Novation Impulse 49 Review

Function: MIDI Controller

Price: $299

Overview: In the past five years, it seems like MIDI controllers have progressed light years ahead of their ancestors, with USB/MIDI controllers like the Novation Impulse 49 becoming a necessity in electronic music and production. With so many options on the market, it can be daunting to sift through the options of key feel, DAW control, amount of knobs, etc…but what puts Novation Impulse ahead of the curve is the ability to intuitively control your DAW and plugins with precision and ease.

Function: The Impulse 49 is a USB MIDI controller with 49 highly responsive, semi-weighted keys with enough expression and control for pianists, organists, and synth-players alike. Sporting 9 faders, 8 rotaries, 8 backlit pads, transport controls and an LCD screen, Impulse 49 gives you more than enough controls to assign for studio and live performance. The real power of Impulse comes with its ability to

automatically control all major DAWs including Ableton Live, Logic, ProTools, Reason, FL Studio, Cubase and Garage Band. In addition to automapping faders, pan controls and transport, Impulse 49 also gives you control over plugins automatically, allowing you to dial in specific, precise movements without u

sing a mouse and keyboard. Included with Impulse 49 is Ableton Live Lite, Novation Bass Station, Loopmasters sample library and Mike the Drummer software.

Church Use: Without a doubt, the Novation Impulse 49 has one of the best feeling keyboards in its class, providing the right amount of resistance while giving a tremendous amount of expression for any style of performance. The vast amount buttons and knobs make controlling a live performance software intuitive and simple, and the Ableton control makes it possible to start and stop backing tracks and click straight from the keyboard. Even with an endless sea of MIDI brands and models on the market today, it’s rare to see a MIDI keyboard that pairs the feel with the control, simplicity and power that the Impulse 49 can offer right out of the box.