I own Novation's SL 61 mkII.
I've also either owned or used all of the major MIDI controller keyboards currently on the market
(Axiom, Oxygen, MPK, Xboard, Keystation, PCR, etc.), and these are my observations:
- The Novation's keys are excellent. None of the major offerings in this price range
(and even some above this price range) have keys that feel this good. Pick it if good-feeling keys are what you like most about a MIDI controller.
- The drumpads on the Novation keyboard are either so-so or really bad, depending on your skill in finger drumming and depending on the complexity of your drum parts. However, the drumpads on every other MIDI controller keyboard
(except the Axiom series) aren't any better at all. The best drumpads come from a dedicated drumpad controller, which you already have.
- Automap is
excellent,
but you must read the manual to use it to its potential. Don't expect it to read your mind in how to create mappings; create your own mappings that it will automatically switch to when you switch plugins. Up until I found Automap, I only used the faders and knobs on my controller keyboards because I felt that I had wasted my money otherwise. After finding Automap, knobs and faders are more than a cheap gimmick.
- The X/Y pad on the Novation is disappointing. It requires you to REALLY lay some pressure on the surface, and as of this moment, there is no way to calibrate it to be more sensitive. Picture it this way: It requires 5x the force of the touchpad on the padKONTROL, and some people whine that even the padKONTROL's isn't sensitive enough. I was worried that I had a broken keyboard at first; that's how much pressure it takes.
- The large LCD strip at the top left of the Novation makes the keyboard one of the easiest and fastest for changing settings: Creating zones, changing velocity settings, changing MIDI channels, re-mapping controls, transposing the drumpads, sending bank changes, tap-tempo, etc. All of the settings tend to display in plain English rather than some crypic 3-character display.
- The Roland-Ish joystick is pretty cool, and it has a nifty feature: The modwheel axis can either be sprung
(like the pitch bend axis) or unsprung. There's a switch on the bottom of the keyboard for changing modes.
- Aftertouch works great on the Novation, just a slight bit smoother than the Xboard, which had a pretty good aftertouch capabililty.
Both the Novation SL mk2 61 and M-Audio Axiom Pro 61 are really nice boards.
This right here is the battle of the heavyweights:
VERSUS
