Just bought an axiom air for 99 bucks to get this software...long been interested in akai's  approach and essentially get the axiom for free!

abacab
Thanks for that overview BD.  I see you are already using an Akai Advance.  How well do you like that controller?

I really like it. One thing I was concerned about when I was research was some people said the action was a bit stiff. This bothered me because as a guitar player I would get a small amount of pain when using my Edirol at times. Just the slight amount of pressure I used still was painful on occasion. I can bang away on a bass or guitar and no problems but I don't want to do anything to put wear on tendons and such. Anyone over 50 knows what I mean. Happy thing is with the Akai the stiffer action may be acting as a shock absorber. That's my theory anyway. I wouldn't know how stiff is stiff on a keyboard it doesn't push hard or need any strength to play. Most my other MIDI boards felt pretty cheap and plastic-y but the Akai seems like a proper piece of Professional gear. 8 big knobs which I like a lot and the big colored pads can be used as mute pads in the mixer. Love the layering with up to 8 separate channels.

Sounds worth looking into.  Fusing the hardware controllers with virtual instruments would appear to be the holy grail. 

Hey, I've got an Axiom AIR Mini 32 lying around. Thanks, Ham N Egz!

Zargg
I had this in my M-Audio account, without knowing it 
Nais 
Downloading it now. 1.7 GB..

Where did you find it in your account, Z?

That make the M-Audio Code 49 look really tempting (includes VIP 3.0) ...
 
http://www.m-audio.com/products/view/code-49
 

Yeah, the Code 49 looks like a honey.

BassDaddy

abacab
Thanks for that overview BD.  I see you are already using an Akai Advance.  How well do you like that controller?

I really like it. One thing I was concerned about when I was research was some people said the action was a bit stiff. This bothered me because as a guitar player I would get a small amount of pain when using my Edirol at times. Just the slight amount of pressure I used still was painful on occasion. I can bang away on a bass or guitar and no problems but I don't want to do anything to put wear on tendons and such. Anyone over 50 knows what I mean. Happy thing is with the Akai the stiffer action may be acting as a shock absorber. That's my theory anyway. I wouldn't know how stiff is stiff on a keyboard it doesn't push hard or need any strength to play. Most my other MIDI boards felt pretty cheap and plastic-y but the Akai seems like a proper piece of Professional gear. 8 big knobs which I like a lot and the big colored pads can be used as mute pads in the mixer. Love the layering with up to 8 separate channels.

Does that Akai Advance enhanced LED screen offer any significant advantages over the simple displays such as those of the Code 49, that also supports VIP.

I haven't seen a good pic of the M-Audio but the Alesis was the same size and looked the same. You wouldn't think the M-Audio would have and 2nd class feature. Look at the M-Audio site and while there see what they are offering for free software. I got a load of AIR Music Tech instruments and the big FX package. There might have been a Sonivox included too.

I went to M-Audio and the screen does look smaller. I don't look at the screen much anyway. Being able to use a full 24" monitor is part of the appeal for me. There must be a video on YouTube so you can see the screen in action.