I love the appearance. I think the simplicity is very elegant, and I like the way the pitch and modulation wheel glow red (it's a slightly muted effect, but it looks quite striking in late night sessions). The Simplicity - Some of the stage piano/workstations I have owned are amazing instruments, but just too darn much fuss for what I want to do. It does not get simpler than this. 2 wheels, 2 buttons, and a fader. Simple.

Smart Chord is a function that lets you trigger complex chords from a single root note. The notes added to your root are determined by the settings you choose using the OLED screen. Smart Scale But, if we had one concern, it was that the quality of the action would suffer for the sake of adding more features. On the plus side, it has an auto-map function for popular DAWs. Using the OLED screen, you can select auto-map presets for Pro Tools, Logic, MPC Beats, and many other DAWs for complete hands-on control. M-Audio is one of the top manufacturers when it comes to budget MIDI keyboard controllers. If we ever had a complaint about older M-Audio units, it’s that the build quality wasn’t exceptional. We, and many other users, could accept it because the overall value for money was so good.You get three vintage keyboard instruments; Velvet (electric piano), Mini Grand, and DB-33 Hammond Organ. Included along with the Hammer 88 is a sumptuous suite of software that had me making music in literally minutes. The bundle includes Pro Tools First, Ableton Live Lite, two acoustic piano plug-ins (Mini Grand and Eighty-Eight Ensemble), the DB-33 Tonewheel Organ plug-in, the Velvet electric piano plug-in, a 3-month subscription to the Skoove interactive piano course, and the M-Audio Hammer 88 Preset Editor which allows customization of the Hammer 88’s controls and ports. In use

The Hammer 88 Pro is slightly different because we are no longer in the budget price range. Thankfully, the build quality is superb to match the price increase. You also get six virtual instruments from AIR Music Tech. Hybrid 3.0 is the most expansive of the included instruments, and it’s a real workhorse synth engine for all types of music. It works with Vacuum, which is a monophonic virtual analog synth. Similarly, the Scale function lets you choose from various key signatures, including modal scales such as Dorian and Locrian. Once set and activated, you can haphazardly press any key on the keyboard, but you will only hear the notes of that scale. Instead of playing a ‘wrong’ note, such as a B♭ in a C major scale, you will hear the closest corresponding note in the scale, which in this case would be a repeat of notes B or A. Introducing Hammer 88, a premium, no-compromise keyboard controller, ideal for professional, semi-pro players or students seeking the realistic grand piano feel to use with virtual instruments or sound modules. At the heart of Hammer 88 are 88 velocity-sensitive, fully-weighted hammer-action keys that are guaranteed to faithfully capture every subtle nuance of your performance, while providing the unmatched response of a traditional grand piano—classic feel fused with the unrivalled sonic capabilities of virtual instruments. It’s the perfect combination for performers and producers to experience their plugin collection like never before. The Hammer 88 Pro is a versatile USB MIDI controller with 88-keys, auto-mapping and a range of smart control options. Perfect for both live performance, and as a reliable studio workhorse, this instrument is a well-rounded tool that's bound to enhance your creativity no-end! Key FeaturesIt’s not a huge complaint, but it’s a better design for anyone interested in advanced finger drumming. Smart Chord

The functionality and control surface of the Hammer 88 Pro also happen to be identical to M‑Audio’s Oxygen 49 and 61 Pro; the 49‑note Pro model was reviewed in depth by Robin Bigwood in SOS May 2021 issue, so his detailed account of those features is recommended reading. This review therefore focuses on the physical enhancements to the 88‑note Pro above and beyond the original 2017 model. What Else Is New? Hammer 88 Pro features M-Audio’s brand-new Smart Chord and Smart Scale technology. These functions open up your imagination and help blend your hardware seamlessly with your ideas across all 88 keys. Creating music on your computer has never been this intuitive and inspiring thanks to these workflow-centric features. It features fully-assignable MIDI buttons, pitch-bend and modulation wheels, sustain pedal, secondary pedal and expression pedal inputs—while providing a clean aesthetic for players more concerned with compositional accuracy than editing and tweaking.Utilise 8 assignable buttons and knobs for precise control over mix plugins, DAW parameters and virtual instruments. This license agreement shall be construed , interpreted and governed by the laws of the State of California without regard to its conflict of laws rules and law pertaining thereto. Any civil action, lawsuit and/or arbitration resolution shall be conducted only in the County of Los Angeles, State of California, and you agree to submit yourself to the jurisdiction thereof for purposes of such action, suit or resolution. This license agreement constitutes the sole and entire agreement between the parties hereto, and any modification of the terms and/or conditions shall only be effective if in writing and signed by the parties hereto. If any part of this license agreement if found or determined to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this license agreement shall be interpreted and enforced to the extent possible to achieve substantially the effect of this license agreement as set forth herein. Smart Scale technology allows you to set the key bed so that only notes in the selected scale are able to be played. This allows you to play within a chosen scale without the risk of playing any “wrong” notes. You can choose from 16 different scale variations when assigning a scale to the keyboard. Smart Scale is easy to activate and deactivate and allows you to set the scale parameters you need to keep you focused on creating. Professional Controls

Don’t limit yourself to your computer-based virtual instruments! Take control of your studio equipment with Hammer 88. With its conveniently-located 5-pin MIDI Output, you can send all MIDI information to any compatible peripheral device, including hardware synthesisers, sound modules and drum machines. With Hammer 88, it’s easy get the most out of your external sound generators. This is a controller designed from the ground up to place you firmly in the driver’s seat. Seamless Integration Wrapping up the software bundle is Boom, a versatile drum machine plugin that mimics vintage drum machines. Build quality 4.7 Everything about it is solid and doesn’t have that delicate feeling that comes with some MIDI controllers. It even manages to look pretty sleek, despite its size and weight. Compared to other keyboard controllers The Hammer 88 Pro has plenty of assignable controls, so there are no issues there, but we feel it could have a better layout. The Hammer 88 Pro comes with a pretty extensive software bundle, as do most M-Audio controllers. It starts with three DAWs: Pro Tools First (M-Audio Edition), MPC Beats, and Ableton Live Lite.The Hammer 88 Pro comes with nine assignable faders and eight assignable rotary knobs. If we go by the numbers, that’s awesome; it’s as many as you’d find on most high-quality keyboard controllers. Note Repeat allows you to hold down any of the custom-made M-Audio performance pads and hear a repeated rhythmic pattern at a selectable note division. The Note Repeat feature can be activated momentarily or can be used in Latch mode. If you choose Momentary, holding the Note Repeat button will make the note played by the pad automatically repeat. If you choose Latch, pressing any pad will cause its assigned note to repeat without you having to hold down the Note Repeat button. Generally, we are happy with the connectivity, but it would have been even better to see CV connectivity. Software bundle 4.5 Includes AIR “Mini Grand” Acoustic Grand Piano, AIR “Velvet” Vintage Electric Piano Instrument, and AIR “DB-33” Tonewheel Organ Simulator and SONiVOX “Eighty Eight Ensemble” Authentic Piano Instrument