http://www.amazon.com/Novation-49-SL-MkII-Controller/dp/B002BIM778/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398657311&sr=8-1&keywords=novation+sl+mkii

vs

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MPK249

I have read soooo much on these two, it's hard to say cause the mpk249 is brand new not to many people have used them yet.

My only worries with the sl mk2 is it's from 2011? So it's a lot older, Hopefully the drivers are up to date and everything works good.

What would you guys go with? my old keyboard a radium 49 had it for years finally crapped out today! so it's time to get a new one :D

I have to say, the novations italian keys and the smart dial really have me sold right now.

But akai's is brand new! which means drivers and all the fancy stuff is up to date. What do you guys think? I am ordering tomorrow! :D

Also I love amazon, I'm a prime member and they have always done me right. And I can return it if I don't like it, where as sweet water I've never tried them before.

 

I have an mk1 and a mk2 also a mpk49(first model) I would go with the mk2 everything maps perfectly for me any effect any vsti faders on mixer everything The akai u have to manually set up presets and to be honest my akai messed up faster then any novation I have I use studio one as my main daw but have linked a abelton protools fl up and the novation ran fine the mpk I couldn't get to link in protools at all and didn't try in abelton but linked in fl

 

Novation.

 

The pads are infinitely better on the Akai...

That being said, are you buying the keyboard for the pads? i doubt it...

Get the novation...

 

It prob help if i explained what i was lookin for more haha. Yes the piano part is a lot more important. The sl mk2 pads are velocity so while not as good im sure ill eventually get to doing fancy things. So the fqct it came out in 2011 you guys dont think ill run into any "outdated" problems. Dunno why im even concerned with that, my radium 49 is legacy afterall lol.

also i figure if i want really good pads i could buy a drum machine pads, a lot of companies are coming out with those by them selves. Also i been using the keys on my radium for the drums, ive never used pads i dont know what im missing yet!

k by tonight 11:59 in alaska i shall order. Going to research all day. So far the vote is for the sl mk2 novation.

italian keys man!!!!! Thanks guys, feel free to keep posting your opinions!

 

I didn't like the Mk2. I traded it a couple years back for an Impulse which I prefer. But if money were no object I'd have one of these:

http://www.studiologic-music.com/products/midi-controllers.html
or
http://www.doepfer.de/lmk4.htm

 

Quick question on the mk2 pads, i read on a review that as usual no one likes them, but one guy said once he changed the sensitivity on them he loved them. Then another guy who previously said he hated them said he didnt even know you could do that. Im curious if thats why people arent liking them.

Ugh. also i am going to go with one or the other because if i keep looking at different boards ill never choose lol.

 

Ive been looking at getting the akai. Just havent seen one in store yet. I have an impulse and the keyboard is nice however the encoders are just horrible the encoders on an apc40 kick its ass. Im hoping the mpk2 has an improved keybed and pads are ok out of the box. Need to have a play in store but I would steer clear of novations encoders.

 

I just remember them being too small and laggy.

 

I'm in a similar situation to you but not in a hurry and with a slightly wider choice of brands to consider... arturia, M-Audio etc.

From my reading of comments, the Novation SL or Impulse would have better keybeds than the Akai's.

The Akai's pads are more sensitive than the Novation's (don't know about the Novation sensitive setting you mention). I think they come from the legacy MPC breeding stock of drum pads!
If you want pads in the future, you could get one of the smaller Akai standalone pad units or the little Korg ones !

Please let us know what you finally get and review when you can

 

The MPK2 is not even released yet. They have pushed it back twice and it looks like it's getting pushed back to the end of May now. I had one on preorder and switched my order to the Korg Taktile 49. So that is something to consider. Usually midi controllers are class compliant, meaning they are plug and play and no drivers needed. But, that being said, newer items tend to have MORE issues than older hardware...at least where drivers are concerned.

 

My opinion going to be bias towards Novation.

I own the 25 SL MkII. I like the feeling of the keys and the ammount of knobs/slider becomes overwhelming. You can pretty much set up any plugin with full map or work on Daws flawless.

One thing is that they use automap. (Except for ableton/bitwig) Ableton has a unique template but it's all set up for you. I been wanting to try this other template but i been busy with school lately. I don't know if bitwig/novation has release support on the mkii. They only had for impulse/launchkey(pad) versions. ):

AutoMap is easy to understand. It can take a day to set up all the plugins the way you like them. It might take less if you get the hang of it quick or you don't have huge library of vst. Once you set up the automap presets for the plugins, they will save on a file which you can carry anywhere. In case you go to a friend house of something, you can take the keyboard + settings. I haven't try it but i seen people say that it works fine.

AutoMap also has pages which allow you to have crazy vst synts like massive or sylenth full map out. You can make a page for Oscillator, another for envelopes, another for effects, etc...

One down side is that it makes extra copies of your vst.(They are super small files like 32kb) You will have 2 massives.


https://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=192290

As far as the pads. They are pretty worthless. I hardly use them because they are pretty solid. They are ok if you want to use them to trigger something like a button but i wouldn't recommend them for drum pad. Padkontrol/maschine/launchpad/trigger finger are probably a better solution for that.

Since you get a lot of knobs on the keyboard, i would suggest something like Padkontrol + MkII. They make a pretty good combo.

One more let down about the 49 version vs 25 version. They have exactly the same ammount of knobs/slides. You would expect they would add some extra features. I believe the 61 has aftertouch. I'm not sure about the 49 one. I know the 25 key doesn't have aftertouch which is a let down ):


Summary:

Pads are useless but they make up with the high number of knobs/slides/encoders. They all light up and have after touch. The keyboard feels neat but it lacks aftertouch for 25. (Duno about 49) You have automap which i think is a great way to set up your workflow if you like being able to work straight up once you open a plugin. The mod wheel is great for making weird variations for automation. The xpression pad is not that great, it feels a little stiff just like the pads.

I had give the keyboard a 8.5 only because the pads and xpression pad could have been improve for a higher quality. I had pay an extra 50 bucks if they would of improve them.

 

Sl mk2 49 key does have after touch. And you guys r right, i saw the mpk249 for sale on sweet water but it isnt released.

im going to go with the sl mk2 for now and return if i dont love it. Also i do have ableton and will do a review when i get it. Well off to bed now to ponder on my decision. Its tough to say cause the mpre i read about the mpk249 the better it sounds. But in the end i can just get a dedicated drum pads and go with sl mk2.

then again bein the most indecisive person maybe ill just wait on the mpk249. One more month isnt to bad i guess. And then i can be the first to review it :D thank you everyone for your feedback!

Ill post tom if i order the mk2

 

Alright guys i know i should just buy the sl mk2, but imma wait till the mk249 comes out and reqd the reviews. So wait for my next thread.

I bought a " " omgerd so happy!

 

Hey I find myself in a similar situation and could use some advice.

I am really new to all this. I have purchased Ableton Live Suite and Push. I've also purchased all the Spectrasonics programs - Omnisphere, Trilian and Stylus RMX.

What I want to do is to create simple background music in the New Age genre for starters. I also want to do some electronic club style music.

Do I have what I need or would I be better off with a keyboard as well?

John from Plugin Guru suggested that I should have a keyboard as well. But can I use both a keyboard and Push at the same time?

Money is not to much of an issue up to about $500 for a keyboard. And the two mentioned in this thread look pretty good to me.

By the way, I am using an iMac.

I would not be getting the keyboard for the pads as the Push will be great for that. I would want it for the keyboard and the sliders, knobs and the two wheels for pitch and effects.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.