIDI in/out ports in addition to USB, sustain, and expression ports.

1/2-star (not possible with Amazon reviews) for pricing under 2-and-a-half bills with free super-saver shipping.

I would have given this a 4th star if the keys didn't stick. Yep, the reports are true! My particular keyboard has a China manufacture date of "JAN 13" printed right on the box. I don't know the year it was made but I think it's safe to assume that this unit was made in 2009, 11 months before I bought it new. ALL of the keys stick even after just a few minutes of non-use. The stickiness is more pronounced the longer the keyboard sits unused.

So, right before you start playing/recording you'll want to depress all of the keys to un-stick them. Go to YouTube and search "M-Audio Axiom 61 cheesy sticky keys" to see and hear an example of this problem.

I would have given this a 5th star if the 8 rotating knobs didn't have click stops and didn't rotate endlessly. I would rather use freely rotating knobs - without click stops - with a start and end point in the knob rotation. After all, every software DAW, sequencer, and instrument interface has rotatable knobs displayed with distinct start/end positions and no click stops. IMHO, it is necessary for hardware and software controls to have consistency between them.

This is my first MIDI keyboard and I did a lot of research before choosing the Axiom (non-Pro edition). I'm glad I bought this one as it looks like it should last for years in my home studio. No real regrets, just nitpicks on QC and knob design. Oh, and if you're debating between getting a 49-key or 61-key keyboard, get the 61. Trust me. Even with 61 keys I still find the need to transpose up/down on occasion. The Axiom's "transpose octave" control handles this very well, and I wouldn't buy a sub-88 key keyboard without it.

Oh, and get a sustain pedal. You'll definitely need one. I chose the M-Audio SP-1 US65000, which works just fine for me:[...]

WARNING:
The Axiom 25/49/61 contains lead (paint?). Same with the Axiom Pro. This is a fact noted in the downloadable user manual; "WARNING: This product contains chemicals, including lead, known to the State of California to cause cancer, and birth defects and other reproductive harm. Wash hands after handling."

Go to M-Audio's web site and search "Axiom User Guide" to get the PDF file for download. Anyone can download the manual.

Play it safe and educate yourself on the known health issues surrounding products that contain lead.

Axiom 27.85-Litre Seymour Pannier Set

 "Great Price, but doesn't attach very securely." 2010-05-27
By M. Beaumier (Riverside, CA)
I bought these pannier bags for shopping trips to the grocery store. The bags attach to a back bike rack via metal hooks that hang over the top of the rack. Then, behind the bags, there is a plastic D-ring attached to another hook on elastic, which you can wrap around the bike-rack to secure the bottom of the bag. Its low-tech, but works. The bags attach a bit loose, but you can knot the elastic, or wrap it around the bike rack for a tighter fit.

I have larger feet, and when I'm pedaling, the backs of my feet hit the bags, and because of the low tech attachments, they can fall off with a well-placed pedal-stroke. If you buy these bags, make sure that your rack has enough metal that you can place the bags further back on the rack from the crank.

If the grocery store were further away, the combination of my bike-rack, and these bags, would make for a really annoying trip.

The Zurich Axioms

 "I recommend this book to any beginner investor!" 2009-12-02
By N. Nguyen (Toronto, Canada)
I'm a beginner investor in real estate, and I'm self-taught in most of the things I do. This book is a good book, which I keep on my bed table together with other essential books of mine. I've read through it all and come back to it for reference once in a while. I recommend this book to other beginners!

Axiom Streamliner Road DLX Rear Rack Silver

 "not many options" 2010-04-30
By Charles R. Bloom (Seattle, WA United States)
If you want a rack and don't have proper mounting holes, this is one of only a few options.

It's not awesome. There's very little flexibility in how you mount it, and they don't ship much mounting hardware for you to adapt it. I wound up using some random plates and bolts I had as spares to make it fit. The slim size is annoying, you can't carry anything on top.

Only purchase as a last resort if normal racks won't work for you.

M-Audio Axiom Pro 49 Advanced 49-Key USB MIDI Controller with HyperControl Technology

M3 v3 Bookshelf Speaker - Boston Cherry