Driver uninstall...

Some interfaces also add kernel extensions and/or daemons (M-Audio does the latter just because they require it to load the firmware into the interface every time it's connected - what would work just fine without any drivers thus breaks the MIDI interface for six months every time a major OS revision is released. This - and the brain-dead requirement for restarting the Mac when connecting their cheapo Firewire audio interfaces a few years back - is why M-Audio has been entirely banned from my studio.)

This - and the brain-dead requirement for restarting the Mac when connecting their cheapo Firewire audio interfaces a few years back - is why M-Audio has been entirely banned from my studio.)

That's all you got?? What about lousy sound quality, consistently flakey drivers no matter what, poor quality physical construction, el cheapo internal components, el cheapo connectors and circuitry... and let's not even mention that they were bought by an (otherwise excellent) company that seems to intentionally try to make each core audio driver update worse than the last one, taking their sweet time to release them a few system updates behind the 8-ball to boot. M-Audio is to music gear what Moby is to music.

I made the error of buying an M-Audio keyboard controller because I just wanted something simple and compact to use at home. I specifically avoided the models with knobs, faders and pads because I don't want bad knobs, bad faders and bad pads, especially ones that are firmly in the too-hard-basket to even bother trying to assign. I hate the thing. The plastic is so lightweight and rubbish that the whole thing slides around on the keyboard stand when trying to play it. When I replace it with something better, I doubt I'll even be able to get satisfaction throwing it out the window because it will probably float to the ground like a feather. If only someone, anyone (but not M-Audio), would make a proper, solid controller keyboard with a real piano action, with not a single bell nor whistle, at a decent price. Why do they think that the more you spend, the more annoying ugly knobs and faders you want all over the thing that you'll never use, taking up all the space where you could have very happily put your keyboard and mouse?

Oh look at that, I've had my morning rant. As you were, people.

tbirdparis wrote:

This - and the brain-dead requirement for restarting the Mac when connecting their cheapo Firewire audio interfaces a few years back - is why M-Audio has been entirely banned from my studio.)

That's all you got?? What about lousy sound quality,

I've never owned an M-Audio audio interface (just had to use one occasionally in a pinch and had a couple of clients with problems getting the things working).

The MIDI interfaces I've owned all sounded pretty similar: "thunk" (except the ole Opcode back in 1990 - that one was more "toc", being plastic). 😉

consistently flakey drivers no matter what,

The MIDI interface worked fine for years apart from that idiotic firmware loader breaking with the 10.5 upgrade and M-Audio taking five months to update it.

poor quality physical construction,

Well, the 2x2 MIDIsport is built solidly, at least.

If only someone, anyone (but not M-Audio), would make a proper, solid controller keyboard with a real piano action, with not a single bell nor whistle, at a decent price.

It's just that your idea of a "decent" price is probably downright indecent.

🙂

It's just that your idea of a "decent" price is probably downright indecent.

Sort of. But not really. I'd pay 3 times what I paid or more for the cr*ppy M-Audio keystation if it was for pretty much exactly the same thing but built well with a credible piano action.

It's just that no one seems to have figured out that maybe some people want just an excellent quality keyboard without it trying to be a control surface (at which they mostly all s*ck b*lls anyway) in the mid to high price range. In that price range, it's like they feel obliged to cover the things in as many knobs as you can possibly squeeze in, just to render it impossible to put your wireless keyboard and mouse on top which would be actually quite useful thank you very much. Perhaps they think everyone wants to impress girls at gigs: oh wow, you know how to pilot that thing? It looks like NASA mission control.
I doubt I'm the only studio-based composer that could use a high quality, practically designed keyboard that really, honestly, just needs the thing to have the most basic midi via USB, and for most of the cost that goes into making it to be purely spent on building a keyboard of quality that is a pleasure to play.

It seems to me there are only 3 unsatisfactory ranges of choice on the market nowadays: you can either choose basic and uncluttered, but cheap and rubbish. Or, more decent quality keyboard but cluttered with useless overcomplicated knobs that seem like a great idea at the time but end up never getting used.. Or, really expensive with great piano action, but enormous and for the most part, ugly as sin.

My prediction is that once the ipad and perhaps other control surface technologies start coming on steam, someone (hopefully not M-Audio) will figure out that there's a market for a great keyboard that feels like a real instrument again, with all the sleek studio-friendly design angles anyone could wish for. Prediction is perhaps too optimistic.. Let's call it a pipe dream for now.

Apologies to the OP for my ongoing rant..

Sorry, just got a bit carried away here that's all! Sure, M-Audio has a pretty deserved bad rep, but if it's working for you without too much trouble then that's fine. No reason why you can't buy better gear at some other time.

Just remove the driver from:
HD (not user)/Library/Audio/Midi-Drivers

FWIW, I think their keyboards are okay value for money.

For the audio interface, I'd spend the extra couple dollars and buy a Presonus if I needed cheap but decent.

Or Tascam 144...