I received a brand new Axiom Pro 25 from ebay for my small desk area. I sold most of my keyboard rack and I don't even use an analog mixer now. I'm 100% digital, so I need a good controller. The Axiom is a good looking keyboard. It fits solidly on the desk. The pad section is large and stable. The membrane buttons are pretty nice. Keys are semi-weighted but look like they are fully weighted. These remind me of Casio's current instruments. Its not piano action. This is sufficient for playing synth at any speed. If you play glissandos this isn't that great as the edges of the keys are a little on the sharper side, but you can still do it. Mod wheels are great. Knobs are OK but seem to vary in tightness or quality. The worst thing about this keyboard is that some of my black keys have spring noise. It feels cheap/inconsistent. I'm thinking about getting an different one because of this. The screen is OK and buttons a little confusing. Overall this one works better than the Novation SL in the software arena, however it does have the same problem as the Novation where it will stop working after I sleep my computer. At least its easy to reboot. This keyboard is power effecient. It draws power to light the LED screen when my computer is asleep, but its not enough that it keeps my rocketfish green power strip switched on. Another annoyance is the front bevel shape sticks out a bit and the keys are recessed quite a bit. This one will save you hours of time in setup compared to Novation, even with a slightly confusing button interface. I got the hang of it after 3 hours, whereas with the novation I was still trying to learn it after a week (and gave up). Overall this works fine, but I fear I paid too much new for the underlying quality. The spring noise gives me pause. We'll see how it compares against an MPK25. At least I'm back to making music again.
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