I have been at my latest college for a little over a year now, and although no one could have predicted that I actually wouldn't be on site for nearly six months, it has been an enjoyable year.
One of the reasons I wanted to work at this particular college was because music was so well regarded and I felt, for the first time in my career, that the department was appropriately resourced and that I wouldn't spend my first few years in the job trying to bring the place into the 20th century, let alone the 21st.
However, what I did notice was the motley assortment of MIDI controller keyboards that they had connected to the computer workstations. Some of the controllers were relatively modern, but others were the same models that I used when I was at sixth form college over 20 years ago. There is something to be said for the longevity of these particular pieces of equipment – well done to the companies who made something last so well. But clearly, due to the hotchpotch assortment of keyboards at my disposal, some had died and been replaced while others survived.
During the term and a half that I was teaching on site, more and more controllers began to fail for a number of reasons, and I was constantly having to swap keyboards around and beg, borrow and steal from other rooms. So, when the opportunity arose to apply for some specific capital funding, I knew exactly what I needed: new controller keyboards.
After a few days (probably weeks) comparing different models, prices, and their relative feature sets, I settled on the Alesis Q49 that I am reviewing here. This is a 49-note USB-powered MIDI controller keyboard.
First impressions
For the price, the keyboard is solidly built and doesn't feel too flimsy. However, it also doesn't feel heavy, so the keyboards aren't awkward to move around and swap if necessary.
The Q49 is class compliant, which means that it doesn't require drivers. Simply plug it into your computer and you're ready to go. The keyboard connects to the computer via USB, which also provides power, so no external power supply is needed. The controller still has a standard MIDI connector (5-pin DIN) for connecting to other MIDI capable devices such as synthesisers or sound modules.
The Q49 features 49 full-size piano keys and has a sprung action. This is not the most pianistic controller available, but for most students that is not a problem. Most controller keyboards in classrooms are used for inputting short sections of music into DAWs and any actual piano playing is done on real pianos or their digital equivalents. The Q49 is designed for work with DAWs and inputting notes quickly and roughly to be edited in the software afterwards.
The keys are nice and responsive, and I find them very easy to play even with my weak left hand (I'm a really lousy pianist) and the sensitivity to different velocities is nice and accurate.
In control
The controller also features a few extra controls including a value slider, pitch bend wheel, a modulation wheel and octave up and down buttons. The octave buttons allow the active section of the keyboard to be moved up and down by two octaves in each direction and they light up to indicate when they are active.
The remaining button controls on the Q49 are the keyboard's little party trick. The controller allows access to all the other MIDI functionality that is often controlled within the DAW, but the Q49 allows some hands-on control of these. By pressing the MIDI/Select button, you access all the secondary functions above the piano keyboard. For instance, if I wanted to change the stereo position of my instrument, I press the MIDI/Select button, press the Pan Pot piano key and then move the value slider to my desired position. Simply press the MIDI/Select button to return to playing the keyboard.
There are a number of additional pieces of information that MIDI can control that require a numerical value, and Alesis has allocated piano keys to the numbers 1–10 to allow this data to be entered. Although it can't allocate piano keys to all of the 128 MIDI controllers, Alesis has picked the most common controllers and given each of those a dedicated key, and any others can be selected via the numerals key if you need them. The combination of numbers and a value slider means that the Q49 covers the best of both worlds.
Summary
The Q49 is not an expensive controller keyboard. In fact, it's one of the cheapest on the market. However, the amount that Alesis has managed to pack into such an affordable package is astounding.
The main reason I went for these controllers is because they seem to be reliable. I have never yet had a single controller fail, or not connect with the DAW correctly, and they all work every time. They are big enough to play basic parts with two hands if needed, but small enough that they don't take up too much desk space and can still fi t in front of a computer sensibly in a classroom.
Although I have talked about the fancy MIDI controller functionality, I'll be honest – my students have no interest in doing this. They use the controllers for inputting musical notes into their DAWs and then edit any MIDI controller data via the software. The fact that they can do all of this stuff is excellent, and very impressive, but largely lost on my students.
There are many other 49-key controller keyboards out there from Nektar, Arturia and M-Audio to name but three, and they are all great. But if you are in the market for new controller keyboards for your classroom, home computer or anywhere, I can thoroughly recommend the Q49. It's simple, reliable and affordable, everything I need in a controller keyboard for myself and my students.
Alesis Q49 retails at £64. Visit www.alesis.com
