Novation SL MKIII MIDI Keyboard Controller with Sequencer, 49 Velocity-Sensitive Semi-Weight Keys, 2 Sets of CV/Gate & Mod Outputs, 16 RGB Backlit Velocity-Sensitive Pads, 5 RGB LCD Screens
novation
- he 49-note Novation SL MkIII is an advanced MIDI and CV keyboard controller with an integrated 8-track sequencer, designed to be the centerpiece in any creative software- or hardware-based studio.
- 49 Velocity-Sensitive Semi-Weight Keys
- Internal 8-Track Pattern-Based Sequencer
- 8 Per-Part Arpeggiators
- Two Sets of CV, Gate & Mod Outputs
Warranty: 1 Year — effortless warranty claims with UK-wide coverage. Learn more
Details
- Shipping Weight
- 6.80 Kg
- Shipping Dimensions
- 81.60 cm x 29.90 cm x 10.00 cm
- Keyboard
- 49 Full-Size Keys, Semi-Weighted Action with Aftertouch, Velocity
- MIDI Control Surfaces
- 8 x Endless Rotary Encoder8 x Fader Encoder16 x Pad (Velocity-Sensitive)2 x Wheel (Modulation, Pitch-Bend)
- Performance Functions
- Multi-Zone Programming, Octave Shift, Scene Memory, Sequencer, Tap Tempo, Transport Controls, Transpose
- I/O
- 2 x MIDI 5-Pin MIDI Input/Output1 x MIDI 5-Pin MIDI Thru2 x 1/4" TRS Expression Pedal/Sustain Input1 x 1/4" TS Footswitch Input6 x 1/8" / 3.5 mm CV/Gate/Mod Output1 x 1/8" / 3.5 mm Sync Output
- OS Compatibility
- WindowsmacOS*As of April, 2020: Check with manufacturer for the most up-to-date compatibility
- Power Options
- AC/DC Power Adapter (Included)
- AC/DC Power Adapter
- 12 VDC (Included)
- Operating Current Consumption
- 1000 mA (Plug-In Power)
4.49 reviews
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Thomas P. Used for: More than a year
Pros
Eight faders and eight encoders that both feel expensive
Comment
Everything else on this desk has been swapped out at least once, but this has stayed exactly where it is
Thomas M. Used for: Less than a month
Comment
Built like something that will outlast the studio around it
Rosie S. Used for: 1–3 months
Pros
The only controller I found that talks to hardware and software equally well
Comment
The setup here is half computer and half boxes with knobs on, and until this arrived the two halves were joined by a tangle of adapters and a lot of hope. Now the DIN sockets feed the drum machine and the desk synth, the CV outs go to the modular case, and the USB run handles the DAW. One button starts the lot in step. The keybed is semi-weighted with aftertouch and it is fine rather than remarkable: even, quiet, no rattle, but a little bouncy if you have come off a piano. The faders are the part I use most and they have the travel to make small moves properly. Marked down a star because the first fortnight was genuinely hard work. The layout is deep, the manual is dense, and nothing about the page system is obvious until suddenly it is.
Alfie B. Used for: More than a year
Pros
Nothing has worn, wobbled or gone quiet
Comment
Lives in the back of an estate car between gigs and rehearsals. Still tracks perfectly two years on
Thomas C. Used for: 6–12 months
Pros
The sequencer runs with no computer anywhere near it
Cons
Takes a week before the layout is second nature
Comment
Wrote most of an EP on it with the laptop shut, just this, a Digitakt and a pair of monitors. Eight months in, the thing I keep coming back to is that the clock is rock solid over the DIN sockets, so nothing drifts across a 20-minute jam.
Charlie P. Used for: More than a year
Pros
Template for Logic loaded and everything was mapped
Cons
The screens are small if your eyes are not what they were
Comment
Plugged in, chose the template, and the transport, the mixer and the plugin racks all worked before I had finished my tea!
Ivy N. Used for: 1–3 months
Cons
The learning curve is a cliff and the manual does not help
Comment
Two stars is frustration talking, not build quality, which is excellent. Everything I want to do exists somewhere three pages deep, the naming is inconsistent between the screens and the editor, and I have spent more evenings reading forums than playing. If you already own a Novation and think in their layout you will be fine. Coming from an Arturia I have found it genuinely unfriendly, and at this price I did not expect homework.
Noah E. Used for: 1–3 months
Comment
I teach from it twice a week and the pupils get on with it far better than they did with my old board. The keys are light enough for small hands, the screens show a sound name rather than a number, and nothing useful is hidden behind a modifier. For my own writing the sequencer is the draw. 4 tracks running, laptop closed, and an idea can be finished before the temptation to start fiddling with plugins even arrives!
Ella N. Used for: 6–12 months
Pros
Faders turn a synth plugin into something you play rather than click
Comment
Bought it mostly for the faders and they have earned their keep on organ and drawbar sounds, where a mouse is simply the wrong tool. The 16 pads are decent and the velocity is consistent across all of them, though they want a firmer hand than a dedicated pad controller. Four stars because the pads sit close enough to the wheels that I catch one with my palm.
