Novation 49SL MkIII 49-Key MIDI Controller Keyboard and Sequencer with DAW integration

Product Information

I’m going to walk you through how to set up your SL MkIII with Pro Tools. Please ensure that your SL MkIII is connected to your computer and powered on. With swing on or off per part, it’s possible to build contrasting layers of groove for more complex rhythmic results. Pattern shift

The primary row of eight encoders and buttons are accompanied by full‑colour displays. There’s a transport section, various mode and function buttons, and a bank of eight mixer‑style strips each with a slider and two buttons. The 16 pressure‑sensitive pads lie in two rows below the screens so they can be drafted in as Ableton launchers and sequence programmers. In recent years most new Novation MIDI controllers have been small and square. The Launch and Circuit series are brilliantly innovative; by comparison the company’s more traditional keyboard ranges, Impulse and SL, have begun to look dated. Now Novation have taken the features and workflows they’ve developed for Circuit and Launch, and reimagined what a control keyboard could be. The result is a unique blend of MIDI master keyboard, DAW controller, and stand‑alone sequencer. These will walk you through how to set up your SL MkIII with Cubase. Please ensure that your SL MkIII is connected to your computer and powered on.

Customer Reviews

The primary stand‑alone mode is Sequencer. This puts you in charge of eight Parts, which are displayed along the bottom of the screens and selected with the adjacent buttons. Each Part is a MIDI control template selected from the pool of templates currently stored in the unit. Templates recall MIDI assignments for the buttons and faders, pads, mod wheel and two banks of rotaries. The factory set on my unit contained a generic template plus templates for all Novation’s synths and a host of other, mostly contemporary, synths and drum machines. The downside was it took work to set up, and relied on local settings files on your machine. With modern displays, and the move towards computer independence and integration with Components, I can understand why Novation would step away from Automap. It does leave something of a gap though that’s filled, or not, in different ways depending on your DAW.

The keyboard feels very nice and all other hardware too except for the sliders, they feel a bit cheap. Services Guitar Workshop Electronic Repairs Workshop Music Store Events & Workshops Piano Showroom Music Lessons Recording StudioThe Novation SL MK3 61 is a stunning piece of kit. Superb build quality, mind blowingly great features and ease of use. I did a ton of research on which Midi Controller to get and i made the right choice with this. Dont think about it anymore, just get one of these, you wont be disappointed. Any chance of native support? These things have a lifecycle of many years if the last version is anything to go by, so worth putting in I think. Inside Pro Tools, please go to Setup > peripherals > Select HUI, and set the send and receive options to Novation SL Mk III InControl, then select OK.

The keyboard can also be divided into Zones, which can each be assigned to one of the eight Parts, so users can play multiple instruments at once - handy for use as a live performance hub. Up to eight Zones can be assigned, each with adjustable keyboard range, displayed via the LED light guide above the keyboard. While these multi-faceted sequencing tools are the core feature of the SL MkIII, it can still handle the DAW control duties you’d expect from a high-end MIDI controller. You can also set the MIDI channel for each rotary control. The 'Default Channel' is the channel that the template is set up on, you can as well set the parameter change on a separate midi channel.:Easily integrate hardware with your DAW – get the best of both worlds, recording any electronic performance from one studio centrepiece SL MkIII is far from your typical keyboard controller. It’s an all-sequencing, all-dancing hub for all of your music making tools. A centrepiece to connect, control and create with your entire setup. Computer or not. Along the rear, the SL MkIII has a power switch and input for its external power adapter, which is required at all times as there’s no USB power option. Next along comes a USB port, for connection to a computer, along with three DIN ports, the first two for MIDI in and out, and a third that is switchable between offering a secondary output and MIDI through port. Beyond the sequencer, the SL MkIII also features an Arpeggiator, with adjustable rate, gate length and direction. With the Arpeggiator mode active, the arp pattern can be adjusted by using the 16-pad grid to add or remove steps. The arp can only be used on one Part at a time, but it is possible to change which part the arp is assigned to on the fly, using one of the central rotaries. The keyboard itself offers some handy features too.