M-Audio Accent Module Review and Demo

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My name is Brennan Galley and I was the Canadian Technical Sales Manager for inMusic Canada. I toured Canada coast to coast to show musicians how to use innovative instruments, DJ and music production equipment.  One of the companies I represented was M-Audio.

M-Audio Accent Module – Review & Feature Demo

The M-Audio Accent Module is a sound module loaded with Air Instrument sounds.  Sound Modules give you the guts of a keyboard, without the actual keys.  You can use any keyboard that uses MIDI to trigger the sounds inside, so you can travel around with quality sounds, without having to worry about carrying tons of gear or a computer.  The modern take of the Accent Module is that it has a USB port that can connect to a USB-powered MIDI controller keyboard.  This greatly reduces setup time and also allows you to have a fully functioning rig using gear you likely have around.

If you are using a legacy M-Audio keyboard with faders, these will automatically map out to control the faders of the Accent Module.

This video shows how everything gets plugged in.

Sounds

There are 30 sounds inside the Accent Module.  When you first power it up the knob on the front allows you to quickly dial up the sound you want.  There is a solid piano sound, some great synths and some rich orchestral sounds.  This video gives you a quick taste of a few patches inside the Accent Module.  I also show how the drum pads on my Legacy Axiom Pro lock into the drum sounds of the Accent Module.

Layering Sounds

Now that we’ve heard a few sounds, let’s start working with them.  The Accent Module allows you to layer three sounds on top of each other, so you can build your own patches to match the type of music you are working on.  You also have controls on the front of the Accent Module that will let you control the volume of each part so you can blend the sounds together to your own taste.

This video shows you how to layer multiple sounds on top of each other with the Accent Module.

Color Coding Buttons

The Accent Module has a bunch of buttons on the right under the screen.  Pushing these buttons allows you to turn on and off the different sounds you have set up in your layered patch.  This is great for live situations where you need to quickly jump from sound to sound.

In this video I show how to color code the buttons to help you remember which sound is which.

Key Range Assign

Sometimes when you load up multiple sounds in layers you want different sounds to voice at different parts of the keyboard range.  The Accent Module has a learn feature that means you can strike a key and the module will set this note as either the high or the low note.  This is perfect for when you want many sounds spread out over the keyboard range without having two sounds voice simultaneously.

In this video I show how to set the range for individual sounds in the Accent Module.

Fader Control

The faders on the front of the Accent Module can be assigned to knobs or faders or any other continuous controller you have MIDI’d into the unit.  This allows you to quickly dial up sounds without having to leave your keyboard.  If you have a legacy M-Audio controller with faders, this will be set up automatically. If not, you will need to set up the assignments yourself.  This video shows how to achieve this.

Factory Reset

The factory reset on the Accent Module is very straightforward, but  keep in mind that doing this will wipe out any work you have done.  However, as you’re digging through the menus and learning how the interface works this is a great tool to get you back to square one.

This video shows you step by step how to do a factory reset.

The Accent Module from M-Audio is super affordable and is a great tool if you are a touring musician who needs consistent sounds without having to bring a ton of stuff.  The way that USB bus-powered MIDI controllers instantly interface with it means that you will be able to get a performance happening extremely quickly.  If you have any questions about the Accent Module please leave me a comment.  If you would like to set up a SKYPE tutorial send me an email to fiercemule@gmail.com