Novation Impulse 49

The Impulse 49 is a 49 key MIDI controller that has semi weighted keys, but for some reason the keys do not feel like they have any weight to them at all. They feel cheap and plastic like, which I thought was odd because the knobs and sliders all feel well made. There are over 25 knobs and faders and each one of them feels well made and seems like they will last a long time. There are also 8 drum or trigger pads on this MIDI controller, they are not MPC pads but they will do.

UTILIZATION

I have been through so many different MIDI controllers because I can never find one that I really like enough to stick with full time. I only used this controller for about 3 months because of the way that the keys felt. They felt very similar to the keys on the Behringer U Control MIDI controller, though they say they are weighted they still don’t feel like it.

OVERALL OPINION

You can use this MIDI controller with whichever DAW you use, it will work on any system and with any software. I mostly used it with Cubase, Logic, FL Studio and some Ableton Live. It never gave me any compatibility issues with any of those programs.
When you purchase the Impulse 49, it will come with a copy of Ableton Live lit and depending on where you purchase this from you might get the Loopmasters sample library and even some more good software.
You will need to have a 32 bit Windows system to run this, unless you are on Windows 7 and in that case it can run on 32 or 64 bit. I had issues with Windows Vista 64 bit with this controller, it just would not work right so I had to keep it on my XP computer. It would not work right on there either so I had to download the service pack 3 from the Windows page and then it worked. I just was not happy with all of the headache that came with this board.

Characteristics that motivated my choice was full DAW/plug-in control surface with 8 knobs, 9 faders and buttons, the compatibility with Ableton and as well semi weighted keys with aftertouch.
Also something that motivated me to try it was that it comes with Ableton Live, and a big Sample Pack, and I those multi-function drum pads enable you to warp arpeggios, roll beats and launch clips in Ableton Live which I found pretty fun.



UTILIZATION

The general configuration of the program it's very simple, it has a decent manual that clears some things out, like how the LCD works, the pads, knobs, sliders, etc.
Everything regarding installation is quite simple ( at least with Ableton) and I really enjoyed that.

OVERALL OPINION

What I don't like are the knobs, which feel and look quite cheap for me, I also do not like the AutoMap feature that allows you to automatically link the controller to your Daw, in many cases it doesn't get the job done, so keep that in mind.
There is something quite unique about this keyboard, and that is the quality of the keys, if you're a pianist, you will understand why I'm saying this, they are one of the best that I have the pleasure to touch, they feel and sound very "straight" which gave me more control over velocity and timing to create some nice syncopation.
Analyzing the market, the price is quite high for it's features and quality provided by it, but if you're just a musician and do not care a lot about those knobs, sliders, than this keyboard can do wonder for you.
As I mentioned before, the quality of the keys is great, precision also, so keep that in mind.

I've tried many controller, and I would say M-audio owns the midi controllers market, I could buy for just 150$ an Oxygen 49 which would work pretty similar to this controller except having that fancy LCD and pads.