Y our controller keyboard is your main connection with your DAW. It’s usually the one piece of gear you use most after your mouse so choosing a new one is a decision not to be taken lightly. Many have tried to elevate their humble USB MIDI ’boards into something more essential but the balance between speed, usability and flexibility has proved pretty elusive. Our favourite example has been M-Audio’s Axiom Pro which used their HyperControl system to map knobs and sliders to their on-screen counterparts with the minimum of thought on the users part. Now many of the breakthroughs of the Pro have filtered down to the new ‘basic’ Axiom and the result is a keyboard that’s impossible not to be impressed by.