i have a question on the remote sl. How easy and fast is it to change a preset. I want to use the 16 knobs to tune Abletons fm synth "operator". Thats not enough, so a really quick switch would be nice to a second preset for operator. I read the manual. So i have to push the speed dial and then switch to an advanced level template in the display by pushing the knobs. Some midi controllers have a "bank" button allowing to assign its knobs twice in ONE preset, u just have to push the bank button to switch from first to second bank knobs. If i understand correctly there is no "bank" feature in remote sl? The user, mixer, fx, synth button seem to be predefined. Or can i use this buttons or the row-select buttons left from the knobs to set up some presets i want to use often and switch with one button hit to it by using this buttons. I dont know exactly what fully programmable mean here. The row select buttons would be perfect for this but i dont think they are programmable.
thx for tips
:::Axiom Pro vs. Novation SL MK II::: What do u think???
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- KVRAF
- 1733 posts since 19 May, 2006 from Nomadic (Chicago and San Francisco mostly)
I have a couple of M-Audio products and I'm not happy with them (bought them at the same time).
I'm looking to replace my Axiom 61, I was considering either this Novation or the Akai MPK61.
My problems with the Axiom: The sliders were so cheap they busted off before I could ever take it on a gig (only two sliders left!), the knobs make a loud clicking noise and are not smooth-action, the keys tend to stick just a little which makes playing them weird sometimes. Lately its been reconfiguring itself, I'm not sure what its doing, but I think its remapping zones randomly, I found some posts online mentioning the same issue and learned that I can reset the keyboard to fix it, but it might reconfigure itself again if it feels like it. I like that it's pretty much plug'n'play, but lack of a decent interface on the keyboard itself makes me wish I had a way to configure it from my computer.
The Axiom Pro looks decent (so did this one before I bought it), but if I buy it, I'm potentially throwing away another $400 on a third bad purchase from the same company. I don't see how the risk can be worth it, you know?
I'm a musician, and I don't sell equipment or anything, I live in Chicago and I make a living as a web-based application programmer. Take my experiences as you will. Oh yeah, and the other M-audio product was a Firewire 410 that really liked to drop connections (and produce line noise) on my laptop and BSOD my desktop.
I'm looking to replace my Axiom 61, I was considering either this Novation or the Akai MPK61.
My problems with the Axiom: The sliders were so cheap they busted off before I could ever take it on a gig (only two sliders left!), the knobs make a loud clicking noise and are not smooth-action, the keys tend to stick just a little which makes playing them weird sometimes. Lately its been reconfiguring itself, I'm not sure what its doing, but I think its remapping zones randomly, I found some posts online mentioning the same issue and learned that I can reset the keyboard to fix it, but it might reconfigure itself again if it feels like it. I like that it's pretty much plug'n'play, but lack of a decent interface on the keyboard itself makes me wish I had a way to configure it from my computer.
The Axiom Pro looks decent (so did this one before I bought it), but if I buy it, I'm potentially throwing away another $400 on a third bad purchase from the same company. I don't see how the risk can be worth it, you know?
I'm a musician, and I don't sell equipment or anything, I live in Chicago and I make a living as a web-based application programmer. Take my experiences as you will. Oh yeah, and the other M-audio product was a Firewire 410 that really liked to drop connections (and produce line noise) on my laptop and BSOD my desktop.
noise and beats: Negutyv Xeiro do people actually click these?
gearlust: Roland JP-8000, too much/not enough eurorack
machinecode by: u-he, Bitwig, Fabfilter, NI, et al
gearlust: Roland JP-8000, too much/not enough eurorack
machinecode by: u-he, Bitwig, Fabfilter, NI, et al
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- KVRer
- 26 posts since 24 May, 2009
@ electro
thx. sounds good. In the manual there are "maps, templates, pages, preset", its really not good described from my pov. So a map=template=preset and every one can have several endless pages i can simply switch with the page buttons?
@ xybre
i read a lot reviews (nice on in SOS for novation) of mid price midi controllers now. The novation remote sl in one of the most expensive, but for my purposes it has the best price performance ratio. And if u want to use it on gigs the LED knobs and many programmable buttons seems really an advance compared to mpk or axiom series. The romote uses a FATAR keyboard afaik, i only heard good about this.
thx. sounds good. In the manual there are "maps, templates, pages, preset", its really not good described from my pov. So a map=template=preset and every one can have several endless pages i can simply switch with the page buttons?
@ xybre
i read a lot reviews (nice on in SOS for novation) of mid price midi controllers now. The novation remote sl in one of the most expensive, but for my purposes it has the best price performance ratio. And if u want to use it on gigs the LED knobs and many programmable buttons seems really an advance compared to mpk or axiom series. The romote uses a FATAR keyboard afaik, i only heard good about this.
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- KVRAF
- 1855 posts since 21 Sep, 2004 from Musician, Recording Engineer, Producer
Wow! That's an amazingly detailed review! I cut out the review to save on screen space. If anyone wants to read it just go to the first page.Max the mac wrote:comparative review of M-audio Axiom pro 49 and Novation remote SL 49 Mk2
......
[edit]Cut out for simplicity[/edit]
......
if anyone has any questions, or things they want me to try on the hardware, i'd be happy to answer them.
I myself was going between the Axiom Pro and the Novation Remote 61SL MK I or MK II.
I came to the same conclusions as you regarding the Axiom and the Novation. The Novation SL is just miles beyond the Axiom in playability and control. It just feels like a real instrument. I ended up going with the MK 1 as I wanted the extra lcd strip and I didn't need touch sensitive controls.
I spent weeks trying these out and the Axiom Pro just felt cheap. Also, all the Axiom demo models had sliders and knobs broken off while the Novation demo units looked and felt perfect. I know store models get abused but I always use that as a test as to how well a unit stands up. If it were only one that were broken I wouldn't have an issue, but all 3 Axiom Pro 61s that I tested in stores had something broken on them.
I've had the Novation Remote 61 SL for over a week now and I absolutely love it. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a midi key controller.
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- KVRer
- 26 posts since 24 May, 2009
thx superfly
where did u bought ur mk I and what price. Im searchin this to, but only find the remote sl and the sl mk II, but no mk I. On novation homepage there is also no MK I, so this is the classic remote sl i think without LED Knobs??? Heard is has nearly same functionality but much cheaper now. I didnt found one german shop offering a MK I, maybe already sold out...
where did u bought ur mk I and what price. Im searchin this to, but only find the remote sl and the sl mk II, but no mk I. On novation homepage there is also no MK I, so this is the classic remote sl i think without LED Knobs??? Heard is has nearly same functionality but much cheaper now. I didnt found one german shop offering a MK I, maybe already sold out...
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- KVRAF
- 1855 posts since 21 Sep, 2004 from Musician, Recording Engineer, Producer
I bought mine here in Beijing.
The MK 1 doesn't say MK 1 on it. You're right, the first version is simply called the Novation Remote 61 SL.
It looks and functions almost exactly the same. The difference is that it has 2 lcd strips instead of one. It also doesn't have the leds around the endless encoders. The endless encoders on the MK 1 are notched which may or may not be desirable for you. I prefer the notched feel myself. The MK 2 is touch sensative with their buttons, meaning that it recognizes when a button is touched and it displays the value for that knob automatically. With the MK 2 the data select encoder has an extra mode where it will change the value of any knob on screen that you hover your mouse over. I already have one of those, it's called a mouse scroll wheel; and it's endless too.
Besides those differences they're the same. They have the same chassis. Both have the same excellent Fatar keybed. The touchpad controller and pitch-expression joysticks are the same. They also both use the same software.
It really boils down to personal preference.
I myself preferred having 2 lcd screens and liked the click of the endless rotary encoders.
I was at a store that had both the original Remote 61 SL and the 61 SL MK II, and was able to compare these little feature differences in person.
Edit in Orange: I mistakenly wrote "has" instead of "doesn't have" above.
The MK I doesn't have leds around the endless encoders, which is fine for me. I have a few pieces of gear with rotary leds and I never use the led readouts.
The MK 1 doesn't say MK 1 on it. You're right, the first version is simply called the Novation Remote 61 SL.
It looks and functions almost exactly the same. The difference is that it has 2 lcd strips instead of one. It also doesn't have the leds around the endless encoders. The endless encoders on the MK 1 are notched which may or may not be desirable for you. I prefer the notched feel myself. The MK 2 is touch sensative with their buttons, meaning that it recognizes when a button is touched and it displays the value for that knob automatically. With the MK 2 the data select encoder has an extra mode where it will change the value of any knob on screen that you hover your mouse over. I already have one of those, it's called a mouse scroll wheel; and it's endless too.
Besides those differences they're the same. They have the same chassis. Both have the same excellent Fatar keybed. The touchpad controller and pitch-expression joysticks are the same. They also both use the same software.
It really boils down to personal preference.
I myself preferred having 2 lcd screens and liked the click of the endless rotary encoders.
I was at a store that had both the original Remote 61 SL and the 61 SL MK II, and was able to compare these little feature differences in person.
Edit in Orange: I mistakenly wrote "has" instead of "doesn't have" above.
The MK I doesn't have leds around the endless encoders, which is fine for me. I have a few pieces of gear with rotary leds and I never use the led readouts.
Last edited by SuperFly76 on Sun Aug 23, 2009 4:02 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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- KVRer
- 26 posts since 24 May, 2009
lol, all internet users agreed to call the remote sl MK I without telling me.
So u could test both. Are the drum pads the same, same feeling?
In how many steps are the endless knobs notched of the mk I. Thats new to me. I want to use them esp. for fm parameter finetuning, so the notching may be hindering finetuning a fm synth witch less change of parameters having mostly big impact on timbre change. Why u prefer this notching, advances in live performance?
And the display always shows the current value of the knobs? The MK I have no LED or painted marks on the knows as far as i could see. So i have to press the row select buttuns left besides the knob panel to see current value of knobs, am i right. So if i want to do heavy synth programming of many parameters rather than live dj ing, then the touch sensitive knobs might be faster way of working. Of course the second LCD for the fader panel is pretty fine, but on the fader i can fast see what the current value is. The first LCD only shows the value of first or second row knobs, not both at a time?
They put the speed dial in, because the mouse wheel tuning of knobs doesnt work in all vsti etc. In Ableton for example it doesnt work, so this might be useful for me too if MK I doesnt have this.
Also read the MK II is a little smaller and leighter, no battery box in it. Unfortunatley they dont seem to sell a 37key version like the MK I. That would have been perfect size for me.
thx
So u could test both. Are the drum pads the same, same feeling?
In how many steps are the endless knobs notched of the mk I. Thats new to me. I want to use them esp. for fm parameter finetuning, so the notching may be hindering finetuning a fm synth witch less change of parameters having mostly big impact on timbre change. Why u prefer this notching, advances in live performance?
And the display always shows the current value of the knobs? The MK I have no LED or painted marks on the knows as far as i could see. So i have to press the row select buttuns left besides the knob panel to see current value of knobs, am i right. So if i want to do heavy synth programming of many parameters rather than live dj ing, then the touch sensitive knobs might be faster way of working. Of course the second LCD for the fader panel is pretty fine, but on the fader i can fast see what the current value is. The first LCD only shows the value of first or second row knobs, not both at a time?
They put the speed dial in, because the mouse wheel tuning of knobs doesnt work in all vsti etc. In Ableton for example it doesnt work, so this might be useful for me too if MK I doesnt have this.
Also read the MK II is a little smaller and leighter, no battery box in it. Unfortunatley they dont seem to sell a 37key version like the MK I. That would have been perfect size for me.
thx
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- KVRAF
- 1855 posts since 21 Sep, 2004 from Musician, Recording Engineer, Producer
MK I stands for Mark One, which means model number one, or the first version.luzil wrote:lol, all internet users agreed to call the remote sl MK I without telling me.
So u could test both. Are the drum pads the same, same feeling?
In how many steps are the endless knobs notched of the mk I. Thats new to me. I want to use them esp. for fm parameter finetuning, so the notching may be hindering finetuning a fm synth witch less change of parameters having mostly big impact on timbre change. Why u prefer this notching, advances in live performance?
And the display always shows the current value of the knobs? The MK I have no LED or painted marks on the knows as far as i could see. So i have to press the row select buttuns left besides the knob panel to see current value of knobs, am i right. So if i want to do heavy synth programming of many parameters rather than live dj ing, then the touch sensitive knobs might be faster way of working. Of course the second LCD for the fader panel is pretty fine, but on the fader i can fast see what the current value is. The first LCD only shows the value of first or second row knobs, not both at a time?
They put the speed dial in, because the mouse wheel tuning of knobs doesnt work in all vsti etc. In Ableton for example it doesnt work, so this might be useful for me too if MK I doesnt have this.
Also read the MK II is a little smaller and leighter, no battery box in it. Unfortunatley they dont seem to sell a 37key version like the MK I. That would have been perfect size for me.
thx
Sorry for the confusion.
Most manufacturers don't usually put model number one, or any equal reference thereof, on the first version. It's kind of similar to movies. Die Hard one was only called Die hard when it was released. It wasn't until Die Hard 2, came out that we started referring to the first one as Die Hard One. WW1 is the same thing. It wasn't called WW1 until we fought WW2. Same principle here.
Again, sorry for the confusion. I think I remember falling prey to that mistake too some time ago.
Regards,
Doug
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- KVRAF
- 1855 posts since 21 Sep, 2004 from Musician, Recording Engineer, Producer
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- KVRAF
- 2897 posts since 3 Mar, 2006
I love my novation remote SL 61 mk1.
Are the rotaries on the MK2 un-notched? that would be quite an improvement.
Also, I've found M-Audio gear to be pretty generally moderately good in terms of feel/build considering how cheap they are (still not as good as more expensive options like novation, but beating out similarly priced behringer or alesis crap) but the software/programming ability/visual feedback sides of their controllers have a way to go yet... The Ozonic was definitely one of their better products, but has been discontinued. I too would like to see m-audio make an 88es with aftertouch, or any other pure "keyboards" with good action at a cheap price, so we as consumers can buy things like Kore and Mackie Controls, they can leave the plug in control market to people with bitstreams, remote zeros, kore, mackies, etc....
EDIT: I would like to take this point to mention that a keyboard version of Kore would have me listing my novation for sale in an instant.
Are the rotaries on the MK2 un-notched? that would be quite an improvement.
Also, I've found M-Audio gear to be pretty generally moderately good in terms of feel/build considering how cheap they are (still not as good as more expensive options like novation, but beating out similarly priced behringer or alesis crap) but the software/programming ability/visual feedback sides of their controllers have a way to go yet... The Ozonic was definitely one of their better products, but has been discontinued. I too would like to see m-audio make an 88es with aftertouch, or any other pure "keyboards" with good action at a cheap price, so we as consumers can buy things like Kore and Mackie Controls, they can leave the plug in control market to people with bitstreams, remote zeros, kore, mackies, etc....
EDIT: I would like to take this point to mention that a keyboard version of Kore would have me listing my novation for sale in an instant.
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- KVRian
- 1089 posts since 27 Nov, 2006
WW1 was supposed to be 'the war to end all wars' but I think the prediction was slightly wrong.SuperFly76 wrote: WW1 is the same thing. It wasn't called WW1 until we fought WW2.
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- KVRist
- 93 posts since 1 Jul, 2009 from New York
Has anyone messed with the Akai MPK61? Is it out and available yet?xybre wrote:
I'm looking to replace my Axiom 61, I was considering either this Novation or the Akai MPK61.
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- KVRAF
- 1733 posts since 19 May, 2006 from Nomadic (Chicago and San Francisco mostly)
I did try a MPK out at a store, I did a comparison to the Axiom floor model, and again the Axiom was missing sliders and was all screwed up, while the MPK was in full working order. The sliders felt better, the continuous encoders on the MPK are not notched, they turn smoothly, and overall the build quality was better and the keyboard felt more solid.menthol wrote:Has anyone messed with the Akai MPK61? Is it out and available yet?xybre wrote:I'm looking to replace my Axiom 61, I was considering either this Novation or the Akai MPK61.
noise and beats: Negutyv Xeiro do people actually click these?
gearlust: Roland JP-8000, too much/not enough eurorack
machinecode by: u-he, Bitwig, Fabfilter, NI, et al
gearlust: Roland JP-8000, too much/not enough eurorack
machinecode by: u-he, Bitwig, Fabfilter, NI, et al
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- KVRist
- 93 posts since 1 Jul, 2009 from New York
Thanks, xybre. I guess I'm just going to have to get my butt into a store and see whether I prefer the feel of the Akai or the Novation. I've narrowed things down pretty much to the same choice you're facing.
