M-Audio KeyRig 49 ReviewsSweetwater Advice
Carson McClain
The M-Audio KeyRig 49 is an ideal controller for the live musician who wants to control his laptop. If you're running VI's in your DAW, running Mainstage or Garageband, you'll find that the KeyRig 49 is the perfect fit.
Customer Reviews
armand martinfrom napavalley'elk grove, ca October 26, 2012Music Background: hobbyist Happy Sweetwater customerCan't wait to do more with Sweetwater.
Juan Marcanofrom East Landing, MI USA July 21, 2012Music Background: Hobbyist A great midi controller for the price!!!I connected this midi controller to my Mac and I could play right away. The keyboard is very strong and will not let you down. It has a great design and it is quite accessible. If you are thinking about buying a midi controller for home recording, this is the one. It also works perfectly with Propellershead Reason. I use it to add orchestra and keyboard to my recordings. I recommend it 100%
M3 Metrofrom Memphis, TN. December 15, 2008Music Background: Recording Engineer, Sound Designer, Musician To the pointIt's sweet and to the point. The buttons and wheels feel GREAT! They have a, slight, rubberized grip to them. The keys feel good - just keep in mind the price when judging the keyboard. The M-Audio KeyRig VST synth is included. That was a nice surprise.That alone is worth 99 dollars.
Mikefrom Texas November 13, 2008Music Background: Recording Engineer, Pro Musician, Composser KeyRig 49Simply Amazing.....Best 99 bucks i ever spent.
Randyfrom Sherwood, AR September 3, 2008Music Background: Musician, Technician A Lot of Controller for the MoneyI was looking for a larger controller to use with Reason, and came across this one for a great price. I was hesitant to buy it since I was afraid it was too cheaply made to hold up to regular use, but it has done well. My old controller was an M-Audio Ozone that only had 25 keys, but also had a lot more bells and whistles that were never used. The Ozone was also a pain to setup in Reason and frequently needed to be tweaked. In my case I only needed a keyboard controller since I have better firewire interfaces for everything else.This one could not be more simple. 49 full size paddle style keys, Pitch Bend and Modulation Wheels, Octave Up/Down buttons and an onboard volume. The back panel is even more simple with a USB socket, Sustain pedal input, and an on/off switch. Power is through the USB connection, and it was immediately recognized by Reason. I've been through hundreds of patches now and can say I am thrilled by its performance. I am not a keyboard player so I don't know what I am missing on a full blown synth. The keys feel like the ones I had on a Roland Juno G that I sold because it was too bulky, and I had more sounds available on Reason. The keys velocity sensitive, and every key does what it should with a good touch for my attempts at playing it. The pitch and modulation wheels track well and evenly. My worry was that I would have latency issues with the USB connection, but, so far, I have been treated to perfect sounds. The Key Rig software is also great. I have had a lot of fun tweaking sounds to make them work the way I need them too. It actually took more time for me to setup the Keyrig software for this controller than it did setting it up with Reason 4 which surprised me. I have a lot more sounds to play with, and a lot more control over tonal parameters, in Reason 4, but Keyrig is really great standalone software too. If you just need great classic keyboard and piano sounds then the Keyrig software may be all you need to record or perform with. This is a great keyboard controller for a home studio style setup. You basically open your software and start playing. No delays are present on my dinosaur PC setup so it should be great on anything P4 or above. The case is all plastic and looks like it could easily crack with hard use so I don't recommend it if you have to travel or gig with it on the road regularly. It is outstanding for home use though, and the price is amazing for the quality you get. I give it 5 stars based on quality for the price. 
Kisonfrom Flint, Mi August 2, 2012Music Background: Music lover (old school RnB), hobbiest, vocalist Bang for the BuckFor the money the KeyRig 49 is great. It is Lightweight and simple to use. There isn’t a bunch of knobs and faders to learn to program. Instead you can start creating music right out the box.I have owned several full sized keyboards which were a pain to transport. A couple of them had very steep learning curves. One in particular had three manuals. It still is a great keyboard but, I spent months learning its functions and NOT making much music. I needed something simple and mobile. The KeyRig 49 fit the bill perfectly for me. It doesn’t get in the way of me creating music. Had a little trouble at first getting Reason 6.5.1 to recognize the volume fader but, one call to Sweetwater support got it working and I was like a kid with a new toy. It does what I needed it to do and more. Overall I am very satisfied with my purchase.
Richard Chapmanfrom July 23, 2012 M-Audio KeyRig 49Just right product for my needs. Simple straight forward MIDI keyboard without un-necessary features. Also at an excellent price at Gear Fest 2012.
Andrewfrom June 21, 2012Music Background: Recording Engineer Does the Job for a great price!Did everything it needed to do. I'd really recommend talking to a sales rep and asking questions before buying anything here. Getting to talk to someone gave me a lot of info on the product that wasn't listed. So I had a really clear idea of what exactly I was buying. This met my expectations 100%. The price was awesome too. Cheapest I saw it online.
Bill Robertsfrom Richmond, VA. May 25, 2012Music Background: 40 year Pro Player M Audio Key Rig 49I'm a guitarist and wanted a keyboard that was no extra trouble to bring to a gig. I wanted to plug it in to my iPad to use the keyboard sounds in Garage Band. The Key Rig 49 works perfectly, mounts on a mic stand percussion holder with a little Velcro, and is practically weightless. It requires no A/C cord since it runs on USB power and has just the right controls, sustain, octave up/down and mod wheel, all for $90. Sweet.
A.R.from June 17, 2011 Nicehis keyboard is awesome. This is my second keyboard, and so far iv'e had it for six months. the actual keyboard is the perfect- never lags, hasn't broken (yet) and looks as good as it did six months ago, but what i will say is that the program that comes with it is the worst thing i have ever used. It lags, doesnt start up, wont record, starts off with different defaults every times i use it, but i use pro tools anyway, so it doesnt matter. I also want to say that you can use the rock band kick drum pedal as a sustainer if you use a male/female adapter (yes, i am cheap). All in all, great piano, great price, awesome christmas present : )
JJfrom Santa Paula, CA February 26, 2011Music Background: Recording engineer Simple, EffectiveGreat little controller for the money. Of course, the features are basic and to the point (no weighted keys, plastic build), but for a mere $99 dollars it offers all the functionality of its older brothers (volume control, octave select, pitch bend, modulation wheel). Keep up the inexpensive gear M-Audio!!
from December 12, 2010 Amazing for the priceBrilliant product. I bought it to use with FL Studio 9 and Logic Express. It works brilliantly with both. The keys feel fine for a synth action, and the knobs function fine. The software didn't work on Windows 7, but I didn't actually care. A few more sliders would be nice: I think I'm in love with controlling with physical sliders now.
Tim Hallmanfrom Ontario Canada September 20, 2010Music Background: Pro Musician, music degree Love it except........I've used this for several years both live and in studio. I love the machine! - USB powered - so simple! However, M-audio dumbed it down in one respect i wish it hadn't - For live performance , it has no midi volume pedal connection. So....... playing any organ in a DAW, you can't control volume with your feet - like an organ. The sustain pedal will turn the Leslie on and off, the volume slider will control volume all-right - but not with your foot. I also owned the 88 note version which included the volume out, but it was a pain to drag around!!!!! So........ I'm looking for a compact keyboard with sustain AND volume out. PS - do not drop it. I would not call this unit 'rock solid'!!! It's cheap plastic.
from April 3, 2012 greattruly enjoy. great deal for the price
Rickfrom Spokane Wa. January 8, 2012Music Background: DJ Pretty GoodThe keyboard it'sself is great. The software....hmmmm.. too much trouble trying to get it to work with Vista. Ended up having to use other software.
Brian Sullivanfrom Minneapolis, MN May 25, 2011Music Background: Student Wonderfully Simple.Stripped down, economical, lean, effective midi control at it's finest. Pitch and mod wheels aren't in some ridiculous place. Like on the side. They're in the normal spot, thank god. Volume slider has a nice organic resistance to it. Keys are thin, basic and arrive with rough edges, but you only paid $100.I find the action kind of annoying at first, but it's alright once you get used to it. The resistance, instead of being consistent throughout the depression, gradually gets stronger, like it's on a curve. This bothered me a lot at first. Maybe all synth actions are like this. Who knows. But again, it's doing what I need it to do, without being bloated, convoluted or tacky, and the price to performance ratio is very good. 
S. Handyfrom Beanfield, MO August 3, 2012Music Background: tweaker, speaker, and info leaker One for the moneyI bought this on sale and I love it! I needed to move up from a 25 key without spending a lot. The KeyRig gives me the basic features that get the job done. Some cool software is included for a PC user. I use Mac so it was plug in and play for me. This works well in my home studio environment. Stuart and Sweetwater are the Best.
Eddiefrom Covina, CA August 24, 2012Music Background: Hobbyist Good for the moneyThis is a really good midi controller for someone on a budget. I just hope it lasts a long time.
Andy Mawsonfrom Cumberland. RI December 13, 2010Music Background: Hobbyist Musician Good Starter KeyboardMine has served me well over the past couple of years -- although mine cost me more than $99! I find now I'm growing out of it -- the keys have become uneven -- a cosmetic thing which does not effect playability and the action is a little light weight -- can't really go wrong though at $99 for a starter keyboard.
AKBfrom New York, NY USA October 23, 2008Music Background: Recording Engineer/Producer Decent Basic ControllerThe M-Audio KeyRig is a good basic controller for the entry-level user. It also serves a a great backup when you need a quick replacement/auxiliary controller. Not really feature rich, but it gets the job done. Decent keyboard feel/responsiveness, really good for college students to use in small dorm quarters (it's what I used!).
M-Audio KeyRig 4949-key USB MIDI Controller with Synth Action, Pitch and Modulation Wheels, Volume Slider, and Software 
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