Being a small display, a lot of what it shows is abbreviated, sometimes to the point where it can be a bit difficult to understand. There's also a bank of 12 multi-function buttons which, among various other things, allow you to switch the pitch range of the keyboard up or down in octaves, and use a 'Panic' button to send 'All Sound Off', 'All Notes Off' and 'Reset All Controllers' messages on all channels.Ī multi-purpose rotary encoder labelled 'Value' sits beneath a seven-segment, four-character LED display, which shows various information, depending on what you're doing at the time. The lever is spring-loaded in both directions.

Pitch-bend data is sent by moving the lever from side to side, while modulation messages are sent by pushing the lever forward. To the left of the keyboard is the familiar Roland-style combined pitch-bend and modulation control. There's also the aforementioned horizontal crossfader, and nine vertical sliders.

There are nine knobs in all, plus 18 'pad' buttons that are pressure sensitive and can be configured to send velocity or aftertouch data. The PCR500 is loaded down with knobs, buttons and sliders, almost all of which are freely assignable.

A USB cable is supplied, although it's slightly on the short side and you may need to equip yourself with an extension. Windows and Mac OS drivers are supplied, while drivers for Windows Vista (32-bit and 64-bit) are available from the Edirol web site. An included CD-ROM includes drivers, a PCR Editor application and a software bundle (for Windows only - see the 'Bundled Software' box).Ī device driver must be installed for the unit to work properly. The PCR500 is supplied with a printed reference manual, which covers the main features in a fair amount of detail, and a glossy, poster-sized setup guide walks you through the basic installation steps. (Versions with 32 and 61 notes - the PCR300 and PCR800 respectively - are also available.) The Edirol PCR500 is a 49-note USB MIDI controller keyboard with a variety of assignable MIDI controllers, including 18 velocity-sensitive pads and what looks like a crossfader from a DJ mixer. Edirol's updated PCR keyboard range offers more controls than ever, and a software editor to make the most of them.

Edirol midi keyboard controller