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Akai's Tiny New USB Keyboard & Drumpad Look Sweet!!!

The second purchase I made in the pursuit of really making music in college was an M-Audio Oxygen 8 MIDI controller (pictured at right, the first purchase was a cheap microphone). Despite its compact size and rampant affordability, it was totally a professional keyboard. I bought it at a big fancy music store and have since seen the same model on many a concert stage played by big professional bands. Sure, its many knobs didn't do anything in my decidedly lo-fi recording environment, but it still did just about everything I asked it to with ease. Lately, though, it's keys have been sticking on notes, and that's kind of a major drag when recording. I hate to think about buying a replacement for the girl who has been so good to me for nearly six years, but then I saw these two beauties coming soon from Akai:




USB-powered and 13 inches long, these babies are designed to fit in laptop bags for the musician on the go. I've actually been wanting a usb drum pad for a while, and since M-Audio discontinued the Trigger Finger my options have been bleak. Even though I do the vast majority of my recording at home, I've enjoyed bringing equipment with me to friends houses and parties, so the added portability is a definite plus. Also, these beasts are gorgeous.