M-Audio Hammer 88 - Premium 88-Key Piano-Style Hammer-Action USB/MIDI Keyboard Controller Including Software Suite for Mac & PC

Product Information

M-Audio’s new Hammer 88 is an affordable, fully-weighted, hammer-action keyboard for professional and semi-pro players or students looking for a realistic grand piano feel to use with virtual instruments or sound modules.

With Smart Chord activated, pressing a single key or pad will play a full chord rather than just one note. The key or pad you press will determine the root note in the chord. The rest of the chord’s properties (major, minor, etc) are determined by the settings you choose. Smart Chord also has a Custom Mode that lets you determine the chord structure that will be assigned to each key by manually playing it. For example, if you select Custom Mode, and play a 1-b3-5-b7 chord, every key will then be assigned to play this chord structure. The note of the key you press will serve as the root of the chord and all of the parameters can be edited right on the Hammer 88 Pro!Built into the Hammer 88 Pro are features that are essential to creating modern pop, electronic, hip hop, and dance music. Note Repeat and the built-in Arpeggiator open up a world of precise music production and live sound techniques to make your music sound professional.

The Hammer 88 Pro comes with four pedal inputs for sustain, soft, footswitch, and expression. It has USB Type-B to connect to your computer as well as MIDI in/out. The Editor - The software editor for adjusting the settings is plain and simple to use, but also gives the options to adjust the velocity curve (although better done in your VST settings), functions, and zones of the controller.

From studio to stadium

There aren’t too many options if you want 88 hammer-action keys, pads, faders; the whole works. But, if you can be a little flexible, here are a few options you might like. Hammer 88 Pro vs Arturia KeyLab 88 Mk2 You get three vintage keyboard instruments; Velvet (electric piano), Mini Grand, and DB-33 Hammond Organ. The Hammer 88 Pro offers a solid mix of productivity-enhancing features and an authentic piano experience. Arpeggiator It's definitely five stars for quality: it's _very_ well made, as others have noted; the standard of construction seems extremely high. I've only had it for a week - so time will tell - but I expect it to last for a long time. Utilise 8 assignable buttons and knobs for precise control over mix plugins, DAW parameters and virtual instruments.