M-Audio's Session KeyStudio: $99 Band In A Box


And while we’re on the subject of M-Audio and music creation, the company’s been slowly building its catalog of “Make-Music-Now” products, which includes both hardware and software solutions for creating, editing and playing back computer-based music. Today, it released a new package that combines two of its popular products: a 49-Note USB keyboard and Session software for loop-based music creation with drag-and-drop ease. A high-performance audio interface is also included in the $99 bundle.

The combo lets anyone turn the keyboard into nearly any instrument imaginable — drums, guitars, synths, horns, and, of course, pianos. There are 2GB worth of pre-recorded audio loops included as well. We caught a demo of the products at CES this year and walked away very impressed at what this inexpensive setup is capable of.

The software is for Windows only, but the keyboard is available separately for use with Windows or Mac computers. The M-Audio Session KeyStudio is available now at Best Buy, Amazon.com and other major consumer retailers.