Novation Impulse keyboards

Novation Digital Music Systems Ltd. is a UK keyboard manufacturer, and brand that was born in 1992. Novation’s first commercial product was the MM10, a battery-powered keyboard controller designed to work with the Yamaha QY1 module. This combination was the first fully portable workstation for many.

Since its inception the Novation company has been an industry benchmark in controllers and one of the brands of choice for the most famous producers and DJs. Today they have several of the most widely used controllers, Novation LaunchPad MKII, Novation LaunchPad PROl or their new Novation Launch Control XL MKII. Novation is known for designing MIDI control surfaces for Ableton Live and is a standard in the market.

At Microfusa, which is not only a music school but also a physical and online instrument shop, they provide guidance on how to choose the right MIDI control surface. They have Novation keyboard controllers and their specialists can answer any questions you may have through the chat on their website or by phone. We have spoken to them to find out about the characteristics of the different Novation keyboards. 

Choosing between Novation keyboards

One of the most famous is the Novation Impulse 49, which belongs to the range of professional USB / MIDI controllers.  It is a precision keyboard and a full control surface powered by a new version of the Novation Automap 4 software. This makes it faster and easier to work with DAWs or plug-ins.   The keyboard features 8 backlit pads with functions for modifying arpeggios, launching your own Beats or playing scenes in Ableton Live.

The Novation impulse 61 is also a precision keyboard and a total control surface powered by a new version of the Novation Automap 4 software. What sets it apart from the Impulse 40 is that it features a total of 61 keys. 

Other keyboard versions

Another version of Novation’s 25-note USB controller keyboard for Ableton Live is the Launchkey 25 MK2. These keyboards are the fastest and easiest way to produce and play electronic music using Ableton Live.   Simply connect a Launchkey keyboard to your computer via USB and you can control the mix, play virtual instruments and use the mixer through its keys, buttons and pads. Trigger clips, control effects, play beats and much more via its 16 pads arranged in two rows of 8 that correspond to the Ableton Live session view. One row for launching clips and one row for stopping clips. The velocity-sensitive RGB pads light up in the same colour as the clips and allow you to record tracks with more feeling.

The Novation 61SL MKIII is the new 61-Key Controller Keyboard, which allows full hardware control by bringing together hardware MIDI and CV/Gate synths and connecting them to the SL MKII. It takes full control directly from the internal 8-track polyphonic pattern-based sequencer.

This new model integrates easily with the DAW, controlling the software in a way that allows you to control and record productions from the centrepiece of the studio. It’s the perfect controller for working with Live.