All user reviews of 3/5 for the Novation Impulse 49

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.