Cakewalk A500S Pro MIDI Keyboard Controller
Compact, Portable, and Affordable MIDI Keyboard Controller

The Cakewalk A500S Pro MIDI Keyboard Controller is an inexpensive 49-key USB MIDI keyboard that shares many of the same design elements as the A-PRO series keyboards.  Perfect for anyone making music at home or in a project studio with a computer, academic settings needing great sound at low cost, or live performances and mobile recording applications.   

 Side View

Cakewalk A500S Pro MIDI Keyboard Controller Features:
-49-note, velocity-sensitive, standard keyboard
-Quality feel & response for serious players
-Match your playing style with 12 velocity curves & fixed velocity mode
-Sure grip, rubber-coated Pitch Bend/Modulation Lever
-Rotary encoder and 3 digit 7-segment LED Display
-Octave buttons
-Expand playability by adding Sustain and
-Expression Pedals (available separately)
-Side panel connections for streamlined routing
-MIDI Out port with low latency FPT transmission
-Choose your power: USB Bus/AA Battery/AC (Optional)
-Ready to play with 3 included virtual instruments
-Works with any DAW on Mac or PC
-Includes the Production Plus Pack music creation software

 Controls

You have a computer, you have inspiration, now is the time to start playing and recording your music. The A500S is the perfect musical keyboard for use with a wide variety of software on Mac or PC including SONAR, Music Creator, Garage Band, FL Studio, Ableton Live, Sequel, Cubase, Reason, ACID, and others. For Windows customers just getting started the A500S includes the Cakewalk Production Plus Pack. Best of all, the A500S is easy to set up — if you can plug-in a USB Cable, you will be making music in no time at all.

With a newly designed key mechanism — taken from Roland's 30 years of synthesizer development — players can control a wide dynamic range with incredible subtlety. The new key assemblies have a rounded shape for better reaction to the player's touch and more comfortable glissando, plus enhancements have been made to reduce the already low mechanical noise of the A500S and eliminate vertical shake on the key strokes. The newly developed pitch bend and modulation design offers you easier and more expressive control. All these features add up to a keyboard that even the most discerning player can appreciate.

Pick from 12 velocity curves to precisely match your playing style. As the A500S has 4 different velocity curves and 3 kinds of sensitivity (Light, Medium, and Heavy), you can find the combination that perfectly suits you, so you can produce the precise MIDI performance and programming of a true professional. In addition a Fixed Velocity Mode is provided where the A500S always outputs a fixed velocity (from 1 to 127) providing practical input for drum and percussion programming in step recording.

The Cakewalk A500S Pro MIDI Keyboard Controller cleanly provides connections on the side panel so that you can easily have a computer monitor or laptop in the ideal position behind the keyboard — a must for educational use. All connections are located on the side — USB, MIDI OUT plus separate Hold and Expression pedal ports.

MIDI control on the A500S is provided via a rotary encoder, which is both easier and faster than using the notes for numerical values. With this knob you can set up MIDI channel, Program Change, Control Change and more and instantly see the values on the LED. When working with virtual instruments, you can set this knob for quick control of your favorite LFO, Filter, or other controls.

Don't trust your MIDI to anything else! The A500S offers MIDI Transmission using Roland's proprietary FPT (Fast Processing Technology). You can rely on FPT for stable, high speed, low latency, and low jitter MIDI transmission. In layman's terms, that means that subtleties of your performance are going to be captured regardless of the music application you are using. And when working with virtual instruments, FPT provides lower latencies to give you the inspiring feel of playing a real instrument.

No matter what environment you are in, you’ll be able to use the Cakewalk A500S Pro MIDI Keyboard Controller because it offers the flexibility of three separate power sources: USB bus power, batteries, or AC Adapter. The A500S is compatible with USB-Bus power. No power supply is required when connecting via USB cable. The A500S can also be powered via batteries (AA type x 4) or by an AC adaptor. 3 choices of power for any situation. Batteries and AC adaptor (BOSS PSA Series) are optional accessories.

Production Plus Pack
The Production Plus Pack is a powerful suite of music creation software that ships with the A500S. It includes SONAR 8.5 LE recording software (PC only) and three high-quality and versatile virtual instruments for Mac and PC: Rapture LE, Cakewalk Sound Center, and Studio Instruments Drums.

Cakewalk A500S Pro MIDI Keyboard Controller Specifications:
-Keyboard:  49 keys (with velocity)
-Controllers
  -MIDI Channel Button
  -Program Change Button
  -Octave Shift Button (+/-)
  -Pitch Bend/Modulation Lever
  -Value Knob
-Display: 7 segments, 3 characters (LED)
-Side Panel
  -Power Switch (USB/OFF/DC)
  -Advanced Driver Switch (ON/OFF)
-Connectors
  -Hold Pedal Jack
  -Expression Pedal Jack
  -MIDI OUT Connector
  -USB Connector
  -DC IN Jack
-Power Supply
  -USB Bus Power
  -DC 9 V (AC Adaptor)
  -Dry battery LR6 (AA) type (alkaline) × 4
-Current Draw: 150 mA
-Dimensions
  -833 (W) × 183.8 (D) × 84 (H) mm
  -32-13/16 (W) × 7-1/4 (D) × 3-5/16 (H) inches

Cakewalk A500S Pro MIDI Keyboard Controller System Requirements:
-Windows:
  -Microsoft Windows 7 / Windows Vista / Windows XP SP2** or later
  -Windows-compatible computer equipped with a USB 1.1 port
  -Intel-compatible Processors 1GHz or higher
  -512MB RAM or higher
  -100MB or more free hard disk space
-Macintosh***
  -Mac OS X v10.4 or later
  -Apple Macintosh series with on-board USB port
  -Intel Processor or PowerPC G4 1GHz or higher
  -512MB RAM or higher
  -100MB or more free hard disk space

Production Plus Pack 3 System Requirements:
-Windows:
  -Microsoft Windows 7 / Windows Vista / Windows XP SP2** or later
  -Intel-compatible Processor 2GHz (3GHz or higher recommended)
  -1GB RAM (2GB or higher recommended)
  -8GB or more free hard disk space (EIDE /Ultra DMA 7200 RPM or SATA recommended)
  -WDM or ASIO compatible audio interface, DVD-ROM drive for installation
-Macintosh***
  -Intel Core Duo processor
  -1GB RAM or higher (2GB or higher recommended)
  -6GB or more of free hard disk space, EIDE / Ultra DMA (7200 RPM or SATA recommended)
  -Core Audio compatible Audio Interface, DVD-ROM Drive for installation

**This product does not support Windows XP Media Center Edition or XP Professional x64.
***This product does not support Macintosh computers running Microsoft Windows.