Small headaches, Big Reward
I bought the Axiom 25 for use primarily with Garageband (3). What sold me on the Axiom (above other similarly priced controllers), was the combination of the pads and the transport controls. In all honesty I would have gone with Korg's padKontrol if the Axiom didn't have these features. So with great anticipation I tried to install the driver software, after a little frustration and reading I found there was no need, I should be able to fire up GB and start playing around. While this was the case, the playing around didn't do all the things I had dreamed. Primarily, the transport controls didn't seem to work. So I had to set off to the internet, and not M-Audio's website, which held little useful information, to try to determine if the problem could be solved. Fortunately another person had gone through the same thing and posted a PDF how-to on their site explaining how to make the transport controls work. In short you'll need an additional (free) piece of software called GarageRemote. After a little playing around with this utility I was up and running. The features on this keyboard are fantastic, I especially like the aftertouch controls which didn't make much sense to me until I started using them. The drum pads are a little insensetive, and I would like the keys to be more sensetive as well, but I believe I can control that with software. Overall this keyboard (or any in its family) are a pretty good value and are loaded with useful features, even if setup isn't necessarily as smooth as one would like.