Review of “CAKEWALK A-500S MIDI keyboard controller”

[sportbilly]

1. How much you paid for the unit:
-> $226 value... (well, I don’t live in states)

2. How long have you had it:
-> Just over a week...

3. Rate it on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the best.
-> Between 8 and 9... Why not 10? Well, there is no perfect equipment in my opinion

4. Things you like about it
-> Size... it’s 18.4 cm (7-1/4 inch) deep, so it fits nicely between the PC monitor and PC keyboard.
-> Nice feel and response
-> No extra faders, knobs and other stuff – I really do not need them
-> My Alesis guitar volume pedal works perfectly as an expression pedal
-> You get some (more) “free” software (Production Pack Plus)

5. Things you don't like about it.
-> Well, it has “side panel connections for streamlined routing” but they are on the wrong side for my setup.
-> An US costumer might not like that Zzsounds does not have it.

6. Anything else you wish to add...
I am not a keyboard player, but it’s a nice small unit, must have... to play all the virtual instruments and kill some time.
Works perfectly with Windows XP (sp3) and integrates with Cubase (ver 5) with no problem

[_controlfreak]

Thanks for the review, sportbilly! That is a neat-looking, compact controller. Too bad about the wires coming out the wrong side; I ran into that moving my screens around a few weeks ago; now I have electrical cables running across the desk.

I like how there's almost no shell above the keys. The controller I use now has metal that's longer than the keys themselves. Since the wires also come out the top, the total depth front to back of this thing is almost 20" (51cm)

Thanks again for the review! I wonder if it's an Edirol controller in a Cakewalk shell. It looks like it could be.

[GlassPrison68]

Wow. I was just about to start asking about this exact controller. I've been looking for a cheap compact controller to sit on my desk. I bought an Alesis Q49 a week ago. Loved the size of it, but it performed horridly. The sensitivity on some keys was done right awful. One of the keys took way to much effort to send a signal, while the next was super sensitive. It went back the next day.

I was thinking about the CME M-key, but now I don't think that'll be the route I'll take. If the A-500 is as good as you say it is, then it's worth the extra bucks. Plus, I haven't heard good things about CME's customer support.

Thanks for the review.

By the way, Zzounds does have the controller: http://www.zzounds.com/item--CAKA500S