Novation Impulse 49

This keyboard's value in my home studio is amazing. Appregiator, CC assignments and features that allow me for smooth automation in Logic Pro X and more.

The build quality is very good for the price, yes the faders and knobs are made out of plastic but I didn't expect them to be metal out of aluminium. The keys have a really nice weight to them and feel very durable.

The integration with DAW of my choice is fantastic and speeds up my creative process. Simple solution like rewind, record, stop etc. are also a bonus.

Pros:
- A lot of actually usable features
- Bang for the buck
- Nicely weighted keys

Cons:
- Plastic faders, don't feel too precise.

Overall, in my opinion this is one of the best MIDI Keyboards and controllers you can buy in this price range. It has been used not only in my home studio but also by my friend for Live Applications. The USB Port could have been slightly more sturdy (but that's the case with A LOT of interfaces) so if you're planning on using it as a Live Controlles I'd recommend taping your cable to the USB Slot (or securing it any other way)

Overall, great product and would buy again!

Used with Logic Pro X 10.4.8

Pros:
- Easy to use with smooth faders and rotary dials and great feeling keys.
- Auto-map feature is really diverse, works on all major DAWs.
- Its faders can also be used as a control surface for Pro Tools using Auto-map. (NOT as a replacement for Avid's dedicated control surfaces for example Avid S1)
- All features are similar to the 61 key version

Cons:
- The compact size may result in lower stability on a keyboard stand (in my case Millenium KS-1001). Can be solved using an extension handle on the keyboard stand.
- For some VSTs, 61 key version would be easier to use. (This is more of a luxury than a necessity.)

Overall it's a good balance between premium features and affordable pricing.
Easy to use and has a great feel.
Packed with almost all possible features that one might need for a bedroom project music production setup. For everything else, there's always your mouse ;)

I was very impressed with the build quality overall. It was reassuringly well protected in the box during shipping. The keys play very nicely for the price range.

The drum pad feature is where this synth shines. It allows you to make very cool arpeggios with very little effort. obviously it makes for a very useful drum pad as well, allowing you to make some very interesting loops on the fly.

the ableton trial and novation software is a plus, and there are plenty of sounds available to play around with.

overall its a solid synth for beginners to intermediate level. the extra drum pad features are a big plus and a lot of fun. In my view, it certainly gives the Novation the edge against other synths in the same price range.

I bought novation impulse before two months and it was the first midi keyboard i ever had. I was very satisfied for the begining. Very easy and quick settings and instalation. Generally, a very very good prodact. The keys, are really good, their touch and feeling, and I found the knobs etc. very useful. I work with ableton live, and i'm really glad to have all these features on my keyboard, which them i can control volume of the tracks, solo/mute etc. Drum pads are very good also. I haven't "explore" all knobs and features yet, but novation impulse has many possibilities, easy to use features, and it's a really good choice for a first midi keyboard, which will help your job, and make it quicker! Really good product

This keyboard is perfect
The keyboard itself makes your workflow smoother whether you use Pro Tools, Logic or any other software the Automap makes communicating with your computer easy.

The semi-weighted keys enables you to play with feeling expression and dynamics and for this price range it does the job almost perfectly.The response on the pads is rather good

However,the tutorials provided by Novation are just focusing on the basics,like I had to find a way to assign my pads and I couldn't find anything relevant to the matter

That said, it is a really great purchase and I wouldn't change it for any other keyboard