I'm using Cubase and Ableton, and make film, indie and techno music styles in a home studio environments, and looking for a 61 key controller to slide under the desk.

I'm torn between these two, and can get both for the same price at the moment as a friend is selling their SL Mk3 and I can take it off their hands for the same price as the Launchkey Mk4 61 key controller.

Which of these two is the best bet, with one (the flagship) being some 7 years old and the other a year old?

Novation have this comparison, so I'm aware of this, but just trying to get some real world, customer perspective views

https://support.novationmusic.com/h...8710162-SL-MkIII-and-Launchkey-MK4-Comparison

 

The mk3 has Sessions that you can save, which is great, if you need it.
It also has a lot more I/O, if you need it.
Mk3 also has 64 custom modes, opposed to the 8 on the mk4, if you need that many.
Mk3 also has a sequencer, which can be fun.

On the other hand...

Mk4 has mixer controls, chord mode, more scales than mk3.

All of these features could be game-changing, or completely irrelevant, it all depends on what you want to do with it.

And the only one who knows that, is you

It's like choosing between an old flagship and a brand new mid-range product. Always a tough choice :D

 

Yeah, this is my dilemma!

I don't currently need any hardware control, and can't see myself using the inbuilt patterns really. I will use it mostly to play virtual instruments in the DAW, where many of the chords and scales features already exist.

The main things I'm looking for is faders to control things like dynamics and expression in virtual orchestral instruments, a proper mod wheel for similar reasons to the faders, and the ability to use the faders for some ball park mixing and using the pads to programme in beat and patterns in Ableton (and Cubase if possible) would be nice when making the more techno based material.

Not sure on the custom modes, which I presume means custom presets for the keyboard, being you can have the keyboard mapped differently for each preset, then using a preset per instrument/synth., for example? If so, I suspect it would be nice to have an almost endless amount like the 64 on the Mk3, but I suspect this would be a theoretical 'nice to have' and I wouldn;t end up actually programming any of this and just use it in it's largely stock DAW control mode Programming MIDI controllers has never really been something I've liked of felt compelled to do enough to put that pain upon myself

 

I was facing a similar dilemma recently. I watched 5-6 videos on both products on YouTube, found some comparison videos, thought about what I really need and don't need. And after all that, I knew what was right for me.

The mk3 is an old flagship with much more features for advanced users, which you might not need.
The mk4 is a relatively new product with BLINKY BLINKY LED LIGHTS.

I'd go with the blinky blinky.

 

I would buy the newer device, as it most likely has fixed all the problems of the older keyboard, and you also get optimized drivers for Windows 10/11. The latter should be a high-tech product that will last a long time. The fact that your friend's MIDI keyboard was already in use will naturally affect its lifespan. When you buy from Thomann, you receive a 3-year warranty and right of exchange.

 

I've taken the punt on the Launchkey 61 Mk4 as I think my limited use, and the addition of the Push-like sequencing probably means it's a better fit for my use case. Cheers all