Novation Launchkey 88 [MK3] | Premium 88-note MIDI keyboard for expressive music creation

I'm pretty new to using DAW's (I was a Recording Engineer in the 1970's and 80's, we used Tape Machines, LOL). I'm building a new Music Workstation in my home and wanted a small, simple Controller with enough features for Drums as well as ARP and Sequencing to use with a DAW. (I already own a Arturia KeyStep 37 for my Modular Synths). I looked at quite a few YouTube Reviews and this LaunchKey Mini MK3 always stood out. It was designed to really work with Ableton but also integrates fairly well with Logic Pro which is what I thought I would use it with. After having it for a few weeks now I can say that yes it works pretty well with Logic Pro but really integrates even better with Ableton, so much so I have decided to make Ableton my DAW of choice. The learning curve for me was pretty easy being new to all of this and there are lots of good online tutorials. Overall this little beast is packed with a full range of great features. The build quality is ok, not great but not bad, it’s plastic but the Knobs Buttons and Pads have a solid feel. Just treat it well and it will be just fine! The Keyboard is not meant for a “virtuoso” but for me who is a hunt and peck keyboardist (I am a drummer) it works and I like the small size. Hey, you can’t beat the price for this much technical power. Setup was very easy using the Novation WebSite. The only thing I’m still confused about is setting up my own Custom Mode but I’ll figure it out. As for the person that complained about the lack of a MIDI Cable being included and then buying the wrong ones, that is just “USER” error. All he had to do is contact Novation/Focusrite Customer Support like I did, within an hour they got back to me and sent a Link to where to buy the correct cable. That says a lot about Novation Support! Bottom line, if you want a nice, compact Controller that’s full of features at a great price…. THIS IS IT

The Launchkey Mini is a solid, compact MIDI controller that I’ve really enjoyed using. It’s small, lightweight, and surprisingly versatile for its size. The 25 keys have a decent feel, and while they’re not as big as a full-sized keyboard, they’re still responsive and comfortable enough for playing melodies or chords. The velocity-sensitive keys work well, and there’s a nice balance between portability and functionality. The pads are responsive and great for triggering drum sounds or loops, and the sliders and knobs provide good tactile control when tweaking your DAW settings or mixing. I particularly like how easily it integrates with software like Ableton Live—once it’s plugged in, it’s ready to go, which saves time during setup. One of the best things about the Launchkey Mini is how portable it is. It’s small enough to toss into a bag, and I’ve found it super useful for mobile music production or when I don’t have a lot of space on my desk. It’s USB-powered, which is convenient since I don’t need an extra power supply or cables. Overall, it’s a great little MIDI controller for producers who want something compact but still capable. It doesn’t have the full range of a larger controller, but for what it’s meant to do, it does a great job. Would definitely recommend it if you need something portable and functional.

No brainer for Ableton users. I surveyed the land of midi controllers. I wanted something with decent pads and a usable keyboard. Not sure about the other controllers obviously because I didn't buy all of them, but this one's integration with Ableton is awesome. Don't really need to set anything up, pads sync to drum racks and you just press the record button on the midi controller to capture and play. Syncs with session view really well if you produce that way. Arp is fun and the buttons are laid out so that the most important functions are easy to see (octave, capture midi, scale, arp etc.). Knobs feel great and doing automation with them rather than drawing in curves makes it sound better. modwheel and pitchwheel feels good. First keyboard I have ever gotten, The keys feel great. I got full sized keys, and I think it is worth it. Keys dont feel too stiff or too loose. The drum pads are responsive enough for my needs. If you are looking for something to actually do serious full on finger drumming with, might not be what you need because its not a square 4X4 layout and the pads probably aren't as extreme touch responsive as like a push 2 or a Maschine, but they are what you need for getting timing, and measuing velocity enough so that your hits sound good and on point. They are not mushy which is what I want. I got a midi controller for timing and inspiration, and this really is so much better than producing with only a mouse and really fulfills all I'm looking for. arp is awesome. This thing is really easy to use. We will see if this holds up, (i've only had it for like 3 days) so hopefully, this controller is durable. and none of the keys or pads break in the near future. Do yourself a favor and if you haven't already done so, accompany this purchase with an audio interface like a Focusrite solo or 2i2, (if you are looking for best budget and interface with good drivers) the latency difference is astounding. I can actually play along with my track on time. what a difference.

I received my first unit a few days ago and i was getting frustrated because the velocity sensitive white keys would not register with Ableton Live or Logic unless you I pounded on them for certain keys. Also the keyboard was fairly noisy for most of the white keys. They would make a plastic "clacking" noise, however the first and last C keys were quiet. Yesterday I finally thought that my unit must be bad and was able to get a replacement unit in one day and this one is nice and quiet for all keys and registering properly with my DAWs. It's too soon to be100%, but hopefully I'll be getting to love this like some many other reviewers.

I had the Akai MPK mini mk2 for several years and it was ok but I was never fully satisfied with it. I hesitated to even consider the Launchkey because I wasn't really familiar with Novation and personally didn't know anyone with any of their gear. I decided to take a chance on this and WOW... I wish I had this years ago... Everything about this feels better than the MPK. The build quality is better and feels more like a premium product. The keys don't feel as cheap and toy-like. 16 pads instead of 8 like most of the boards of this size. Pitch and modulation touch sliders instead of wheels which I love. The knobs have a nice resistance to them and make small adjustments easy. And on top of all that this has top notch Ableton Live integration, something the MPK lacked entirely. I love Live's session mode and the Launchkey has made it easy to work in Ableton without having to jump back to my keyboard and mouse. I'm not at the level where I'm performing live but I can already see how the integration can make live performances possible and fairly easy. The layout is intuitive while retaining a ton of built in functions and settings. Overall I'm very impressed with this. At the same price as the MPK mini, this seems like the better buy, even if you're not an Ableton user and if you are then this is the obvious choice.

I love these little controllers and this is one of the best in my opinion for portability. I ultimately decided to return it because I didn’t need the portability as much as I needed more keys… so I went up to the 37 key. But the functionality is mostly the same. If you are someone who plays mostly synth, looping, simple piano chords… this is perfect. If you are a bit more advanced on the piano and want a sustain pedal and have both hands on the keys… you may want to look at some of the bigger boards in this lineup. WORKS FLAWLESSLY WITH ABLETON. I was very resistant to ableton at first since I had already learned a couple of other DAWs, why move? well… for live looping, it’s hard to beat. And the integration with these notation products is just amazing. I have not ended up with a launchpad and launch key 37 as a result. So if you’re using ableton.. these notation keyboards are GREAT. I can’t speak to other daw integration because I don’t use them when I’m working in my other DAWs… I only use these products during live performances… not during production.

After watching and reading reviews on various reasonably priced controllers, I picked this one because of its good reviews and Ableton integration. One of the reviews I watched rated the keys as average and talked up a competing brand as having a much better key feel. Honestly, I think the key feel on this one is pretty decent for a controller in this price range. As good as many synths. I have a weighted 88 key Nord performance piano and a Roland synth to compare to. While these keys are smaller and unweighted, they're still much larger than many of the micro controllers out there that would be poor for developing the muscle memory necessary to play on regular keyboards. Still, I wouldn't recommend a keyboard with this few keys as a starter keyboard for someone learning and of course, as a controller, it has no sounds of its own, so you still have to have a software synth and computer to use it. Ableton picks it up with no fancy configuration via USB.

I'm a bass and guitar player and bought this as I wanted to challenge myself out of my comfort zone. A complete beginner on controllers here, but with some notion of music theory and execution. I read reviews and watched videos about this controller and some others too, and learned these aren't kids toys. You can really make music and have fun, in individual sessions or even playing with a band. Getting used to Ableton Live requires time and patience but as you layout your first beats and melody lines, you start getting the hang of it and motivates you to go on. As a beginner on controllers and audio software, I wouldn't change much of it, the build quality is nice, very light, responsive buttons and dials. I'd just us warn that you need a laptop or computer with good modern specs and some nice mid range or flagship headphones or studio monitors to really take advantage of what it has to offer. After using it for about 4 weeks I'm now planning to upgrade to Ableton Live 11 because Ableton Lite it's limited to 8 tracks and a to a limited set of cliché-ish midi sounds. Also, if I really get into producing controller-based music, it'd be necessary to upgrade to a 49 or more keys hardware. But in the meantime, I'll just continue having fun with it.

Super Midi Keyboard zum schmalen Preis. Hatte vorher eins von Arturia welches von den Materialien edler war, was aber nicht so kompatibel und eingerichtet ist wie das Novation für Ableton. Beim Novation hätte ich mir noch den Scale Modus gewünscht, dann wäre es perfekt. Absolute Kaufempfehlung!

Além de ser um produto de MUITA qualidade e ter chegado antes do esperado, ganhei vários "brindes", como uma cópia do Ableton Live Lite e alguns plugins por ter comprado o controlador.

Super clavier pour Ableton!!

Un prodotto molto interessante e completo sotto il punto di vista delle funzioni ma anche controverso, e cercherò di spiegarne i perché in modo che altri utenti non si trovino nelle stesse difficoltà che ho incontrato io. Partiamo innanzitutto col dire che la tastiera dovrebbe essere plug'n'play con il programma Ableton: in realtà non è così. Infatti viene sì riconosciuta dal programma ma non vengono attivate tutte le porte midi tanto è vero che la tastierina non funziona e non invia alcuna nota: deve essere impostata 'a mano' dall'utente nelle Preferenze di Live. Poi, all'inizio, ho riscontrato alcuni problemi, il tasto Arp che rimaneva illuminato fisso così come il tasto Fixed Chords che a volte funzionava e a volte no. Ho scaricato il programma Novation Components dal sito del produttore ed ho aggiornato il firmware della tastiera e adesso il tutto sembra funzionare a dovere. C'è da dire, comunque, che, talvolta, il funzionamento della la tastiera è un po' imprevedibile: ad esempio è sufficiente sfiorare i tasti affinché attivino una qualche funzione mentre, talvolta, capita che la tastiera non comunichi correttamente con Ableton e che quindi si renda necessario chiudere il programma e riavviarlo affinché tutto torni a funzionare normalmente. C'è un ulteriore particolare che ha destato la mia curiosità... Gli ultimi tre tasti della tastierina contengono tre simboli che dovrebbero attivare una qualche funzione tramite la pressione del tasto shift... In realtà, non attivano proprio un bel niente così come mi hanno confermato anche dal supporto di Novation. Forse, in futuro, serviranno a qualcosa, magari dopo un nuovo aggiornamento del firmware! Bene, se siete arrivati a leggere fin qui vi sarete chiesti perché non ho effettuato il reso del prodotto.... Sinceramente, se avessi dovuto farmi fare un controller per Live su misura, probabilmente mi sarei fatto fare proprio un prodotto del genere; per quanto riguarda le sue funzioni e per come sono state organizzate, visto anche dimensioni, costruzione e prezzo, per me è semplicemente il controller ideale. Ecco perché nonostante i difetti che ho elencato lo ritengo un prodotto davvero valido da utilizzare con il programma di Ableton. In quanto a funzioni, non gli manca davvero nulla. Probabilmente il prodotto soffre ancora di difetti di "gioventù" dovuti a un firmware non proprio ottimizzato. Spero in futuro Novation provveda in merito, essendo io in possesso di più di un controller, vi posso dire che questo i suoi soldi li vale tutti... Due parole anche sui software dotazione: anche se bisogna districarsi con le solite prassi di registrazione presso vari siti il tutto è reso semplice dal fatto che non appena si collega la tastiera al computer si apre un file che permette un collegamento al sito Novation dove ci si può registrare e da lì scaricare il software. Il pezzo forte è il già citato Components che è sopratutto un vero e proprio editor, poi ci sono vari plugin e, ovviamente, l'immancabile Ableton Live Lite (versione rigorosamente 10, pena il non funzionamento del controller). Consigliatissimo quindi a chi già utilizza Live, conosce il programma e sà come districarsi nell'utilizzo e nel risolvere i problemi che si possono incontrare con questi controller; non lo consiglierei affatto a chi vuole iniziare ad usare un controller midi con il programma di Ableton ma non ha le dovute conoscenze e la necessaria esperienza. Meglio allora altri prodotti come quelli di Akai che fanno poco ma lo fanno bene e da subito... Aggiornamento al 18/12: con l'ultima versione di Live, vengono risolti alcuni bug con questo modello ed aggiunta una nuova utile funzione (vedere sul sito Ableton le info). Aggiungo, pertanto, la quinta stella 👍🏻

Een van de beste aankopen van dit jaar. Twijfel je nog? Niet doen, meteen bestellen. Het toetsenbord voelt degelijk en is toch handig om snel solo's te spelen. Maar met een programma midi mapper als Divisimate is het mogelijk om een hele band of orkest te bedienen dankzij de snelle transpose mogelijkehden en voor diverse DAW's zijn er scripts beschikbaar. Zelf gebruik ik Bitwig en dat werkt goed. De pads zijn ook gevoelig en zeer degelijk. Hiervoor heb ik Roland en Arturia gehad en ik geef toch de voorkeur aan deze. Handig dat pads en keyboard apart worden herkent en zo los van elkaar te mappen zijn in je studio. Als bij elkaar echt een aanrader. Qua software heb ik de piano geprobeerd, maar deze kon mij niet echt overtuigen, maar als je net begint heb je toch een redelijk arsenaal aan mogelijkheden.