Great Keyboard

I have been playing piano since I was about 5 using an old Yamaha keyboard that my grandparents gave me. When I started producing music, I didn't know how to write melodies very well. I knew music theory but in my opinion it can only help you a little bit when producing. People who know me will tell you that I have a passion for beautiful melodies but when I was making progressive house, I couldn't unleash those melodies. I tried to make them as beautiful as possible without overdoing it but it doesn't work like that. With my Novation, I can create those melodies flying around in my head more easily and more productively than ever before! Though I still use Ableton's piano roll to draw the notes out, the Novation is deffinantly my secret weapon for finding melodies. I have noticed that not very many people use it but in my opinion, be different! You don't have to by really expensive stuff cause in the end it's all about creativity and how wild your imagination can go!

Really great. But a bit complex to learn to use.

Everything so far works well. I won't know for a while how secure all of the equipment is. I hope that the USB port on the back isn't broken in 6 months. I take great care of my gear too, I have just seen the USB female port on other M-Audio midi keyboards break and those are significantly higher in price, too.

I also wish there was a manual (or even a youtube video) that told me 3 things.

1. How to easily use the "launch pads" as midi controlled notes (I found out how, thanks to a youtube video)
2. How to set up within 10 minutes on Ableton.
3. What 5 potential set ups you could use the Launchkeys for in different daws.

I like the look, feel and weight. I did not enjoy troubleshooting for 45 minutes to get my DAW controls to work in Ableton which is a relatively simple DAW I have not had any issues with. I even upgraded to Ableton 11 JUST to have the novation preset in the midi setup tab.

Overall, I enjoy this product. 4 stars. Thank you SO MUCH novation for the plug ins!!

Made me want to continue to purchase from Novation, knowing that they really do want me making music.

Happy with V-Station and BassStation 2.

is cheap, feels cheap, works good

this is a cheap 250(ish cad) midi all in one controller.

the keys feel worse then my microbrute, the drum"pads" are more buttons. having 3 leds (red, orange, and green) but but rgb is a massive oversite. however, this can take a shit kicking, and given modern day tech, it doesn't hold up well today. back in it's day though, couldn't really be beat for the price. just not a modern day buy at all.

So far this keyboard has been really great.

Mapping macros to it in FL has been amazing. Once setup it works fine, although I don't have it setup full time on my desk so it is constantly moving. I've made some tracks with it so far, and it's really helped my workflow speed up in some ways.

Example track

https://soundcloud.com/e3aglmusic/improvisation-in-fl-test

Couldn't have done that track without the keyboard, it's super useful when it comes to recording automation.

A few software things to recommend- FPC is a little drum and pad synth, and it's hella useful because you can use the pads to the fullest extent. I'd recommend making some drum kits when you're not busy. Also useful for sampling. Also, when you are moving things, just map them to the mod wheel. They will remove the mapping from the previous parameter and you can modify things with the mod wheel very easily. Pitch wheel doesn't work so well in FL, but hey, what can you do?

I got this for ~$70 US, and if you can find it on ebay around that price, go for it. A worthy addition to any pro's setup.

Perfect controller with something disappointing

This controller is made to be used with Ableton, but you can easily use it to control every other DAW (I use it with Logic Pro X). The thing that I don't like about it is the key feeling: it's not smooth, you can really feel that is cheap plastic. It's not a pleasure to play that keyboard at all. But anyway, is a controller, you just use it for simple chords and controls. I only disencourage the people who want to buy it and use it as a master keyboard. You deserve better for your home studio... check out other brands ;)

It works, nothing so special though

I needed a smaller masterkeyboard because I was moving to London and rent prices for small flats cost a fortune. This keyboard does this very well for me. I am not so much a controller guy, so the Native keyboard would be overkill, but I have mapped the faders and buttons to a few of my favourite soft synths, and it works just well, especially at that price point.

An expensive keyboard, took too much $$$

I only use this keyboard cuz it’s got enough controllers integrated into one. The beat pad, I use mostly for hip hop, and midi record using the keyboard mostly on hip hop. For EDM, I might play back a song from other producers that I know such as Martin Garrix, Alan Walker, etc.

Compatibility with Ableton

If your DAW is Ableton, this will be very useful to you. As for the quality of the materials, the entire case is plastic. If you want something of higher quality, you will have to pay for it.

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Pretty good keyboard.

I've had this MIDI controller for a while and it works great with Ableton Live. Since moving to FL Studio I've found it less useful but overall pretty good.