Novation Launchkey Mini MK3 Reviews

Good for beginner or traveller.

Very small, compact, but quite rich in features. A little trouble to setup initially with Live, but after drivers/firmware updates all seem to went smooth. Keys are quite small be aware, almost like in a toy, but good enough if you need to use them from time to time and it's not your primary and main instrument. Pads are quite good too. Overall good and cool product.

Works great with ableton

This Novation Launchkey mini is a great midi controller for beginners. The features are great though it requires a bit of practice to fully understand the combination between the shift key and the pads.

It does feel cheap because it's made of plastic but hey. You get what you pay for.

Overall, a great midi controller especially with Ableton Live

One of the best portable midi controller for sure, especially if you are a Ableton user

Excellent for carrying around

I find this product really handy for carrying it in my rucksack with laptop, audio interface and a studio headphones. I may sit anywhere and write down any fresh ideas.

The only thing that I find negative is the board's lightning feature, which I can not turn off.

It has a strong delay between the controller and the daw, it is impossible to respect the tempo when recording.

very good staff

I use Google translate :)

good midi keyboard, better than many that are more expensive. Many useful and important functions, which are easy to understand on your own, or with various training videos on video hosting.

Novation quality and value mini 25 key TRS midi

I've used my MK3 keyboard for producing on my iPad and Windows DAW, for six months or more with no complaints.

The keys, tho mini keys, enable chords and flourishes of notes.

You can enjoy the brilliant arpeggiator with all it's variations, or assign chords making them a breeze to play. Hold on! What about the velocity and feel of the keys? They're what you would expect in terms of size from mini keys, so they’re not great for people who prefer full size keys, but I have no problem with these on the MK3, they feel responsive with a balanced velocity and are fun and playable. The same for the drum pads, which are great!

Ableton Live users will be delighted with the integration and pad LED colour coding.

The free software licenses are very useful instruments.

My favourite feature is the TRS midi out which I use the play my Crave synth live.

Th 8 knobs at the top allow for quick midi learn function in any software or digital hardware synths, and really make your performances fun!

Pros:

Size is mobile and studio friendly. Features: TRS midi type A.

Touch slider Pitch and Mod.

Cons: Power is over 100Ma which means iPad cannot power this keyboard directly. There needs to be an option to switch off all LED’s, then a direct to iOS without the need of USB hubs would be better.

No bluetooth connectivity. If only this had BT, it would outsell Korgs Nano Key Studio which in my opinion has less playable keys, otherwise it’s maybe better choice if you need bluetooth and smaller device.

Overall the Novation MK3 is a really great mini midi keyboard and I will continue to enjoy using it. Looks great and the build quality is practically flawless and it's light and portable making great for mobile and live performances.

Perfect for portable jams!

I use this as an on-the-go solution for tracking ideas. Novation really delivered with this, it's light, feature-packed, and integrates easily with every DAW I've tested.

I love it!

The absolute best in the 100 bucks pricetag

This keyboard is, in my humble opinion, the best in its price range. I have tried the most famous ones like the Akai, some M-Audio ones and the Nektar Impact lineup, but this is by far the best.

The layout is absolutely gorgeous, which may not be needed to make music, but I personally think it is important that your gear is beautiful, and I find this keyboard quite aesthetically pleasing.

For Ableton users this is a no-brainer, since the amount of features you get to handle the software are absolutely insane. Despite that, Novation have taken other DAW users into consideration and brought up some nice features and add-ons for non Ableton users.

Technically speaking, I am no expert, but I find the keybed much more confortable to play than the other ones and the pots are nice. They wobble a bit but can't ask much.

I find the slider-type modulation and pitch wheels much more comfortable to use than the real thing. Also, they show no bump since they are flat with the surface, so I think it is a great design decision.

The pads are no special good in quality concerns (also not special bad, either, they work absolutely fine), but the device comes with a piece of sofware (Components) that lets you program every single pad and pot in every possible way, which I find absolutely amazing.

Speaking of software, at the beginning, they let you download everything that you get from the device from a nice landing page, so it is very easy to get everything set up.

All in all, I think you don't give up in anything with this device, while still keeping it cheap. Can't imagine how good their higher end devices may be.

great

I lov this handy little controller, its works perfect for me..

Bang for the buck!

Really good minikeyboard compared to others around hundred bucks. Really durable. I've tested quite many different and lot of those went broken due to travelling. This has lot of knobs and pads for producing, but I really suggest this for secondary keyboard since it is always good to have one with minimum 49 keys. This would be good for newcoming producers!

I love it

Waited a long time for it to be in stock. There is a reason it is constantly sold out everywhere. Amazing mini controller to play at home, at the park, wherever. Better than its competitors in many aspects, more functions than most of them, and perfectly syncs with Ableton Live 10 which is beautiful if you use it.

Not the best build quality but if you take care of it you will be fine!

Of course, if you like piano arrangements, go for something bigger, the same brand offers really good options.

Great features and integration with Ableton Live but poorly built

PROS: the integration with Ableton Live is great! As far as I know, at this price range, that's the best you will find. Other features like the arpeggiator and chord memory are also very useful regardless of your DAW. The MIDI out is another plus.

CONS: the build quality is awful, especially the keys. They have a terrible wobble to their sides, it feels like they will break at any moment, even though probably (hopefully???) they won't. The rotary knobs on top are just ok, a little wobble as well as you might expect from a cheap piece of gear, but nothing extreme. The major downside is that there is very little space between them. Regarding the pads, they do their job, even though they are quite small compared to other controllers.

VERDICT: Previously I've owned a Minilab and an AKAI MPK mini and by far the Launchkey has the worse build quality. On the other hand, it has the best integration with Ableton and the best features overall. So I'd say if you're a musician looking for a keyboard to actually play stuff, buy something else. But if you're a producer/beatmaker on a budget, the Launchkey will do the job!

Super Midi controller

This is the first midi controller I have ever bought. I hesitate it a lot with the Akai or the Novation Launchkey Mini Mk3 and all I can say is that I am super happy with it.

The arpeggiator is great, it is light and compact so you can take it anywhere. I wish there was a way to create a custom pattern for the arpeggiator but this can always be done in your DAW.

The pads are very nice and I like the fact that tey are velocity sensitive.

It eases the workflow on Ableton. I never used it in live mode but I'm sure it is very good.

The ability to customize the pads and the knobs is also great.

I like the touch bars on the side for the pitch and modulation which are great.

The chord functionality is also great. I wish there was a way to play chords in scale instead of having them only in major or minor.

I can only recommend it, after using it, I would say that it looks like one of the best on the market. It is a safe purchase.

Lots of features!

+ Lots of features

+ lightweight

+ great build quality

+ sleed design

- sometimes it has problems pairing with ableton

utility: music production

It's my first midi and i'm proud of the choice. Very easy to use, the velocity is very responsive and same thing the pads - really unexpectedly responsive. The keyboard comes with an arpegiator and fixed chords very useful (I tested in more programs and it works), but it makes the best job on ableton live, which comes in "pack" with keyboard and more plugins.

I'm very satisfied of this aquisition!

Excellent product specially for Ableton

This is a great unit. The hardware is very good and integrates seamlessly with Ableton. I recently started using Logic and manged to get a good share of functionality as well. The integration is not as good as Ableton but is mainly limitations on the Logic side. A very good buy

Love it, worth the price

I bought the launchkey in December as I entered my first steps in music production. A lot of friends advised me not to buy it, but I was so in love with it that I had to give it a try.

DAW COMPATIBILITY:

Ableton is the mother of the Launchkey. Their connection is perfectly matched and allows to easily create beats, both live or recording.

Logic has a specific hardware to download and it works fine. A bit confusing, but still remains a good controller to use while mixing and recording.

Material and Handling:

It is definitely PLASTIC. A well made one, but plastic. You only notice when you play chords. The keys is very tight and short and it is okay to produce some basic line but if you need a piano arrangement, even an easy one, it it impossible to play. That's why I will buy a bigger midi keyboard.

FEATURES:

Built-in features are amazing. Pitch, Modulation, transpose, arpeggiator and so on. Have a look online to know more. They perfectly work apart from the modulation pad which not always recognize the finger sliding on the pad.

BUNDLE:

Novation offered me a splice subscription for 2 months, several sound packages (native instruments and so on) and Ableton live lite (maximum of 8 tracks)/

To Buy or not to buy?

Well, if you are starting producing or have always dreamt of electronic live performance but got confused by launchpad, BUY IT.

It is so cheap with so many features.

Then you can upgrade, but this is the perfect start.

Good product for the price

This is my first midi key. The feeling is great. Easy to install and use. Very responsive!

Excellent MIDI keyboard/pad

Bought this to run Pro-1 and Blackbox. Does the job well! It is light (lightweight), but still quite sturdy, no problem carrying to gigs for few months now. Easy to set up and use, for mini-keys. Pads sensitivity is top of the mark as well. Totally recommend!