Review: LaunchKey 37 from Novation
About a year ago I was in the market for a new USB keyboard controller for work, and for my own personal music making. After reading lots of reviews, I purchased the LaunchKey 37 from Novation. It is super affordable (I bought mine for $199 - $50 under the $249 MSRP price tag). Wow did I make the right decision. Here’s why…
First, it has been a WHILE since I bought a USB keyboard controller. The last one I owned was a M-Audio Keystation 49. I bought it in 2009 I think. Great gear - no real complaints - but it simply just wasn’t the right fit for my needs any longer. I wanted something similar to one of my all time favorite pieces of gear - the Korg microKONTROL. This amazing little BEAST was quite expensive, but did EVERYTHING that I needed it to. I still use them with my classes at Teachers College Columbia University. They were discontinued a while ago - so it’s no longer an option.
Korg microKONTROL
Novation has been making high quality products in the music technology space for a long time, and their LaunchKEY line is really awesome. The full-sized keys feel great, there are LOTS of assignable pads, wheels, control buttons and knobs, and it is an ideal keyboard for use with any digital audio workstation or other music software. My two go-to programs are Soundtrap and Ableton LIVE. The LaunchKEY has everything I need to avoid unnecessary mouse clicks in the software interface. I’m old school, so I love being able to put my hands on an actually knob rather than mousing up and down. Here are some of the tech specs:
37 Velocity-sensitive keys and 16 velocity-sensitive pads enable expressive and dynamic performance.
Get creative with chords - Three chord modes (fixed, scale, and user) let you trigger chords with one finger.
Never hit a wrong note - Scale modes transpose keys and pads to notes in the selected scale.
Get melodies moving - Powerful arpeggiator takes you to new melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic places.
Control anything MIDI - Five-pin MIDI output works with any MIDI-compatible device.
Easy-to-read screen - 16x2 character screen lets you easily see the state of what you're controlling or selecting.
Shape your sound - Tweak instruments and effects to perfection using eight rotary encoders.
This USB keyboard is IDEAL for use in music classrooms. It is the perfect gear to update or upgrade your tired old USB keyboards that are probably yellowed and dusty. LaunchKEYs also come in 25-key, 49-key, 61-key, and 88-key versions. They are super portable and run on USB power - so no need for an AC adapter. I really love the layout of the keyboard, and I personally think that the 3-octave model looks awesome. I was tempted to jump up to the 49-key edition, as it has 8 sliders, but my desk space wouldn’t really allow it. I LOVE the way the keys and knobs feel and the range of functionality. It’s light but sturdy and will stand up to heavy usage.
I can’t recommend this series of keyboards strongly enough. Thanks Novation!
