Comments about M-Audio Axiom 61 USB MIDI Keyboard Controller:

I use this mainly for Reason 4, which it's great for once you download the update that adds fully integrated support for it. It looks very sleek and feels nice and solid (including the keys compared to non-weighted). 61 keys is the perfect size for me--just enough octaves to play comfortably with two hands and to access all the most-used notes without transposing, while easily fitting in my workspace. USB power means I only need one cable, which is always nice, and the MIDI input means I don't need a separate interface if I want to add a standard MIDI controller to my setup. It has a nice selection of controls, the trigger pads are fun to mess around with (although, admittedly, I don't use them often), and the transport section is a must-have. The control programming system is very powerful, but not very intuitive--you'll probably have to refer to the manual. That said, the 20 default presets cover most common applications with no hassle. The Pro version (which came out soon after I bought this) has a cooler mapping system but it's more expensive. My main complaint, though, is about the endless rotary knobs, which are useful for making precise adjustments because they click one unit at a time, but for the same reason useless for making larger adjustments quickly or smoothly for live recording or performance. I also wish it had at least 2 more trigger pads so I could trigger all of the drums in ReDrum, and of course more knobs and faders wouldn't hurt. Lastly, it would be nice if you could use the numeric and +/- buttons on the left as MIDI triggers.