I just picked up one of these. Novation have really nailed the middle ground between fully weighted and synth action keys here. The keys are not too light... not heavy.... synth action when you need it.... I don't know how Novation have done it but it's perfect in my opinion. As a side note.... it's absolutely perfect in combination with Pianoteq when it come's to piano due to pianoteq's 127 points of velocity. Unbelievable really! Though it's terrible with sampled pianos like Keyscape due to Keyscapes 16 points of velocity. Pianoteq all the way with this midi keyboard. Thanks for the vid Sauce!
Wow, I was expecting that to be a lot more expensive! I'm here from Pete's channel, so I will have to see how it integrates with Garageband. Thanks for going over some of the integration features as I was not aware of the versatility. Thanks for sharing Mike!
That looks gorgeous! I got an older Novation SL 49 MkII here and the key feel is definitely the best, compared to all other controllers that I've ever used😍Cheers!
MAKE SURE THAT THE ARPEGGIATOR WORKS IN SYNC WITH YOUR DAW BEFORE BUYING THIS ! i bought the novation launchkey mk3 because of the promising arpeggiator, but to my surprise it does not sync with Ableton. When the play button is on while trying to play chords with the arpeggiator on the first 2 notes are played together in the begining and there are inconistencies in the quantisation of the notes. When the play button is off and the keyboard uses its own clock the arpeggiated chords are played as they should. This means that the arpeggiator is unusable in ableton. After lots of emails with novation they answered with this.. "The best way to perfectly sync an arp to Ableton would be to use Ableton itself. I.e. trigger clips with arp patterns in or use the arp device mapped to the Launchkey controls. The arp on the Launchkey is great for a live scenario that doesn't require perfect synchronisation with Ableton, but less so if you need it to be perfectly in time with other Ableton clips. This is because it does not account for human error. " AND "Yes, this is possible (to play 2 synced arpeggiated chords) but it requires you to be very accurate with the re-triggering of the chord. There's no way to 'queue' the next chord so you would need to play it as on beat as possible. If you need to to do this with consistently perfect precision, it may be easier to use Live to trigger prerecorded MIDI clips." I have been very patient with this matter but if there is no solution to this and if Novation does not plan on fixing this then its time i sell this keyboard and buy another one from another company that the arpeggiator actually works in sync with a DAW. Im actually surprised that people did not notice this problem ! Feel free to offer a solution if you have one :)
Perhaps you could use the knob to control the speed of the arpeggiator and set it as close as you can to the tempo of your song, and then quantize it afterwards.
Looks a good deal for the money 88 keys for £349 is an attractive proposition . Nice to see an 88 key controller in a semi weighted format the layout reminds me of the Arturia approach. One minor gripe with it is the size of the LCD screen would have been nice if it was a bit longer but it wouldn't be a deal breaker as that seems to be the current trend except with Native Instruments S series which are massive in comparison. A shame no expression pedal sockets , sure most considering using this wouldn't have a need for them but I think would have improved their value for money as they are not expensive additions. I think they'll sell quite a few of these as that area of the market doesn't have many options . Great demo Mike If I didn't already have an 88 note keyboard controller This new one from Novation would definitely on the consideration list, especially at the retail price quoted. :)
Got one of these, loving it so far, but having trouble setting up transport controls. I watched another video of yours on this, but still couldn't quite get there. Maybe a future vid? Thanks. I hope you're well.
Thank you so much for the video. I was looking at this one, as a piano player and want to start making music with the drumpads. And well detailed and explained plus makes me look forward even more, to buying and playing with it. Quick quistion: Are you originally from AU or do you only live there?
Thanks for presenting this to us. I have just purchased and downloaded free plugins from Spitfire Audio and LABS, respectively, however, don't have a midi keyboard. I have been racking my brain trying to figuring out what would work best for me. I just ordered the Novation. The only thing that concerns me about it is the travel of the faders in regards to the expression and effects controls with the LABS and Spitfire software. Monogram cc makes a pricey modular controller that has 60mm fader travel. I think Launchkey faders are 30mm. I'll give it a go and decide in the Monogram later. Cheers...
Never used a midi controller before - I know so little about them really as with so many things. The price is something that really catches my attention - I do need to figure out something and this may be the solution - I'm only a wanna be keyboardist though so - but I do need a backup plan for my broken 88 key Roland (which will get fixed eventually). Thank you for the review 😀 👍
Thanks for the review, Mike. This would be a complete winner for me if it had poly aftertouch and a ribbon controller like the Hydrasynth. Also, no pedal inputs? Hope you’re well!
I see it has a sustain pedal input, but no expression pedal inputs is fine for people using hardware sounds (you can plug the pedals into the sound module), but for USB to a computer, you'd want the pedal signals to go along that USB path, from the controller. That's a design mistake. Maybe they figured that the same people who didn't care whether the keys were weighted also wouldn't use pedals? IDK...
I can't decide between this and Nektar LX88+. Would appreciate a piece of advice. On the surface they look similar, but maybe I am missing something and one is actually better than the other?
I recently bought the Impulse 61 from a local shop who were asking £149 but since I knew the lad (from previous purchases) I offered £99 and to my surprise he accepted. So I got it home to find its probably brand new and never been used. I also own the Nektar Impact 88+ and NI Kontrol S49 so what are my thoughts? The Impulse is a nice keyboard costing slightly more than the Launchkey comes with a decent software bundle and relatively straight forward to set up. DOWNSIDE Novation are owned by Focusrite Audio and they have no dedicated forums for Novation. Fortunately since I already own a couple of midi keyboards I understand midi cc etc so that was not a problem but for those who don't that could be a problem if you need some help. I tried Studio One first, the instructions I found on the website were wrong and I could not get split keyboard to work. Trying other DAWS everything worked as expected without any issues. You have to assign midi to control the master stereo bus but I use multiple output bus channels so not an issue for me. The keys are not as good as the Nektar and I am not going to compare it with the NI Kontrol S49 that cost significantly more, unfair comparison. It look great really well made and goes what its designed to do. Whilst it is a midi controller for VST plugins its also a basic DAW surface controller and this is always a useful feature to get your head around. Both faders and knobs to their job and the pads are really nice !!
Hi, How is the keybed when you to the further edge of the key? I have a 49keys midi keyboards with no hammer action so when you go inside as in depth, the key is way more stiff and hard to press down specially on black keys. I want to go to 88 keys but have no way of testing this keyboard in particular
Thanks for the great review! Subscribed. Wondering how this compares to the M-Audio Hammer 88 Pro which of course has fully weighted hammer action keys. Seems similar other than that. This one weighs 18 Lb. vs 40 lb. for the Hammer 88 Pro. And this sells for $400 vs. $800. I actually bought a Hammer 88 Pro from Amazon which came damaged and is heading back to them. And previously owned an M-Audio Oxygen Pro 61 which I liked but prefer 88 keys which is why I bought the Hammer 88 Pro. Will definitely consider this keyboard.
Great video Mike. If they had a fully weighted key version, they would have my money even if it were 100 bucks or so more. However, as others have stated though…. No sustain pedal input?
Hello friend, can I ask you for an opinion? I currently work with a ni s61 mkii, I really like the feeling of this keyboard, the problem is that I work with orchestral vsts and I would like to have the 88 keys, I am not a pianist and I would like it to have semi-weighted keys too, those of the ni s61 mkii are and they also have aftertouch, I've seen the novation, I like its design, my questions are, how are your keys? Are they well made like those of my ni s61 mkii, or do they feel plastic when touched? Is the sensitivity when pressing good? are the keys noisy? clicks, friction between them..., would you trade a ni s61 mkii for the 88 novation, just for the keys? Please, I would like to know your opinion. thank you so much.
While I certainly agree that 88 keys are desirable, the reason you mention about key switches doesn't really make sense to me, since you can always map those key switches to, say, drum pads, which has the advantage of bringing the key switches closer to you and allows you to choose an arrangement that makes sense to you rather than the one that the VST instrument designer chose.
Mapping them to pads would only be desirable if you only have one set of key switches that you ever use, and they are on the same mapping. I use kontakt with a large set of libraries, each library has different key switches, and the key switches are anywhere from C0 to E3, that's a lot of space to cover with pads.
@@WarrenPostma I'm thinking in terms of a VST host like Cantabile, where you can arrange for mappings to change depending on context. But I agree that it would be difficult to manage without such a host.
Started out looking quite promising but with only one pedal port (sustain), no port for expression this will be a non starter for me. A pity as I’m looking for a new 88 midi controller.
I was thinking about that but then couldn’t you assign aftertouch to a pad? I have had two controllers with aftertouch. One I had to turn off at times to keep it from triggering. I was also thinking about the expression pedal in the past but never really used it with my midi controllers. Both would be good for strings and brass though.
MAKE SURE THAT THE ARPEGGIATOR WORKS IN SYNC WITH YOUR DAW BEFORE BUYING THIS! So I bought the Launchkey MK3 for it’s amazing arpeggiator features, the arpeggiator works fine with its internal clock. But to my surprise when it’s operating with Ableton as an external clock source it overlaps notes making ugly noises. I documented the arpeggiator behaviour in this video ruclips.net/video/a2XhHU-y_SI/видео.html. Does Novation plan on fixing this in a future update? Is there anything that can be done to make this arpeggiator usable in a DAW?
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
I just picked up one of these. Novation have really nailed the middle ground between fully weighted and synth action keys here. The keys are not too light... not heavy.... synth action when you need it.... I don't know how Novation have done it but it's perfect in my opinion. As a side note.... it's absolutely perfect in combination with Pianoteq when it come's to piano due to pianoteq's 127 points of velocity. Unbelievable really! Though it's terrible with sampled pianos like Keyscape due to Keyscapes 16 points of velocity. Pianoteq all the way with this midi keyboard. Thanks for the vid Sauce!
How does this compare to the Arturia Keylab essential 88
Thanks Mike! Great as usual! I just placed an order for the Novation this morning.
Nice overview! Mind telling us what piano VST you were using at 4:00-4:20...?
Wow, I was expecting that to be a lot more expensive! I'm here from Pete's channel, so I will have to see how it integrates with Garageband. Thanks for going over some of the integration features as I was not aware of the versatility. Thanks for sharing Mike!
Great review! I love Novation instruments. Thank you for posting this.
That looks gorgeous! I got an older Novation SL 49 MkII here and the key feel is definitely the best, compared to all other controllers that I've ever used😍Cheers!
Totally agree! I used to have that exact one.
@@CreativeSauce How does this compare to the Arturia Keylab essential 88
@@CreativeSauce Hi, is the action of the Launchkey 88 heavier than the SL MKII or III?
Please compare this with Arturia keylab 88 essential make video..which one is better.. please tell..
MAKE SURE THAT THE ARPEGGIATOR WORKS IN SYNC WITH YOUR DAW BEFORE BUYING THIS !
i bought the novation launchkey mk3 because of the promising arpeggiator, but to my surprise it does not sync with Ableton. When the play button is on while trying to play chords with the arpeggiator on the first 2 notes are played together in the begining and there are inconistencies in the quantisation of the notes.
When the play button is off and the keyboard uses its own clock the arpeggiated chords are played as they should. This means that the arpeggiator is unusable in ableton.
After lots of emails with novation they answered with this..
"The best way to perfectly sync an arp to Ableton would be to use Ableton itself. I.e. trigger clips with arp patterns in or use the arp device mapped to the Launchkey controls.
The arp on the Launchkey is great for a live scenario that doesn't require perfect synchronisation with Ableton, but less so if you need it to be perfectly in time with other Ableton clips. This is because it does not account for human error. "
AND
"Yes, this is possible (to play 2 synced arpeggiated chords) but it requires you to be very accurate with the re-triggering of the chord. There's no way to 'queue' the next chord so you would need to play it as on beat as possible. If you need to to do this with consistently perfect precision, it may be easier to use Live to trigger prerecorded MIDI clips."
I have been very patient with this matter but if there is no solution to this and if Novation does not plan on fixing this then its time i sell this keyboard and buy another one from another company that the arpeggiator actually works in sync with a DAW.
Im actually surprised that people did not notice this problem !
Feel free to offer a solution if you have one :)
Perhaps you could use the knob to control the speed of the arpeggiator and set it as close as you can to the tempo of your song, and then quantize it afterwards.
Looks a good deal for the money 88 keys for £349 is an attractive proposition . Nice to see an 88 key controller in a semi weighted format the layout reminds me of the Arturia approach. One minor gripe with it is the size of the LCD screen would have been nice if it was a bit longer but it wouldn't be a deal breaker as that seems to be the current trend except with Native Instruments S series which are massive in comparison. A shame no expression pedal sockets , sure most considering using this wouldn't have a need for them but I think would have improved their value for money as they are not expensive additions. I think they'll sell quite a few of these as that area of the market doesn't have many options . Great demo Mike If I didn't already have an 88 note keyboard controller This new one from Novation would definitely on the consideration list, especially at the retail price quoted. :)
Got one of these, loving it so far, but having trouble setting up transport controls. I watched another video of yours on this, but still couldn't quite get there. Maybe a future vid? Thanks. I hope you're well.
Thank you so much for the video. I was looking at this one, as a piano player and want to start making music with the drumpads. And well detailed and explained plus makes me look forward even more, to buying and playing with it. Quick quistion: Are you originally from AU or do you only live there?
Is there no port for an expression pedal?
Thanks for presenting this to us. I have just purchased and downloaded free plugins from Spitfire Audio and LABS, respectively, however, don't have a midi keyboard. I have been racking my brain trying to figuring out what would work best for me. I just ordered the Novation. The only thing that concerns me about it is the travel of the faders in regards to the expression and effects controls with the LABS and Spitfire software. Monogram cc makes a pricey modular controller that has 60mm fader travel. I think Launchkey faders are 30mm. I'll give it a go and decide in the Monogram later.
Cheers...
Never used a midi controller before - I know so little about them really as with so many things. The price is something that really catches my attention - I do need to figure out something and this may be the solution - I'm only a wanna be keyboardist though so - but I do need a backup plan for my broken 88 key Roland (which will get fixed eventually). Thank you for the review 😀 👍
@@CraigRodmellMusic XV88 F3/F#3
For me, if there is no half-pedal function it's not for piano sounds. No aftertouch is also a bummer. I went with Studiologic Numa 2x. It has both.
Thanks for the review, Mike. This would be a complete winner for me if it had poly aftertouch and a ribbon controller like the Hydrasynth. Also, no pedal inputs? Hope you’re well!
Oh, I must try it!
I see it has a sustain pedal input, but no expression pedal inputs is fine for people using hardware sounds (you can plug the pedals into the sound module), but for USB to a computer, you'd want the pedal signals to go along that USB path, from the controller. That's a design mistake. Maybe they figured that the same people who didn't care whether the keys were weighted also wouldn't use pedals? IDK...
You can get midi expression stand-alone pedals, but they are really really expensive.
@@davidsprivate5609 been looking at the monogram stuff, very pricey, but seems solid. As long as a carry case is used for transport...
I can't decide between this and Nektar LX88+. Would appreciate a piece of advice. On the surface they look similar, but maybe I am missing something and one is actually better than the other?
Audiolatry is out with a new instrument VST called mel lofi, its a mellotron instrument. Something to look into?
I recently bought the Impulse 61 from a local shop who were asking £149 but since I knew the lad (from previous purchases) I offered £99 and to my surprise he accepted. So I got it home to find its probably brand new and never been used. I also own the Nektar Impact 88+ and NI Kontrol S49 so what are my thoughts? The Impulse is a nice keyboard costing slightly more than the Launchkey comes with a decent software bundle and relatively straight forward to set up. DOWNSIDE Novation are owned by Focusrite Audio and they have no dedicated forums for Novation. Fortunately since I already own a couple of midi keyboards I understand midi cc etc so that was not a problem but for those who don't that could be a problem if you need some help. I tried Studio One first, the instructions I found on the website were wrong and I could not get split keyboard to work. Trying other DAWS everything worked as expected without any issues. You have to assign midi to control the master stereo bus but I use multiple output bus channels so not an issue for me.
The keys are not as good as the Nektar and I am not going to compare it with the NI Kontrol S49 that cost significantly more, unfair comparison. It look great really well made and goes what its designed to do. Whilst it is a midi controller for VST plugins its also a basic DAW surface controller and this is always a useful feature to get your head around. Both faders and knobs to their job and the pads are really nice !!
Hi, How is the keybed when you to the further edge of the key? I have a 49keys midi keyboards with no hammer action so when you go inside as in depth, the key is way more stiff and hard to press down specially on black keys. I want to go to 88 keys but have no way of testing this keyboard in particular
Yeh I'd also like to know. The black keys on a lot of midi keyboards are just too stiff to express virtual instruments.
The main reason this one won't do for me is no expression pedal input.
Just buy usb expression pedal
Like boss ev-1wl
Thanks for the great review! Subscribed. Wondering how this compares to the M-Audio Hammer 88 Pro which of course has fully weighted hammer action keys. Seems similar other than that. This one weighs 18 Lb. vs 40 lb. for the Hammer 88 Pro. And this sells for $400 vs. $800. I actually bought a Hammer 88 Pro from Amazon which came damaged and is heading back to them. And previously owned an M-Audio Oxygen Pro 61 which I liked but prefer 88 keys which is why I bought the Hammer 88 Pro. Will definitely consider this keyboard.
Do the keys have polyphonic aftertouch as well?
Great video Mike. If they had a fully weighted key version, they would have my money even if it were 100 bucks or so more.
However, as others have stated though…. No sustain pedal input?
Hey Pat, no there is a sustain pedal input - I mention it briefly in the video :)
Hello friend, can I ask you for an opinion? I currently work with a ni s61 mkii, I really like the feeling of this keyboard, the problem is that I work with orchestral vsts and I would like to have the 88 keys, I am not a pianist and I would like it to have semi-weighted keys too, those of the ni s61 mkii are and they also have aftertouch, I've seen the novation, I like its design, my questions are, how are your keys? Are they well made like those of my ni s61 mkii, or do they feel plastic when touched? Is the sensitivity when pressing good? are the keys noisy? clicks, friction between them..., would you trade a ni s61 mkii for the 88 novation, just for the keys? Please, I would like to know your opinion. thank you so much.
While I certainly agree that 88 keys are desirable, the reason you mention about key switches doesn't really make sense to me, since you can always map those key switches to, say, drum pads, which has the advantage of bringing the key switches closer to you and allows you to choose an arrangement that makes sense to you rather than the one that the VST instrument designer chose.
Mapping them to pads would only be desirable if you only have one set of key switches that you ever use, and they are on the same mapping. I use kontakt with a large set of libraries, each library has different key switches, and the key switches are anywhere from C0 to E3, that's a lot of space to cover with pads.
@@WarrenPostma I'm thinking in terms of a VST host like Cantabile, where you can arrange for mappings to change depending on context. But I agree that it would be difficult to manage without such a host.
@@TimothyPeierls That's true. Also ELement VST Host could do this.
Started out looking quite promising but with only one pedal port (sustain), no port for expression this will be a non starter for me. A pity as I’m looking for a new 88 midi controller.
How does this compare to the Arturia Keylab 88?
don't buy that garbage trust me
Is this just a review model or is it replacing your Artura?
This is one I'm just using for review. The price range for the two is quite different!
The lack of aftertouch is a deal breaker for me.
I was thinking about that but then couldn’t you assign aftertouch to a pad? I have had two controllers with aftertouch. One I had to turn off at times to keep it from triggering. I was also thinking about the expression pedal in the past but never really used it with my midi controllers. Both would be good for strings and brass though.
Midi controller (Master keyboard) without Expression pedal input option.....hmmmmm.....😕
MAKE SURE THAT THE ARPEGGIATOR WORKS IN SYNC WITH YOUR DAW BEFORE BUYING THIS!
So I bought the Launchkey MK3 for it’s amazing arpeggiator features, the arpeggiator works fine with its internal clock. But to my surprise when it’s operating with Ableton as an external clock source it overlaps notes making ugly noises. I documented the arpeggiator behaviour in this video ruclips.net/video/a2XhHU-y_SI/видео.html. Does Novation plan on fixing this in a future update? Is there anything that can be done to make this arpeggiator usable in a DAW?
Hello ^^
Hey MC!
No expression pedal and strange pad layout.
The lack of fully weighted keys completely ruins what was otherwise such a promising keyboard. So, so disappointed...
Come on man, Launchkey Mk3 keys are not quality! They wobble 3-4 mm to the left and right. That feels horrible.
Semi-weighted. Pffft.
Dang, that's cheap.