T. O’Brien@TerrenceOBrienMay 26th, 2022In this article: gear, novation, midi controller, new music production, launchkey, ableton reside, review
Novation now makes five distinctive variations of its venerable Launchkey sequence of MIDI controllers, ranging from the vacation-helpful Launchkey Mini all the way up to the studio centerpiece Launchkey 61. But for some, 61 keys is not sufficient. And a really serious piano participant may balk at the unweighted keys. But now Novation features the Launchkey 88 with a semi-weighted keybed.
The most recent addition to the family in essence bridges the gap involving the price range-minded Launchkey and the increased-conclude SL collection, which commences at $600. The Launchkey 88 keeps the cost to just $400 by leaving out extra sophisticated functions like CV outputs, coloration screens and created-in sequencer. But, if you’re largely developing in-the-box you almost certainly won’t overlook the extras that considerably.
Terrence O’Brien / Engadget
This is to be expected, and it is not a con, but the Launchkey 88 is big. It is not the controller for you if house is at a quality. I actually experienced difficulty finding space for it in my small attic studio. That remaining mentioned, the keybed is outstanding. I’m not a piano participant, and have no distinct allegiance to weighted keys, but these have been evidently a phase earlier mentioned your typical MIDI controller. They lack the springy bounce of the much less expensive associates of the Launchkey line and I identified it a great deal a lot easier to get nuanced velocity reaction.
If not, the hardware is mainly the exact same as the rest of the Launchkey line. It is all plastic, but feels strong sufficient. The 16 velocity delicate pads are passable but nothing to compose dwelling about. The faders have an exceptional sum of resistance, but are a tad wobbly. And the knobs are unbelievably strong but a tad little. The pitch and mod wheels are attractive although, full halt. The resistance is perfect, and they are rock solid. Going back again to the touch strips on other controllers feels like punishment.
Terrence O’Brien / Engadget
Of program, the massive promoting position of any Launchkey unit is its tight integration with Ableton Are living. It is not really great plenty of to go entirely mouse and keyboard free, but you can get a whole lot achieved directly on the controller. You can start clips from the pads, regulate macros with the knobs and blend your tracks with the faders. You have control in excess of deliver outcomes, the panning, and there is a dedicated button for looping a portion of your track to jam about, as well as a seize MIDI button in circumstance you play a thing truly encouraged but forgot to hit document. You can do quite a little bit with looking at the laptop or computer, although it can be a little bit challenging to navigate much larger tasks.
There are some odd quirks ideal now, even though, that will presumably get ironed out in firmware and script updates quite promptly. Specifically, Live will get bewildered by taking part in in the higher octaves. There is a few of dead zones, from G4 by way of E5, for example, and some keys in the best octave set off various recording modes in its place of notes.
The arpeggiator is even now amazing, nevertheless. The random, Mutate and Deviate functions make it quick to build one of a kind patterns and introduce a minimal unpredictability to a composition. This is the aspect that has me coming again to the Launchkey line again and once again in my personal studio. And the 5-pin MIDI DIN relationship will allow you to bring that top-notch arpeggiator to components synths. However, I nonetheless think the controller is best suited to a principally software program-based set up.
Terrence O’Brien / Engadget
The Launchkey 88 is not a real luxurious MIDI controller. It is really an inexpensive workhorse. But it does go a little bit past some of its extra economical competition, and even its siblings. The expansive sizing in all probability is not essential for most producers, but the semi-weighted keybed does make a massive variance in playability. And I’d like to see Novation deliver it to the smaller sized customers of the relatives like the Launchkey 49, which is almost certainly a little bit extra my pace (and a lot easier to shove on my cramped desk).
The Launchkey 88 is obtainable now for $400.
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