Alesis VI49 | 49-Key USB MIDI Keyboard Controller with 16 Pads, 12 Assignable Knobs, 36 Buttons and 5-Pin MIDI Out, Plus a Professional Software Suite Included
The Building Blocks of Professional Music Production
The Alesis VI49 is an advanced USB/MIDI keyboard MIDI controller that lets you take command of your music software with a series of pads, knobs, and buttons.With 49 velocity-sensitive semi-weighted keys with aftertouch and Octave Up/Down buttons, you can expand the keyboard to the full melodic range and play bass lines, chords, and melodies.
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49 Full-Sized Keys and 16 Pads16 velocity-sensitive RGB trigger pads allow you to launch clips or finger drum with exceptional response and colourful visual feedback. Plus, pitch and modulation wheels expand the expressive capabilities of your performance | Integration Made EasyVI49 was designed to seamlessly and effortlessly integrate with your music software. A single USB connection to your Mac or PC provides both power and MIDI functionality, allowing you to plug right into your computer and start making music. | Full On-Board ControlVI49 also features 12 assignable knobs and 36 assignable buttons for manipulating effect plugins and virtual instruments: open and close filters, adjust volume levels, activate effects, tweak parameters, and more. |
Premium Software Suite Included
With VI49, artists and producers are given a virtually unlimited range of creative and versatile options with a specifically tailored MPC Beats for Alesis hardware, plus pro-grade virtual instrument software by Air Music Tech. Combining MPC Beats, Ableton Live Lite and Xpand!2, this amazing recording software suite provides core tools for any artist, musician or singer-songwriter to create, record and share all their ideas across the world at any time.
| Weight: | 4.99 kg |
| Size: | 49 Keys |
| Dimensions: | 31.5 x 95.5 x 11.43 cm; 4.99 Kilograms |
| Model: | VI49 |
| Colour: | Black |
| Colour: | Black |
| Size: | 49 Keys |
Dope controller, I got this over a year and a half ago and I still love it, the controls feel nice, nice weight, good resistance, easy to setup and use, I use this with FL studio (Windows 11) and it’s great. Setup was easy, downloaded the driver, restart, go into midi devices in FL and enabled it in the bottom window, and that was it. Now everything is assignable. To link something you just right click the thing you want to link and click “link to controller” move or click the part of the controller you want mapped and click accept, DONE. I HIGHLY recommend setting yourself a base save file template with everything mapped the way you like, and back the save file up on your email/cloud/whatever. Now you just open the save file instead of the app and now it opens straight into your favorite experience, accidentally override it? Download it again from your backup.
Fully programmable CC’s. Good bonus software samples. I got mine from Amazon already opened stock. New, just a tatty box. Well worth the discount. Who pays nearly 50% more for a box you’re just gonna throw away? Nice feel to the keys. Little LED readout can be helpful.
The mod and pitch wheels are above the pads. Personally, I would have preferred them the other way round. Wrist leaning COULD accidentally activate pads. But, with use, that’s not the case.
Solid, quality, weighty construction.
Nice feeling keys good action. Feels sturdy, maybe power button on back could have been slightly stiffe4 feeling to it semiweighted keys are xcellent. My problem with it is that none of the software advertised as coming with it was what was advertised, or simply didn’t work on my iMac.
Good starting set up for mixing beats. Straight forward without a lot of frills. Works very well for my set up.
This midi controller is the first I’ve ever bought, and it didn’t disappoint. The full size keys feel good, and there are enough knobs and buttons to keep you busy for months.
Das Midi-Keyboard wirkt sehr stabil und gut verarbeitet, relativ schwergngige Potties, was mir persnlich gefllt, fr jemanden, der schnell mal einen Bass reindrehen will evtl. aber nicht so gnstig.
Die Tasten sind zwar weit entfernt von gewichteten Tasten, aber trotzdem sehr angenehm zu spielen.
Einziges Manko war die Verpackung – es wurde einfach im originalen Karton verschickt, der dann natrlich auch beschdigt ankam.
Das Keyboard an sich kann ich aber weiterempfehlen.
Das Midi-Keyboard wirkt sehr stabil und gut verarbeitet, relativ schwergngige Potties, was mir persnlich gefllt, fr jemanden, der schnell mal einen Bass reindrehen will evtl. aber nicht so gnstig.
Die Tasten sind zwar weit entfernt von gewichteten Tasten, aber trotzdem sehr angenehm zu spielen.
Einziges Manko war die Verpackung – es wurde einfach im originalen Karton verschickt, der dann natrlich auch beschdigt ankam.
Das Keyboard an sich kann ich aber weiterempfehlen.
Das Midi-Keyboard wirkt sehr stabil und gut verarbeitet, relativ schwergngige Potties, was mir persnlich gefllt, fr jemanden, der schnell mal einen Bass reindrehen will evtl. aber nicht so gnstig.
Die Tasten sind zwar weit entfernt von gewichteten Tasten, aber trotzdem sehr angenehm zu spielen.
Einziges Manko war die Verpackung – es wurde einfach im originalen Karton verschickt, der dann natrlich auch beschdigt ankam.
Das Keyboard an sich kann ich aber weiterempfehlen.
Das Midi-Keyboard wirkt sehr stabil und gut verarbeitet, relativ schwergngige Potties, was mir persnlich gefllt, fr jemanden, der schnell mal einen Bass reindrehen will evtl. aber nicht so gnstig.
Die Tasten sind zwar weit entfernt von gewichteten Tasten, aber trotzdem sehr angenehm zu spielen.
Einziges Manko war die Verpackung – es wurde einfach im originalen Karton verschickt, der dann natrlich auch beschdigt ankam.
Das Keyboard an sich kann ich aber weiterempfehlen.
This keyboard has so many features I was looking for for the type of music I create. Its a solid build, doesn’t feel cheap and plasticky, has a fair amount of weight to it. The only qualm I can think of is that the knobs could be infinite knobs so you wouldn’t have to go back and forth finding where your parameter is before controlling it. Setup on Logic Pro is time consuming but once it’s done it works flawlessly. I think that is more an issue with Logic than with the keyboard in particular. If you’re looking for a good controller with pads, knobs, semi weighted keys and a ton of totally assignable buttons you absolutely won’t be disappointed!
It one of the best keyboard I use and I got more bang for my buck
Has all the features and functions you need as part of a home music studio.
This is a good keyboard/midi device . I am a complete beginner with midi equipment and I was able to hook it up to my Apple computer and start playing and working right away. . There is a lot of info to learn very quickly a f it feels a little overwhelming sometimes but in the end when it’s all said and done the amount of things a new person can do with this controller is actually amazing. Once you learn even some of its capabilities you’re off to making your own music. In my book that is truly incredible
Although the unit I received came with a small defect – one of the keys is a bit slanted to the side, the overall quality is excellent.
The software included is pretty flexible and you can assign just about any midi function to any key.
For the price, this is a very good value and it does all I could ask.
The only thing I could not figure out is how to change the midi channel from the device itself, something I can do in a much older M-Audio keyboard.
Although the unit I received came with a small defect – one of the keys is a bit slanted to the side, the overall quality is excellent.
The software included is pretty flexible and you can assign just about any midi function to any key.
For the price, this is a very good value and it does all I could ask.
The only thing I could not figure out is how to change the midi channel from the device itself, something I can do in a much older M-Audio keyboard.
Les pads sont trs sensibles, ractivifs au moindre effleurement, les touches semi-leste sont d’une percussion digne d’un clavier haut de gamme. Le top pour ce prix. voir sur le long terme.
Pros:
– Dimensions are PERFECT for me (shoutout to the absolute GODSEND in the reviews who provided accurate dimensions, I’ll repeat them: 40″ x 10″ x 2″ (3″ with knobs) or 1023mm x 253mm x 58mm (75mm with knobs), as you can see it slots beautifully onto my desk!
– Love the semi-weighted keys, it hits the balance of feeling sturdy while staying agile
– Mod and pitch wheels feel SUPERB; just the right amount of resistance to aid precision without compromising speed, and the material is just…. Mmmm yes
– Drum pads feel great, perfect material and just the right amount of travel (almost none but just enough for a bit of passive haptic feedback)
– Aftertouch!!! It’s not poly, and the range is kinda small (i.e. it goes 0-127 quickly) but definitely usable and better than nothing!
– The lights OOF just gorgeous! My whole aesthetic mostly consists of black body with dark blue lights, and as you can see this fits perfectly. Love it!
Cons:
– Knobs have too much resistance for my taste. They feel great and can be super precise, but forget about any really quick adjustments.
– Button clicks are INSANELY loud. Not sure who in their right mind would put that anywhere but especially on a MUSIC controller where sound (or lack thereof) really matters. Wouldn’t want to use them in performances or anywhere near live mics.
– Lights as far as I know are one-way, non programmable. I was hoping this could replace the NanoKontrol 2 I use with MainStage, where each patch can send updates to the button lights and keep them in sync, but this doesn’t seem to be the case. Same goes for drum pads, those lights seem to be hard-coded to reflect velocity, in both brightness and color. That’s all fine, but seems like something that wouldn’t be too hard to add.
– Bootup animation is fun but a bit long… Takes almost 7 seconds every time from powerup to ready. Not awful but not preferable.
– The controller software… Oh boy. What a mess. Didn’t work at all on my MacBook Pro (kept crashing when I select preset) and even when it did work on my PC it’s still a clunky design. Gets the job done eventually.
Conclusion:
Despite the cons I love this keyboard! Not to mention how (relatively) inexpensive it was! I’ve only been using it for a couple weeks, so if anything happens I’ll update this review. Overall highly recommend, especially for home studio!
Got this for my son. He’s computer savvy but he’s still having trouble connecting it with his new computer unfortunately.
I bought this so I could stop pounding the keys of my keyboard. It’s much more user-friendly for me to lay down drum loops with pads. The keys seem to do well and have a nice weight to them – I’m no piano player so I can’t speak beyond that. You won’t be disappointed if you’re looking to lay a quick bassline down or play around with some sliced samples. Plug and play functionality through FL Studio 20 (and prior versions most likely) just check your MIDI settings in your DAW and get to it!
Ha resultado un producto excelente para el uso que se le est dando. Est en perfecto estado y funciona correctamente. Calidad buena.
Ha resultado un producto excelente para el uso que se le est dando. Est en perfecto estado y funciona correctamente. Calidad buena.
Ha resultado un producto excelente para el uso que se le est dando. Est en perfecto estado y funciona correctamente. Calidad buena.
It is true to the description. Great packaging, great product!
Can’t say much except that I love this keyboard and the keys are just right for me.
The only disappointment is that there are no dedicated transpose buttons. But, you can assign other buttons to do the job as a workaround.
Fantastic quality keyboard. Well happy.
keyboard is great as expected.
in my opinion it was shipped without adequate additional packaging.
the damage to the box probably occurred when being picked up in transit.
not missing anything or damaged inside.
but pretty close am i right?
just seems odd to not enclose the entire thing to secure everything.
It’s a lot of fun getting to learn everything, but just know there’s a bit of a learning curve getting everything set up, it’s not exactly plug and play. It’s not SUPPOSED to be plug and play, though so that’s not a Knock against it.
Also, all those people saying it has the USB cable but not the power cable? Plug in the USB and congrats, you’ve powered the controller, ya goofs. The easiest way to get playing requires a computer anyway.
Prodotto top, questa tastiera facile da usare ma super completa, offre anche programmi che ti inizia a farti capire come funziona il mondo della produzione, super consigliata per chiunque voglia iniziare a produrre
Prodotto top, questa tastiera facile da usare ma super completa, offre anche programmi che ti inizia a farti capire come funziona il mondo della produzione, super consigliata per chiunque voglia iniziare a produrre
Prodotto top, questa tastiera facile da usare ma super completa, offre anche programmi che ti inizia a farti capire come funziona il mondo della produzione, super consigliata per chiunque voglia iniziare a produrre
Very good product. Going back, I would have gotten the one without all the buttons and knobs. I got the one with all the bells and whistles, and I still haven’t had a use for them yet. I would have returned it and saved some money, but returning it seemed like such a hassle. Very good product though. I highly recommend it.
Works like a champ for Logic Pro and Sunday Keys with one minor exception: if you are a newer midi/Sunday Keys user, there are tons of buttons but not enough sliders and you’ll still end up getting a Korg NanoKontrol2.
Playability, feel and function are fantastic – I’ve been able to emulate wind instruments to great success due to aftertouch, key weight and the tone wheel.
Not overly complicated, but solid playing ability.
Fcil de instalar. Todo funciona perfectamente. Es un placer utilizarlo con Ableton Live Suite.
Fcil de instalar. Todo funciona perfectamente. Es un placer utilizarlo con Ableton Live Suite.
Fcil de instalar. Todo funciona perfectamente. Es un placer utilizarlo con Ableton Live Suite.
Completely cheaped out on not to include a power adaptor and a midi cable. Visually it looks okay. But then I would have to buy the required cables they didn’t bother throwing in first before I’ll be able to try it.
Works great with iPad Pro. I might need to get a usb hub though because using blue tooth speakers there is a slight delay. Works great with Garage Band. Pads are a little harder than I would like though they sound great on recording drums tracks.
his is a great controller it picks up the midi learn in my daw (waveform pro11 running on windows pro 10) works great ….the editor and firmware works when it wants to but just remember nothing will hold settings so every time you turn off they are gone unless you save the setup on the editor and reload it everytime . I play a roland rd800 and have a wurlitzer baby grand to say this has weighted keys is a stretch …if you are looking for a piano feel this is not for you if you are use to playing synth you’ll adapt and if you can play well then it really doesn’t matter about the feel . I love the after touch when playing a guitar or bass to get that same feeling as bending the strings on the neck …i will say it would not separate the keys from the drum pads like a youtube video i watched but didn’t really matter to me as i wasn’t going to try to play both at the same time anyway …also when i bought it mini grand software was not in the box but amazon fixed me up with a discount so all good . All and all would i by it again ? yes sir …would i recommend it ? yessir …..the reason for the 4 and not 5 star was the editor software and the missing software that was suppose to come with i
I could waffle on forever so I’m going to keep it brief, I have used FL Studio for over a decade and at this point I’m never going to switch it out for another DAW, having said that I was disappointed to find out that the VI49 does not function completely in FL. The transport buttons (play, pause, record etc) don’t work with FL, you also can’t get them to work since these buttons transmit CC MIDI signal which the FL interface doesn’t read. Having said that I’m sure that these transport buttons would work in a plugin that did have specific transport function like a loop kit, but again these buttons SHOULD control the DAW in order to help minimize switching between KB+M in the middle of a performance. I noticed that in the MIDI settings there is an entry in the controller type for the Alesis Photon X25, but unfortunately none for the more recent controllers especially the VI49/61. What makes this stranger is that the octave buttons work fine, which makes me wonder why not the rest of the utility buttons? This is one primary reason why I originally wanted to return my VI49 for a keyboard that had more DAW functionality.
While the key bed feels nice and with semi-weighted keys, it also feels like more of a real piano rather than a MIDI controller, again since this is my first MIDI keyboard I don’t have enough experience to know about different key beds but more times than I’m battling with the stiffness of the key bed. Although the more time I spend with it the more it grows on me so it’s a moot point but keep that in mind if you’re looking for a plastic toy kind of feel which in most cases is a con in the long run.
I’ve spent a good portion of the week scouring the net for solutions, reviews, and possible alternatives, but when considering other entry level MIDI keyboards you can’t go wrong with VI49. Personally I’d like to have halved the amount of knobs and switched them for faders but that’s just an aesthetic choice. When you look down and see 12 knobs with 3 buttons under each of them you don’t even want to think about the chore of mapping them all. For reference the Novation Launchkey Mk3 and M-Audio Oxygen Pro seem to have better DAW functionality (and working DAW keys to boot) but the trade off is significant. Ultimately the Launchkey Mk3 has non-weighted ‘hollow/plastic-esque’ keys which according to the majority of website and YT reviewers is noticeable. The Oxygen Pro does have semi-weighted keys and aftertouch but it is plagued with faults and poor construction, check the product page on Amazon for the horror stories. The take away is this.
I would have loved the touch pads of the Oxygen Pro, the utility buttons/functions of the Launchkey Mk3 and kept the key bed of the VI49, this is all hypothetical since I haven’t tried the other two but after spending so long pouring over videos and pages it’s conclusive that these are the pros and cons of each controller. Ultimately the most important thing to any single MIDI keyboard are the keys itself, so the Alesis VI49 takes priority. I’m hoping and praying that Alesis will sort out the FL Studio functionality, if those buttons worked then this would be a flawless MIDI keyboard. I would even be tempted to splurge out on the 61 key next and start my collection! Please Alesis get a patch sorted!
You get what you pay for. That’s all. Get this if all you need is a midi controller. This is not plug and play. It only comes with the controller and a power cord. If you already have a compatible DAW, perfect, use that instead of the software that comes with this. Key velocity is ok- but again, you get what you pay for. Watch some YouTube videos to help out!
I gave this key board to my husband as a gift. He loved it and has been learning all the great features since he received it. This keyboard was a great buy
Excelente controlador midi, funciona sper bien, solo el nico detalle fue la parte del cruce de la aduana, maltrataron mucho la caja pero afortunadamente llego bien el teclado.
I use it on a Windows 10 computer with FL Studio and Reaper, and it works perfectly fine with both. The full-sized keys have decent weight to them, so while they don’t exactly feel like a real piano, they still feel good to play on. The drumpads, however, could be better. While they aren’t terrible, I find their sensitivity to be a bit awkward and they also have the tendency to play twice when pressed sometimes. This isn’t a deal-breaker for me though.
In addition to the keys and pads, the myriad of buttons and knobs are also useful, although they aren’t an absolute necessity to my workflow. I’ve assigned the 16 knobs to the first 16 tracks’ volume knobs on Reaper, which lets me control track volume on the fly, for example. It’s worth noting that the transport controls (play/pause, stop, rewind, etc.) do not work with FL Studio out of the box, although you can get them to work (not perfectly) with some work.
Overall, I think it’s a great MIDI keyboard, and it comes in cheaper than a few of its 61-key competitors, too.
La Keyboard sembra perfetta nuova di zecca. Lo scatolo , originale e’ rammendato con dello scotch ma devo dire
in modo molto accurato cosi da proteggere bene il contenuto. Con questa tipologia di vendita ho potuto risparmiare un po’ di euro. Precisi nella consegna ( se ricordo bene con qualche giorno di anticipo). Per quanto riguarda il modello in se per se’ ..beh… dopo mi sono accorto che con quella cifra esistono altre controller MIDI simili ma con funzioni avanzate e e molte caratteristiche utili. ( dipende dalle esigenze di ognuno ) . Ritengo cmq. la qualita’ di fabbricazione molto buona, robusta, tasti solidi e precisi in esecuzione. La consiglio dopo aver valutate le propie necessita’. 🙂
La Keyboard sembra perfetta nuova di zecca. Lo scatolo , originale e’ rammendato con dello scotch ma devo dire
in modo molto accurato cosi da proteggere bene il contenuto. Con questa tipologia di vendita ho potuto risparmiare un po’ di euro. Precisi nella consegna ( se ricordo bene con qualche giorno di anticipo). Per quanto riguarda il modello in se per se’ ..beh… dopo mi sono accorto che con quella cifra esistono altre controller MIDI simili ma con funzioni avanzate e e molte caratteristiche utili. ( dipende dalle esigenze di ognuno ) . Ritengo cmq. la qualita’ di fabbricazione molto buona, robusta, tasti solidi e precisi in esecuzione. La consiglio dopo aver valutate le propie necessita’. 🙂
La Keyboard sembra perfetta nuova di zecca. Lo scatolo , originale e’ rammendato con dello scotch ma devo dire
in modo molto accurato cosi da proteggere bene il contenuto. Con questa tipologia di vendita ho potuto risparmiare un po’ di euro. Precisi nella consegna ( se ricordo bene con qualche giorno di anticipo). Per quanto riguarda il modello in se per se’ ..beh… dopo mi sono accorto che con quella cifra esistono altre controller MIDI simili ma con funzioni avanzate e e molte caratteristiche utili. ( dipende dalle esigenze di ognuno ) . Ritengo cmq. la qualita’ di fabbricazione molto buona, robusta, tasti solidi e precisi in esecuzione. La consiglio dopo aver valutate le propie necessita’. 🙂
Clavier matre deux octaves, plutt sympa, j’aime le bouton on/Off qui coupe l’usb, jai pu le connecter sans problme iOS,les touches fonctionnent sans toutefois avoir test les potards et autres boutons (qui fonctionnent sur PC)
Les pads sont un peu trop sensible mon got (vlocit Max atteinte un peu vite) mais je suis un nophyte en finger-drumming… priori c’est rglable via un programme Alesis sur PC/Mac mais je n’ai pas russi charger les modles proposs.
Clavier matre deux octaves, plutt sympa, j’aime le bouton on/Off qui coupe l’usb, jai pu le connecter sans problme iOS,les touches fonctionnent sans toutefois avoir test les potards et autres boutons (qui fonctionnent sur PC)
Les pads sont un peu trop sensible mon got (vlocit Max atteinte un peu vite) mais je suis un nophyte en finger-drumming… priori c’est rglable via un programme Alesis sur PC/Mac mais je n’ai pas russi charger les modles proposs.
Clavier matre deux octaves, plutt sympa, j’aime le bouton on/Off qui coupe l’usb, jai pu le connecter sans problme iOS,les touches fonctionnent sans toutefois avoir test les potards et autres boutons (qui fonctionnent sur PC)
Les pads sont un peu trop sensible mon got (vlocit Max atteinte un peu vite) mais je suis un nophyte en finger-drumming… priori c’est rglable via un programme Alesis sur PC/Mac mais je n’ai pas russi charger les modles proposs.
It feels great and has like it is of substantial. It works well on fl studio.
Good controller for the price, easy installation, even though the keys are discribed as weighted it doesn’t represent how a yamaha motif keys feel, but it isn’t bad either coming from an experienced keyboard player. There isn’t any lag, and it’s easy to assign knobs and buttons which I hardly use, but they’re there just incase you want to.
Devo ancora imparare ad usarla bene, ma la prima impressione molto buona
Devo ancora imparare ad usarla bene, ma la prima impressione molto buona
I’m just scratching the surface of this thing but so far it’s great. I hope when I move on from Ableton Live it will still be as useful.
Semi weighted keys feels nice…responsive…easily mapped….great buy
I love the keys, pads, knobs, bells, whistles!! great value, great quality
Awesome keyboard. Links nicely to the Akai MPC with minimum fuss.
Good response I’ve keys and great pads.
Would recommend!
Awesome keyboard. Links nicely to the Akai MPC with minimum fuss.
Good response I’ve keys and great pads.
Would recommend!
Keys are semi weighted as I expected. Pads are extremely respond and sensitive! Works good. Better than M Audio Code 61, I did comparison of both items and Alesis won!
Our family uses this for Garage Band. The semi-weighted keys and the standard key size are similar enough to a real piano that my son can move between this and our upright easily. The mini keys on other models were too foreign to him. It’s plug and play for Garage Band.
Product came very quickly, it works perfectly. Really nothing else needed to say I just highly recommend this for aspiring musicians.
Excelente opcin de teclado por el precio, tiene funciones bastantes programables. Las teclas tienen buena sensibilidad, el nico detalle son los pads, cuando pisas un pad a veces presiona 2 veces y a veces no hacen nada. Creo que le falta calidad a los pads, pero del resto es una excelente opcin.
Excelente opcin de teclado por el precio, tiene funciones bastantes programables. Las teclas tienen buena sensibilidad, el nico detalle son los pads, cuando pisas un pad a veces presiona 2 veces y a veces no hacen nada. Creo que le falta calidad a los pads, pero del resto es una excelente opcin.
Una bomba, ben fatta, leggera, super reattiva, un ottimo midi device. ALESIS molto professionale.
Lo he devuelto porque vena en una caja sin precintar, despegada por un lado y con
un golpe. Por lo dems el teclado es muy muy guapo. Recomendable.
Lo he devuelto porque vena en una caja sin precintar, despegada por un lado y con
un golpe. Por lo dems el teclado es muy muy guapo. Recomendable.
Still getting to know it, but so far so good.
I bought this to use with Logic Pro on the Mac. It was recognised instantly, no need for drivers. I’m really enjoying it so far. It’s powered via usb, the keys are velocity sensitive and there is a large array of pads and configurable knobs.
It will be years before the software catches up.
Brilliant piece of kit.
My teenage son loves it and appreciates the technology of what it needs and does.