@@liezelmeyer6186 I haven’t played a Sanchez, but the keybed on the M-Audio feels more real than the Korg, Roland, Alesis, Yamaha and Casio boards I tried under $2K. You have to spend a good chunk to get appreciably better feel, and then you probably are giving up the beat pads and draw bars for a dedicated digital piano at that point. I’m not sure straight up MIDI controllers get better at any price.
This controller looks like my best shot at an all rounder 88 key keybed (plugin synths, not just piano duties) that has enough onboard controls to increase MIDI performance & dynamics capture (Hi Spitfire), and BOOM aftertouch. I hope this is less mushy of a feel than the Arturia Keylab...
Thanks for the video. Everything I needed to know nicely packed into a 20-minute video. Trying to find the Editor drove me nuts, I looked for it on the website like a Neanderthal 😂 Anyway, KUDOS to you. Nice job. 👋 Now it's time to play with my Hammer 88 Pro 🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹
Any thoughts on how this keyboard compares to the NI Komplete Kontrol S88. I already ordered my NI KK, but am feeling like I made a mistake and should get this instead? I keep seeing discussions about the KK having problems with loud key noises and the keybed being too stiff. Also love the faders, knobs and drum pads on this, though I wish the faders etc were endless encoders.
Great insight and very helpful 😁 Very interesting that you’re a ProTools guy, when pads, faders and encoders typically support DAW control surfaces in Logic and Ableton. I still think of ProTools as a studio standard, not a producer/composer’s DAW. If I worked as a studio engineer I’d buy Cubase, StudioOne or ProTools but as a creator Logic, Ableton and FL Studio seem better. I bought a Novation LaunchKey MK3 because the faders are just way better, the pads more responsive and the integration with Logic exceeded what m-audio offers out-of-the-box. But, the m-audio key hammer action is excellent!
Thanks for all the good reviews! I just have a quick question for everyone here before I decide to get the M-Audio Hammer 88 Pro: can this midi controller be integrated into Cakewalk without any problems?!
@@RioYugo Keylab (non Esssntial model) is an absolute professional MIDI "workstation". It is very different from this M Audio, which although seems great, is definitely on the budget side of the coin.
@@andesneko It is essentially as professional as Arturia's MK2. It is cheaper because M-Audio stuff is always competitive with their pricing. Though I'd buy the Arturia because the M-Audio isn't available here.
I have a Nord Electro 4D that I use for both piano and organ onstage. However, it's difficult to switch back and forth in the middle of a song and sometimes I need to use other synth sounds on the Nord. Been looking for a second keyboard I can dedicate to just, say, piano. This looks like one that may work but since I play onstage, did you say the sounds can be downloaded to the m-Audio from the software? I don't want to have to lug or connect a computer onstage.
I know this video is older, perhaps you will see this question? I am currently debating between this M-Audio Hammer Pro 88 or the Studiologic SL88 Studio. I will look through your videos to see if you have reviewed the SL88. If you are familiar with it which of the two do you prefer. I understand the M-Audio has more options as a controller. I am more interested in playability. Which is more piano like? Which one do you prefer?
I owned the SL88 Studio for a couple of years. I did not like the Fatar keybed and rarely played the SL88 Studio. The Hammer 88 Pro has much better action and is a joy to play compared to the SL88 Studio. StudioLogic just upgraded their Fatar keybeds with their Numa series. I would stay away from the older Fatar keybeds - especially the SL88 Studio.
Hi. Working with Cubase, if i assign f.e. fader 1 to track 1, can i use it online for volume, or for every cc i want (f.e. CC11, expression)? And....the 8 faders do have only 1 bank, or more than 1? Many thanks. 😊
I've been looking into this keyboard quite some time. To me it clearly seems like one of the better options under $1000. Probably THE best one if you're like me, producing both some EDM genres and genres that require more precision in the piano playing. I have one concern though. It is listed with the dimensions: Dimensions (W x H x D): 142.2 x 12.7 x 28.3 cm. But I really wonder how the height is measured. Does the height include the knobs? If not, I assume they might add like 1 cm to the height, which happens to be important to me since I'm planning on using it on a pull-out tray.
Hi Sherri, yes, it should work fine with Mainstage! Mainstage is pretty configurable and you should be able to easily assign it to the controls on the Hammer 88 Pro.
I’m presently programming the M Audio Hammer to operate Digital Performer from inside performer but Hammer is transmitting the same midi event for two separate functions. I’m sure there must be a way of changing the midi event for one of them inside the Hammer but haven’t figured it out. Help.
@@DSoundman I've been playing around with them since mine arrived yesterday. The editor is a wee bit counter-intuitive when you try to assign zone functions to the pads. I was trying to do a simple zone enable/disable using the pads as a toggle. No success so far! Using the sliders for now to send cc7 (volume). My old keystation 88 pro had dedicated buttons for this kind of thing. :)
Thanks, very informative review. If using this controller in a live performance scenario are you limited to the 16 presets for the keybed zones or can you store more, like as many as you'd need in a set list? And does the device respond to MIDI program change messages itself so you could change the zones from an external source?
Would you say that you can learn piano on this? Obviously I need to use sounds from my computer. I'm trying to decide between this or a digital Kawai es110 piano. I was going to go with the Kawai but since it doesn't have pitch mod wheel it's not ideal when I compose on my PC and I can't find an external pitch mod wheel as a standalone device.
Yeah, I would say so! Even though you’d have to use the sounds on the computer, you’ll have something that you can grow with and that’s capable of doing a lot more than a digital piano.
I’m leaning towards getting this more then NI because of the price although the NI Komplet Kontrol comes with sounds it’s pricey. I’d rather just get the hard drive version and get the M-Audio get more for the same amount of money.
If you plan to use NI as your main source of virtual instruments, I've heard the NI controller is pretty slick, but outside of that, it sounds like it's not as versatile as the Hammer 88 Pro. I use Komplete Select (planning to upgrade soon) all the time and find the Hammer 88 Pro controls them fine. For example, I like the faders on the Hammer 88 Pro and that's something the NI controller is missing.
Hammer keys are just for feel or can it help to create different sound (not just volume) like a real piano when pressed softer or harder? My understanding is that it's your software that produces sound then what role hammer keys play except for the feel of real piano keys? As far as sound is considered, same sound can be produced from same software or sound plugin using semi-weighted or not at all weighted keys. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Technically, you can produce the same sound using any kind of keyboard, but, practically, using weighted keyboard you can control velocity of sounds much easier (you can be more expressive). Beside, people who play regular piano, do have similar feeling (when playing on graded hammer action keys) as when playing a piano (an instrument constructed in such way that each key produce different feeling while playing, due to its construction).
@@max5250 Thanks for the response. I was going for Hammer 88 Pro but this is South Africa. Everything is not readily available or always unavailable or has to wait for 2 - 3 months, so I got Nektar LX88+ which has semi-weighted keys. But 2 weeks before that I bought a Nektar GX61 which has synth keys. After playing both I can say semi-weighted keys give better feel and control while playing piano to produce desired sound. I am sure fully-weighted keys would have given better experience. But right now I am happy with LX88+. I think keyboards like GX61 are not for learning / playing piano but good for producing music which needs synth action. In order to produce the same sound as piano on a software, you have to press the synth keys differently than the way it is pressed on weighted keys. And I think that's not good because while playing piano (playing simple notes as I am learning) on GX61 my whole arm and in joints in arm and shoulder were hurting, or maybe it was just that my fingers and arm are different :P. After doing some Google I found this does happen and may lead to tendinitis. So, I immediately got LX88+ and it don't hurt while playing on it. But anyway, thanks again for the response. I really appreciate it.
am having trouble with the oxygen pro 61, I'm trying to map it to mainstage controls but some sliders are some how linked with the drumpads, so i can't map the drumpads, how do i fix this, please help me out 🙏
Hi there! It may be that either the MIDI channel is the same on both the slider and the drumpad and it's somehow conflicting? That's the only thing I can think of. While I've used Mainstage a few times, I'm not an expert in it. To me it sounds like there's something in Mainstage that's not set quite right.
@@DSoundman actually i tried to change the midi channel on mainstage but when i choose for instance channel 2 for the drum pads then its like they disappear from the work station (they won't be recognized anymore)
now i want to try what you taught of recent on changing the midi channel on the oxygen pro drum pads under the edit, but i still don't know if i can be able to edit the midi channel after selecting my DAW, because you had said it's done under preset edit , is it still possible under DAW edit?
Great video!!! I do not recommend to just use the usb to feed the hammer 88 is going to drain your battery faster if is not connected, but also using a cable for your hammer 88 is going to help the life of your computer, by the way you going to need a 9v adapter to feed your hammer 88.
Hi! I noticed during testing in a shop, that this (pro) version of Hammer 88 has an issue with pitch bend wheel: it has some kind of latency/delay - when I was playing a fast melody and trying to make (or do?) fast slides on notes (i.e. guitar or synth glides) it was very sluggish. I couldn't achieve proper effect on individual notes. It seems this model has communication trouble. What is interesting: I compared it side to side with Hammer 88 without "pro" and the pitch bend wheel in that model worked completely different - no delay/latency, the reaction to moving the wheel was instant, just like in my synth-action keyboard. Anybody noticed the same thing? I was almost ready to buy Hammer 88 Pro, but when I encountered this problem.... Oh nooo - unacceptable! What is more - the same problem appeared in another shop with this model so it is not just one item. :(
M-Audio recently came out with a firmware update for the Hammer 88 Pro with improvements to the pitch and mod wheels. I have yet to install it, but I know it fixed my Oxygen 25's pitch slowness and I assume it was the same issue so I would expect it to be fixed now on the Hammer 88 Pro as well!
@@DSoundman I'd be grateful if you test it and let know if it works. BTW I encountered another problem while testing: in the NON Pro version of Hammer 88 I couldn't send any settings from preset editor software to the keyboard. An error occured, as if the keyboard wasn't connected to my laptop. Even though there were no problems to use it in FL Studio. When I connected Hammer 88 for the first time with USB cable, Windows automatically found it and installed proper drivers, so I have no idea, what caused the problem with preset editor... I'm afraid that the same problem may occur with preset editor with Hammer 88 Pro. And as I know, there is no way to check it before buying the keyboard, because if you want to download the preset editor you have to register your hardware first... It's ridiculous :( If only I were sure these two issues can be solved (pitch bend reaction and sending presets from software to hardware) I would buy Hammer 88 Pro at once. But now it is to much risk...
I risked and bought it. Evetything fine. But firmware update was necessary to solve the issue with pitchbend latency. Now it's reaaaaally damn fun to play, comparing to synth-action keybed I had before! I love it's dynamics amplitude and its low noise (other keyboards were too heavy or "clunky" for me). :))
Great job M-Audio. I just ordered mine. I love the scales and chords features.
Best walkthrough of this keyboard I have ever seen! Thank you!
Just ordered one of these as an upgrade to my 10 year old Keystation 88. Looking forward to real hammer action with after touch.
Did it arrive yet, and how does it feel??. i have a Sanchez and i don't you are familiar with the model.
@@liezelmeyer6186 I haven’t played a Sanchez, but the keybed on the M-Audio feels more real than the Korg, Roland, Alesis, Yamaha and Casio boards I tried under $2K. You have to spend a good chunk to get appreciably better feel, and then you probably are giving up the beat pads and draw bars for a dedicated digital piano at that point. I’m not sure straight up MIDI controllers get better at any price.
@@modelcitizen1977 thank you for the information God bless🙏🏻
This controller looks like my best shot at an all rounder 88 key keybed (plugin synths, not just piano duties) that has enough onboard controls to increase MIDI performance & dynamics capture (Hi Spitfire), and BOOM aftertouch. I hope this is less mushy of a feel than the Arturia Keylab...
The Arturia Keylab is seductive to look at and useless in practical use. It doesn’t have any useful chord or scales features and it’s twice the price.
Thanks for the video. Everything I needed to know nicely packed into a 20-minute video. Trying to find the Editor drove me nuts, I looked for it on the website like a Neanderthal 😂 Anyway, KUDOS to you. Nice job. 👋 Now it's time to play with my Hammer 88 Pro 🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹
Awesome, thanks!!
Thanks for the vid
Great review!
Any thoughts on how this keyboard compares to the NI Komplete Kontrol S88. I already ordered my NI KK, but am feeling like I made a mistake and should get this instead? I keep seeing discussions about the KK having problems with loud key noises and the keybed being too stiff. Also love the faders, knobs and drum pads on this, though I wish the faders etc were endless encoders.
Great insight and very helpful 😁 Very interesting that you’re a ProTools guy, when pads, faders and encoders typically support DAW control surfaces in Logic and Ableton. I still think of ProTools as a studio standard, not a producer/composer’s DAW. If I worked as a studio engineer I’d buy Cubase, StudioOne or ProTools but as a creator Logic, Ableton and FL Studio seem better. I bought a Novation LaunchKey MK3 because the faders are just way better, the pads more responsive and the integration with Logic exceeded what m-audio offers out-of-the-box. But, the m-audio key hammer action is excellent!
Blessings bro thanks for the video
Thanks for all the good reviews! I just have a quick question for everyone here before I decide to get the M-Audio Hammer 88 Pro: can this midi controller be integrated into Cakewalk without any problems?!
Thank you for the review! Is there a way to disable the LED lights?
Yes it is. You can customize every pad through the M-Audio app Preset Editor.
@@corinasechelariu1307 Thank you.
M-Audio Hammer 88 Pro vs arturia keylab 88 MkII wich one you recomend ??
Anyone who can, please answer this! My exact dilemma!!!!
@@RioYugo Keylab (non Esssntial model) is an absolute professional MIDI "workstation". It is very different from this M Audio, which although seems great, is definitely on the budget side of the coin.
@@andesneko It is essentially as professional as Arturia's MK2. It is cheaper because M-Audio stuff is always competitive with their pricing. Though I'd buy the Arturia because the M-Audio isn't available here.
Apparently the key action seems much better in M Audio but its knobs are not endless plus its bigger having the mod wheel at its left
I have a Nord Electro 4D that I use for both piano and organ onstage. However, it's difficult to switch back and forth in the middle of a song and sometimes I need to use other synth sounds on the Nord. Been looking for a second keyboard I can dedicate to just, say, piano. This looks like one that may work but since I play onstage, did you say the sounds can be downloaded to the m-Audio from the software? I don't want to have to lug or connect a computer onstage.
I know this video is older, perhaps you will see this question?
I am currently debating between this M-Audio Hammer Pro 88 or the Studiologic SL88 Studio. I will look through your videos to see if you have reviewed the SL88. If you are familiar with it which of the two do you prefer. I understand the M-Audio has more options as a controller. I am more interested in playability. Which is more piano like? Which one do you prefer?
Unfortunately I haven't played the SL88, so I'm not able to provide any feedback. Maybe someone else can weigh in that has played both?
I owned the SL88 Studio for a couple of years. I did not like the Fatar keybed and rarely played the SL88 Studio.
The Hammer 88 Pro has much better action and is a joy to play compared to the SL88 Studio.
StudioLogic just upgraded their Fatar keybeds with their Numa series.
I would stay away from the older Fatar keybeds - especially the SL88 Studio.
@@hodshonf thank you for the reply. I went with the Hammer 88 Pro. I love it. I found the Fatar to be kinda squishy. The Hammer 88 Pro I very nice.
Hi. Working with Cubase, if i assign f.e. fader 1 to track 1, can i use it online for volume, or for every cc i want (f.e. CC11, expression)? And....the 8 faders do have only 1 bank, or more than 1? Many thanks. 😊
I've been looking into this keyboard quite some time. To me it clearly seems like one of the better options under $1000. Probably THE best one if you're like me, producing both some EDM genres and genres that require more precision in the piano playing. I have one concern though. It is listed with the dimensions: Dimensions (W x H x D): 142.2 x 12.7 x 28.3 cm. But I really wonder how the height is measured. Does the height include the knobs? If not, I assume they might add like 1 cm to the height, which happens to be important to me since I'm planning on using it on a pull-out tray.
M-audio Hammer 88 or komplete kontrol s88 or arturia keylab 88 mk2, which is the best?
So want this! I am assuming this would work well with MainStage.
Hi Sherri, yes, it should work fine with Mainstage! Mainstage is pretty configurable and you should be able to easily assign it to the controls on the Hammer 88 Pro.
20:09 it was helpful. Had to rewind a couple of times because I just bought it.
I’m presently programming the M Audio Hammer to operate Digital Performer from inside performer but Hammer is transmitting the same midi event for two separate functions. I’m sure there must be a way of changing the midi event for one of them inside the Hammer but haven’t figured it out. Help.
Thanks for the video - very informative! Did you get round to making your video on Zones?
Thanks! No, I haven’t gotten to that one yet...hopefully soon!
@@DSoundman I've been playing around with them since mine arrived yesterday. The editor is a wee bit counter-intuitive when you try to assign zone functions to the pads. I was trying to do a simple zone enable/disable using the pads as a toggle. No success so far! Using the sliders for now to send cc7 (volume). My old keystation 88 pro had dedicated buttons for this kind of thing. :)
I don’t have a piano. I am going to learn to play piano. Would this be a good way to go? Thanks
Thanks, very informative review. If using this controller in a live performance scenario are you limited to the 16 presets for the keybed zones or can you store more, like as many as you'd need in a set list? And does the device respond to MIDI program change messages itself so you could change the zones from an external source?
Can you play drums on those pads?
Would you say that you can learn piano on this? Obviously I need to use sounds from my computer. I'm trying to decide between this or a digital Kawai es110 piano. I was going to go with the Kawai but since it doesn't have pitch mod wheel it's not ideal when I compose on my PC and I can't find an external pitch mod wheel as a standalone device.
Yeah, I would say so! Even though you’d have to use the sounds on the computer, you’ll have something that you can grow with and that’s capable of doing a lot more than a digital piano.
@@DSoundman thanks for your reply 😊. Great information!
I’m leaning towards getting this more then NI because of the price although the NI Komplet Kontrol comes with sounds it’s pricey. I’d rather just get the hard drive version and get the M-Audio get more for the same amount of money.
If you plan to use NI as your main source of virtual instruments, I've heard the NI controller is pretty slick, but outside of that, it sounds like it's not as versatile as the Hammer 88 Pro. I use Komplete Select (planning to upgrade soon) all the time and find the Hammer 88 Pro controls them fine. For example, I like the faders on the Hammer 88 Pro and that's something the NI controller is missing.
Any problem with hanging/stuck notes? A couple of other reviewers had this issue.
Nope, no problems so far! I’ve used it extensively with both USB and 5-Pin MIDI connection.
Hammer keys are just for feel or can it help to create different sound (not just volume) like a real piano when pressed softer or harder? My understanding is that it's your software that produces sound then what role hammer keys play except for the feel of real piano keys? As far as sound is considered, same sound can be produced from same software or sound plugin using semi-weighted or not at all weighted keys. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Technically, you can produce the same sound using any kind of keyboard, but, practically, using weighted keyboard you can control velocity of sounds much easier (you can be more expressive).
Beside, people who play regular piano, do have similar feeling (when playing on graded hammer action keys) as when playing a piano (an instrument constructed in such way that each key produce different feeling while playing, due to its construction).
@@max5250 Thanks for the response. I was going for Hammer 88 Pro but this is South Africa. Everything is not readily available or always unavailable or has to wait for 2 - 3 months, so I got Nektar LX88+ which has semi-weighted keys. But 2 weeks before that I bought a Nektar GX61 which has synth keys. After playing both I can say semi-weighted keys give better feel and control while playing piano to produce desired sound. I am sure fully-weighted keys would have given better experience. But right now I am happy with LX88+. I think keyboards like GX61 are not for learning / playing piano but good for producing music which needs synth action. In order to produce the same sound as piano on a software, you have to press the synth keys differently than the way it is pressed on weighted keys. And I think that's not good because while playing piano (playing simple notes as I am learning) on GX61 my whole arm and in joints in arm and shoulder were hurting, or maybe it was just that my fingers and arm are different :P. After doing some Google I found this does happen and may lead to tendinitis. So, I immediately got LX88+ and it don't hurt while playing on it. But anyway, thanks again for the response. I really appreciate it.
@@niteshapte
You’re welcome.
am having trouble with the oxygen pro 61, I'm trying to map it to mainstage controls but some sliders are some how linked with the drumpads, so i can't map the drumpads, how do i fix this, please help me out 🙏
Hi there! It may be that either the MIDI channel is the same on both the slider and the drumpad and it's somehow conflicting? That's the only thing I can think of. While I've used Mainstage a few times, I'm not an expert in it. To me it sounds like there's something in Mainstage that's not set quite right.
@@DSoundman actually i tried to change the midi channel on mainstage but when i choose for instance channel 2 for the drum pads then its like they disappear from the work station (they won't be recognized anymore)
now i want to try what you taught of recent on changing the midi channel on the oxygen pro drum pads under the edit, but i still don't know if i can be able to edit the midi channel after selecting my DAW, because you had said it's done under preset edit , is it still possible under DAW edit?
Yes, it’s still possible in DAW mode as well...if I were you I’d give that a shot!
@@DSoundman oh my goodness it worked, 🙏🙏 thank you sir
Is any1 able to tell me THE EXACT distance from the very bottom (including small legs if there are) to the very top of the white keys? Thanks
How do pedals work with this
Seems like a great controller, but that screen size is just unacceptable. Was the idea to make it as small as possible?
Great video!!! I do not recommend to just use the usb to feed the hammer 88 is going to drain your battery faster if is not connected, but also using a cable for your hammer 88 is going to help the life of your computer, by the way you going to need a 9v adapter to feed your hammer 88.
Big Sur Big Sur working OK so far??????????
So far it’s been awesome! Build quality is great so I don’t anticipate any problems either!
Hi! I noticed during testing in a shop, that this (pro) version of Hammer 88 has an issue with pitch bend wheel: it has some kind of latency/delay - when I was playing a fast melody and trying to make (or do?) fast slides on notes (i.e. guitar or synth glides) it was very sluggish. I couldn't achieve proper effect on individual notes. It seems this model has communication trouble. What is interesting: I compared it side to side with Hammer 88 without "pro" and the pitch bend wheel in that model worked completely different - no delay/latency, the reaction to moving the wheel was instant, just like in my synth-action keyboard. Anybody noticed the same thing? I was almost ready to buy Hammer 88 Pro, but when I encountered this problem.... Oh nooo - unacceptable! What is more - the same problem appeared in another shop with this model so it is not just one item. :(
M-Audio recently came out with a firmware update for the Hammer 88 Pro with improvements to the pitch and mod wheels. I have yet to install it, but I know it fixed my Oxygen 25's pitch slowness and I assume it was the same issue so I would expect it to be fixed now on the Hammer 88 Pro as well!
@@DSoundman I'd be grateful if you test it and let know if it works. BTW I encountered another problem while testing: in the NON Pro version of Hammer 88 I couldn't send any settings from preset editor software to the keyboard. An error occured, as if the keyboard wasn't connected to my laptop. Even though there were no problems to use it in FL Studio. When I connected Hammer 88 for the first time with USB cable, Windows automatically found it and installed proper drivers, so I have no idea, what caused the problem with preset editor... I'm afraid that the same problem may occur with preset editor with Hammer 88 Pro. And as I know, there is no way to check it before buying the keyboard, because if you want to download the preset editor you have to register your hardware first... It's ridiculous :( If only I were sure these two issues can be solved (pitch bend reaction and sending presets from software to hardware) I would buy Hammer 88 Pro at once. But now it is to much risk...
Strange... The Pitch bend and mod wheel works really well for me. I've had it for about 6 months and had no problems. The best midi keyboard ever.
@@corinasechelariu1307 The problem is solved - firmware update actually ended that issue. I agree - it's really good keyboard for the money! :)
I risked and bought it. Evetything fine. But firmware update was necessary to solve the issue with pitchbend latency. Now it's reaaaaally damn fun to play, comparing to synth-action keybed I had before! I love it's dynamics amplitude and its low noise (other keyboards were too heavy or "clunky" for me). :))
Guys don't u all think the keys are very clunky sound
🎹🔁🔨⚙👀🆗😁
Una prova senza suonare neanche un accordo. Pessimo
Hey man thanks for these videos they are helpful! I just bought the hammer pro.
I am having some trouble getting it to work. Can I email you?