This tutorial was done using an M-Audio Oxygen Pro 61, but the instructions should be similar on any variant of the M-Audio Oxygen Pro (Mini, 25, 49, 61).
This post was written on November 2022. Versions and some instruction details may have changed since then.
Steps to set up Keyboard Controller M-Audio Oxygen Pro 61
Steps:
- Create an M-Audio Account
- Register your M-Audio Product
- Connect Oxygen Pro to your computer
- Download Configuration Utilities on your Computer
- Install Firmware Updater
- Update Keyboard Controller Firmware
- Hard reset the Controller
- Change the OS and DAW on the Controller
- Install M-Audio Preset Editor
- Download M-Audio Software
- Setup Oxygen Pro on your DAW
Create an M-Audio Account
You need to have an M-Audio account for some of the steps described below.
If you do not have an account, create one.
Visit M-Audio website:
Click on “Account” > “Create account” and follow the instructions.
Register your M-Audio Product
Ensure you have an M-Audio account and you are signed in M-Audio web:
Go to “My products”.
Click on the link to register your product.
Select your product (in my case, Oxygen Pro 61).
Enter your serial number.
The serial number on the Oxygen Pro 61 is printed on a white sticker below the controller.
Whenever you go to “My products”, you will find this product and related information.
Alternatively, you can click on this link.
https://www.m-audio.com/account/products
Connect Oxygen Pro to your computer
Just use the cable that comes with the controller and connect the USB-B side to the controller and the USB-A to the computer.
Ensure that the Power button of the keyboard controller is on. You can find this button on the left back part of the keyboard. It works as a toggle button.
Download Configuration Utilities on your Computer
M-Audio is class-compliant, meaning that it does not require drivers to work on a computer. This is why it can be used on OS like Linux though there is no official support.
Nevertheless, M-Audio offers “drivers” related to the product. Though M-Audio call them “drivers”, they are actually configuration utilities for the keyboard controller.
These configuration utilities are available only for Windows and Mac OS.
The “drivers” or configuration utilities can be found on this link:
https://m-audio.com/support/drivers
Select your product type, family and OS in the lists and then click on “Show Results”.
As of 2022-11:
- For MacOS, there is software available specific for versions 10.13, 10.14, 10.15 and 11. There are no specific drivers for MacOS 12, but the latest version will work anyway.
Downloads available:
- Windows
- Oxygen Pro 61 Firmware Update v2.1.1 for Windows
- Oxygen Pro 61 Preset Editor v1.0.2 for Windows
- MacOS:
- Oxygen Pro 61 Firmware Update v2.1.1 for Mac
- Oxygen Pro 61 Preset Editor v1.0.3 for Mac
Install Firmware Updater
In order to update the firmware of your Oxygen Pro keyboard controller, you need Windows or Mac OS to install the firmware updater app.
The firmware update download that is available at the M-Audio website includes both the updater application and the firmware file.
Instructions may vary depending on your OS. If you have any doubt, you can always check the official instructions PDF file that is located in the downloaded .zip file.
Instructions for MacOS:
- Double click on the .dmg file that is included in the downloaded .zip file
- When the dialog is opened, drag and drop the Oxygen Pro Firmware app icon into the Application folder.
- The app will be available in the Applications folder.
Update Keyboard Controller Firmware
As of November 2022, latest firmware version for Oxygen Pro 61 is 2.1.1.
As said, the firmware update download that is available at the M-Audio website includes both the updater application and the firmware file.
Open the Oxygen Firmware Updater, select in the step 1 the file .DAT in the downloaded .zip file that contains the firmware to be updated.
Then you need to set your keyboard controller Oxygen Pro in Updating Mode. To do so, first you need to switch off the M-Audio. You can find the Power button on the left back part of the keyboard. It works as a toggle button.
Once keyboard controller is off, press SHIFT + Bank < + Bank > and switch it back on. You can find these keys on the middle part of your keyboard controller. You can confirm that it is in Updating Mode because the display says “OXYGEN SERIES – UPDATING”.
Go back to the Oxygen Firmware Update app on your computer and click on “Refresh” button on “Step 2: Connect divice” section..
When the application on your computer is finished, there is a dialgo confirming it with the text “Information: Update Success!”. Close the updater. Now you can switch off the keyboard controller, even when it still says on the display “OXYGEN SERIES – UPDATING”.
You must hard reset the controller right after installing the firmware. Read the instructions on the next section about how to do this.
If you have any doubt, you can always check the official instructions PDF file that is located in the downloaded .zip file.
You can also find an unofficial video tutorial about this on this link below:
Hard reset the Controller
You can hard reset the controller by switching on the controller while pressing both “Octave -” and “Octave +”. You can find these keys on the left hand side of your keyboard controller
When you hard reset the controller, it prompts you to choose the OS and DAW.
The text “Setup” will be seen on the display. Turn the wheel right below the screen (that is called “Encoder”) to select your operating system. The possible options are:
- WIN (Windows)
- Mac (Mac OS)
Press the wheel to select it.
Then, select the DAW:
- Mac
- P T (Pro Tools)
- MPC
- ABLETON (Ableton)
- STUDIO1 (Studio 1)
- REASON (Reason)
- CUBASE (Cubase)
- LOGIC (Logic)
- BITWIG (Bitwig)
- GARAGE (GarageBand)
- REAPER (Reaper)
- FL ST (FL Studio)
You do not need to hard reset your keyboard controller each time you want to change the OS and/or DAW. Read the next section to know how to do it.
Change the OS and DAW on the Controller
You can change the DAW whenever you want by pressing and holding the “DAW” key on your controller.
You can change the OS whenever you want by pressing SHIFT + GLOBAL on your keyboard controller, then using the Encoder wheel to go to the option for PC/MAC, click the encoder wheel, and then selecting you OS. To confirm, select “Replace”, click the encoder wheel, and then select “Yes” and click the encoder wheel.
Install M-Audio Preset Editor
Preset Editor is a software that creates custom MIDI mappings to load onto Oxygen Pro 61.
You can download the Preset Editor from the drivers page on the M-Audio website:
https://m-audio.com/support/drivers
It is available for Windows and Mac OS.
Instructions for Mac OS:
- Ensure you have downloaded the Preset Editor file from the drivers page of M-Audio website.
- Double click on the downloaded Preset Editor .dmg file
- When the dialog is opened, drag and drop the Oxygen Pro Firmware app icon into the Application folder.
- The app will be available in the Applications folder.
Download M-Audio Software
M-Audio Oxygen Pro 61 comes with licensed audio software available to be downloaded.
Visit the M-Audio website:
Log in to your M-Audio Account and go to “My products”.
You will find all available software, including drivers, on this web. Supported OS are Windows and Mac OS.
M-Audio provides a software manager application called Oxygen Pro Series Software Manager that allows you to install the additional software. To install the software manager, download the installation file that corresponds to your OS, double click on the file and .
Software Manager provides these functionalities:
- Instruments / VST
- Steinberg’s Hybrid 3 (Synthesizer)
- Steinberg’s Mini Grand (Grand Piano)
- Steinberg’s Velvet (Electric Piano)
- DAWs
- MPC Beats
- Ableton Live Lite/AAX
Pro Tools | First Audio Edition[software discontinued and no longer included]
- MPC Sound Packs
- F9 Beats Intrument Collection
- Producer Kits
- Soulful Drums
- LoFi Producer Collection
- Trap Soul & LoFi Beats
- MVP Urban Roulette Beats Edition
- Cr2 Deep House Beats Edition
- MVP Hookcity Trap N Soul Beats Edition
- Cr2 Techno Beats Edition
- Learning apps
- Skoove [not free]
- Melodics
You can find the official instructions about how to download software on this link:
https://m-audio.com/account/software-instructions
The installation of some of this software require an iLok account, that enables license control.
Configure an iLok account
Instruments / VST included in M-Audio Software manager work either with iLok and without iLok, so its installation is optional. The rest of software it is not compatible with iLok.
iLok allows you to manage compatible licenses and link them to a specific computer. It can be useful if you plan to change the computer where you are using the software.
In case you do not have an iLok account, you need to create one.
Visit iLok web:
Click on “Create Free Account”.
Enter the information required.
Go to your e-mail inbox and click on the link in the confirmation e-mail.
You need to install iLok License Manager app on your computer. Again, the only compatible OS are Windows and Mac OS. Some software may install it on your computer automatically.
To install it manually, go to iLok website, click on “iLok Credential Manager”. Download it.
Double click on the installation file:
- Windows: follow installation wizard instructions.
- Mac OS: double-click on .pkg file. Follow installation wizard instructions.
To redeem a code on iLok License Manager, go to menu bar > Licenses > Redeem Activation Code.
Setup instruments/VST included in your Oxygen Pro license
You will find the activation code for Software Manager in your M-Audio account > My Products, then look for M-Audio Oxygen Pro Software Manager.
https://m-audio.com/account/products
Open Software Manager and install the instruments/VST that you want to install. The ones available are Hybris, MiniGrand and Velvet, all by Steinbergs.
Open each app, click on “Activate” and enter the activation key you got for Software Manager.
You may use iLok to manage the license.
Setup Oxygen Pro on your DAW
You can find setup instructions on the controller product page, that you can reach from this link:
https://www.m-audio.com/account/products
DAWs with Oxygen Pro official support:
- Ableton
- Pro Tools
- Cubase
- FL Studio
- Logic
- MPC
- Studio One
- Reason
- Bitwig
- GarageBand
You do not need to configure all of them, just the ones you are going to use.
Ableton Live Lite
Ableton Live Lite is included in the software bundle that comes when you buy M-Audio Oxygen Pro.
The version that was available when writing this post was Ableton Live 11 Lite. Instructions may differ in future releases.
First of all, you need to find the authorization code.
You will find the authorization code for Ableton Live Lite in your M-Audio account > My Products, then look for Ableton Live Lite. Alternatively, you can visit this link:
https://m-audio.com/account/products
Now you need to perform the software installation.
Download Ableton Live Lite on the official Ableton web site from this external link. Extract the .zip file. In case you are using Windows, double click on .exe installer file. If you are using Mac OS, double click on the installation file.
Follow the installation wizard instructions. Close the wizard when it is finished.
Once the software installed, you need to proceed for the software activation.
Ensure you select your OS and “ABLETON” as DAW in the keyboard controller before opening the app. You may review the instructions on the step “Change the OS and DAW on the keyboard controller”.
Open the app “Ableton Live 11 Lite”. There will be a dialog talking about software authorization. Click on “Authorize with ableton.com”. Enter the authorization code linked to Ableton Live Lite that you found before in the “Authorization code” field in the M-Audio web.
Once you enter the code, you will receive an additional dialog confirming that “You have successfully authorized Live.”.
Now it is installed and active, you need to apply the configuration.
Go to the main screen of Ableton Live. Go to menu bar > “Options” > “Preferences…”
Select the “Link | Tempo | MIDI” tab on the list.
- “MIDI” section
- Under Control Surfaces, for Input and Output select “Oxygen Pro ## (Port 3)”.
- “MIDI Ports” section
- On the row “In: Oxygen Pro ##“, ensure that only columns “Track” column is checked. The screenshot accompanying the instructions also checked “Remote”, though the text does not mention it. If you are using the Oxygen Pro ## as the external clock source, you must also check “Sync”.
- On the row “In: Oxygen_Pro Input (Oxygen Pro ## Port 3)” (the text may be partially hidden, but it is the row between Port 2 and 4), ensure that only columns “Track” and “Remote” are checked. In my case, “Remote” was unchecked by default.
- On the row “In: Oxygen_Pro Input (Oxygen Pro ## Port 4)“, ensure that no columns are checked. In my case, “Track” was checked as defautlt.
- On the row “Out: Oxygen Pro ##“, ensure that only “Track” column is checked. The screenshot accompanying the instructions also checked “Remote”, though the text does not mention it. If you are using the Ableton Live as the external clock source, also check “Sync”. In my case, no checkbox were checked by default.
- On the row “Out: Oxygen Pro ## (Port 3)“, ensure that only “Track” and “Remote” are checked. In my case, no checkbox were checked by default.
Close the “Preferences” dialog.
These are all the setup instructions. If you want to learn how to use Ableton Live with M-Audio Oxygen Pro, please check this post.
You may follow the official M-Audio instructions on this external link or this external link.
Pro Tools | First Audio Edition
You may follow the official M-Audio instructions on this external link.
You can check this external video tutorial:
Cubase
You may follow the official M-Audio instructions on this external link.
FL Studio
You may follow the official M-Audio instructions on this external link.
Logic
You may follow the official M-Audio instructions on this external link.
You can check this external post:
https://inmusicbrands.force.com/maudio/s/article/M-Audio-Oxygen-Pro-Series-Setup-in-Logic
MPC
You must install M-Audio Software Manager and from it install:
- MPC Beats
- Steingberg’s Hybrid 3
- Producer Kit
From M-Audio Software Manager, get the license for Hybrid 3. Once you have the code, add it to iLok License Manager installed in your computer.
Ensure you select your OS and “MPC” as DAW in the keyboard controller before opening the app.
Open MPC app. If it is the first time you open it, you will find an installation wizard.
First it will ask you to connect the controller.
Then it will ask you to select the MIDI map for the controller. Unfortunately, I could not find M-Audio Oxygen Pro listed in the M-Audio Factory MIDI maps, so I left the user one.
You can select a Simple or Advanced MPC Beats workspace. I chose simple. In any case, you can always change this setting going to Menu > View > Workspace.
After this point, the instructions match what is included in the official documentation.
Open an empty project.
Go to “Preferences”. This may vary depending on your OS:
- Windows: Menu > Edit > Preferences…
- Mac OS: MPC Beats > Preferences…
Go to “MIDI / Sync”.
Enable Track ONLY for the following Input Ports (the rest must be disabled):
- MIDIIN3 (Oxygen Pro)
- Oxygen Pro
Enable Track ONLY for the following Output Ports (the rest must be disabled):
- MIDIOUT3 (Oxygen Pro)
- Oxygen Pro
If you plan on using MPC Beats as an external clock with the Oxygen Pro’s Arp or Note Repeat functions, you’ll need to enable Sync next to the Oxygen Pro Output Port (off by default). Additionally, on Sync Send section click set “MIDI Machine Control (MMC) Send” to on (off by default) and click on the Sync Output field and select MIDI Clock (off by default).
In my computer, all Input and Output Ports were marked as “Track” and the rest blank as default.
Click on “OK” to accept the changes to the MIDI / Sync preferences.
Go back to preferences and select “Plugins”.
Click on the “…” button on the first row.
Select any of these folders, depending on the OS:
- Mac: Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST
- PC: C:/Program Files/Steinberg/VstPlugins
The “Folder up” button is to the right of the current folder path.
Click on “Rescan all” button.
When scanning the VST files, you may find the activation dialog for Steinberg’s Hybrid 3. Click on “Activate”, and when it requires a serial number enter the one associated to the software manager.
You may repeat the process for the other two Steinberg instruments/VST included, i.e. Mini Grand and Velvet.
Click on “OK” to save your changes and go back to the project screen.
To activate the plugins you just loaded, find the Plugin button (plug icon) on the left hand side of the project screen and click on it.
A program will be selected by default (probably “Plugin 001”, if it is the first time you run the app). Click on the dropdown list next to the “Plugin” row. Expand the “VST” tree item and select the VSTs you have imported in the previous steps. Change the preset to select a different sound within the plugin.
You may want to check the official M-Audio instructions on this external link or this external link.
Studio One
You may follow the official M-Audio instructions on this external link.
Reason
You may follow the official M-Audio instructions on this external link.
Bitwig
You may follow the official M-Audio instructions on this external link.
GarageBand
Ensure you select “MAC” and OS and “GARAGE” as DAW in the keyboard controller.
Create a new project, then select a “Software Instrument” as first track.
I noticed that the volume from the MIDI is very low compared to the overall OS. Ensure you volume it up.
There is no official guide for GarageBand, though M-Audio is designed to support it.
Setup Oxygen Pro on learning Apps
Learning apps included in M-Audio Oxygen Pro:
- Melodics
- Skoove [not free]
Melodics
Melodics is an app to learn how to play a keyboard controller, pad controller or drum kit. You can discover more about Melodics by having a look at the official site on this external link.
You will find the activation code in your M-Audio account > My Products, then look for Melodics and copy the Authorization Code.
Once you have the code, visit the Melodic website:
https://www.melodics.com/landing/partners/maudio/proseries
Download Melodics installer.
Double click on the installer and follow the installation wizard instructions.
Open the app. Enter your name and select an instrument (it does not matter which one).
In the “Create your account with email…” screen enter an email, a password and enter the authorization code in the field “Promo Code (optional)”. Click on “Next” button.
The promo code will unlock many lessons.
Keep following the instructions and start using Melodics.
Skoove
Skoove is an app to learn to play piano through interactive lessons, available for Windows, Mac OS and iOS. It is developed by German company Learnfield GmbH. To know more about Skoove, you can have a look at the official website on this external link.
Skoove is not really included as a free app with Oxygen Pro. There is only a special promotion for M-Audio users.
You can find the 3-month free promotion for M-Audio users on this external link.