Open Box Novation Impulse 49 MIDI Controller Level 1

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Novation // Impulse MIDI Controller Keyboard Overview

Novation // Impulse MIDI Controller with Nick Hook

Novation // Impulse MIDI controller setup tutorial

Novation // Impulse: MIDI Controller Keyboard Hot Mix

Description
"Player's" keyboard
Impulse has a precision 'players' keyboard. It is semi-weighted with assignable aftertouch and has been designed to feel like an instrument rather than a computer peripheral. In addition to feeling good, it is incredibly accurate - this means it can translate musical expression (how you play the keyboard) extremely effectively. So your performance is reflected exactly by the synth or software instrument you are triggering.
Full control surface
The control surface allows you to get hands on control for your DAW and plug-ins. We have worked with all the major DAW and plug-in manufacturers to make sure that you get instant control of your mixer, transport controls and plug-in instruments and effects.
Many MIDI controllers have knobs, faders and buttons, but using them is difficult and time consuming. Impulse (as with all Novation controllers) comes with Automap control software. This gives you instant mapping to the things you need to control, meaning you can make full use of faders, knobs and buttons on Impulse to get hands-on with your music software.
Automap Control Software - instant mixer, transport and plug-in control
Automap is a piece of software that comes with all Novation controllers. It makes it fast and simple to control your music software with knobs, buttons and faders. It has been used by many top musician/producers since 2006.
Impulse gives you control over the mixer, transport and plug-ins of all major DAWs, as well as plug-in instruments and effects that don't come with your DAW, like Native Instruments, Waves or FXpansion. Automap enables you to see instantly which knobs, faders and buttons are controlling which part of your software. It also makes it easy to quickly change what the knobs are controlling.
See what you are controlling
Automap has a software edit page that looks just like the Impulse control surface. This labels what each knob, fader and button is controlling, because with so many things in your DAW and plug-ins, it is easy to lose track of what is assigned to what. You can hide this window once you are finished with it, so you can continue making music.
Get instant control
Impulse's controls can be used to control your plug-in instruments and effects. When you open a software instrument/effect, the 8 knobs will already be linked to things in it. If you want to control different things, just press the ˜Learn' button, click on the software thing, and wiggle the knob that you want to control it. This way you can get hands on control of exactly what you want almost instantly.
Back-lit drum pads, Ableton Clip Launch, Arpeggiator and Beat Roll:
Impulse has 8 drum pads which are velocity-sensitive - with aftertouch! These are back-lit with 3-colour LEDs which means they can do things other drum pads can't¦
Ableton Live Clip Launch
Impulse comes with Ableton Live Lite included - but if you are already an Ableton user, you will appreciate the power of this. The 8 drum pads can be used to launch clips in Live. The three colours indicate whether a clip is loaded (yellow), playing (green), or recording (red). This makes Impulse the best keyboard for Ableton Live users without exception.
Arpeggiator Warping
Impulse has a built in Arpeggiator which enables you to play a turn any chord into an arpeggio. The drum pads take this a step further by enabling you to warp arpeggios. By switching the 8 pads in or out you can change the rhythm of the arpeggio in real time (this works brilliantly with drums!)
You can also change the speed, shape, syncopation and gate time of the arpeggio.
Beat Roll
Drum pads are great for playing drums! With Beat Roll you can hold on to the pad and create a roll - because the pads are pressure sensitive you can change the volume of the drum as it is rolling, just by pushing down on the pad. This enables some really cool performance tricks!
Works with all major DAWs:
In addition to the major DAWs, Impulse & Automap 4 have been specially designed to give you full control of 3rd party plug-in instruments and effects, like Native Instruments, Waves or FXpansion.
Ableton (Ableton Live Lite comes included with Impulse)
- Mixer control (all channels)
- Transport control
- Clip launch (using Impulse's back-lit drum pads)
- Scene launch
- Plug-in/Device control (instant control of Ableton's own devices as well as 3rd party VST/AU plug-ins)
Cubase
- Mixer control (all channels)
- Transport control
- Plug-in instrument/effects control (instant control of whatever VST instrument or effect is in focus)
Logic
- Mixer control (all channels)
- Transport control
- Plug-in instrument/effects control (instant control of Logic's own plug-ins and 3rd party VST/AU plug-ins)
Pro Tools
- Mixer control (all channels)
- Transport control
- Plug-in instrument/effects control (instant control of Pro Tools' own plug-ins and 3rd party RTAS plug-ins)
Reason/Record
- Mixer control (all channels)
- Transport control
- Instant control of rack devices (Thor, Dr Octo Rex etc.)
Sonar (PC only)
- Mixer control (all channels)
- Transport control
- Plug-in VST instrument/effects control
Impulse will also work with other DAWs such as Studio One, Garage Band and FL Studio.



Features
- Ultra-responsive, 49-key semi-weighted keyboard with aftertouch
- DAW/plug-in control surface: 8 knobs, 9 faders and buttons (1 fader & button on Impulse 25) and a custom LCD screen
- Automap 4 control software enables instant hands-on access to your DAW and plug-ins
- Multi-function drum pads let you warp arpeggios, roll beats, and launch clips in Ableton Live
- Impulse also comes with a stack of free software and sounds:
- Ableton Live Lite - powerful loop based music-making software
- Novation Bass Station - legendary analogue bass synth as a software plug-in
- Loopmasters sample library - 4GB of royalty-free samples
- VST Instrument from Addictive Keys
- Mike The Drummer - 502MB of live drum loops and breaks
- Novation V-Station: a polyphonic soft-synth for Mac and PC
- Learn with Melodics: Free keys and pad drumming lessons with Melodics makes you get the most out of your controller straight out of the box.
Specs
- Dims: 33-5/16"L x 13"W x 3-7/8"H
- Weight 7.71lb. (3.5kg)
Reviews
4.16
186 Reviews
81%
of respondents would recommend this to a friend
Most Liked Positive Review
A very cool guitar, if you're into the 1980's shred thing!
I have been in the market for an 80's style shredder for a few years now. As a big fan of George Lynch, in particular the stuff he did from 1985 to 1990, I've been looking for a used ESP Skulls and Snakes model. That said, they are hard to find on the used market, and they command a premium price. Enter the Friedman Cali model. With its high-output humbuckers, Floyd Rose tremolo, and single volume knob, it's got similar specs as the Skulls and Snakes, and with a much lower point of entry. So, I jumped on it, and I am glad I did. I've spent the last few days getting to know my new Friedman Cali and I can say with confidence this is an excellent guitar for the price. That said, it does have some minor drawbacks that I will gladly look past given how amazing the guitar feels and sounds. My particular guitar was a scratch and dent, which in my case means pre-owned. I say this because when I took delivery of the guitar, I noticed a tremolo stop had been installed, poorly I might add. I confirmed with Friedman they did not install these at the factory; hence my opinion the guitar was previously sold to another customer. In any case, there are no other blemishes or visual imperfections to speak of other than, of course, the factory relic job. After my initial inspection, I put the guitar back in the case to chill out for 24 hours to acclimate to the environment. After that, I remove the old strings, cleaned and polished the frets, lubricated the hardware, applied contact cleaner to the pot and switch, put on fresh strings, and gave it a proper set-up. Some things I noticed during the whole process: the b-string tuner doesn't seem to work as smoothly as the other tuners. These appear to be Hipshot open gear locking tuners, similar to what I have on my Tyler, and I know they usually work very well. Next time I change strings, i will pull the tuner and take it apart for inspection. Another thing I noticed is the screw-in style tremolo bar on the Floyd Rose. This is simply an antiquated design and needs to go the way of the rest of the dinosaurs: extinction. I much prefer the convenience, feel, and adjustability of the drop-in replacement bar, so that is what I installed. Now the tremolo feels expressive and smooth, and the bar drops in quickly. Once I got the Cali set up, I was amazed how comfortable it is to play. Let's first talk materials and craftsmanship. The relic job on the maple neck and fingerboard, combined with the rolled fret edges and slick fret crowning, make this guitar feel like you've been playing it for decades. It's really quite special and something you have to play to understand. because of the compound radius and excellent fretwork, I am able to set the action very low without excessive buzzing. I use 9-gauge strings, and two tremolo springs are sufficient to ensure the tremolo sits parallel to the body while keeping low tension on the strings. Bending is super easy and very smooth, and the tremolo feels so expressive. The guitar just feels slinky and rather addicting to play. On the tone front, it's an absolute monster. The Friedman Classic pickups feature Alnico 5 magnets, which happen to be my favorite for hard rock tones. The bridge pickup sounds thick with gobs of sustain, while the neck pickup is round and fat. Both pickups are articulate and clear, and allow single notes in complex chords to shine through. Rolling back the volume knob will clean up your tone nicely, especially with a good tube amp. These guitars were a collaboration between Dave Friedman and Grover Jackson. Unfortunately, they are no longer working together, and Grover has moved to the Nashville, TN area. I do believe Friedman guitars will be hitting the market again soon, made by someone other than Grover. With that said, the Grover-era are pretty amazing guitars, and may become harder to find. So, if you are in the market for a 1980's super-Strat style shredder, I'd recommend checking out a Grover-era Friedman while you can.
Most Liked Negative Review
Amazing bass with a major flaw
Being mainly a guitarist, this bass is perfectly ideal for what my needs are. A great bass with a great sound/tone for recording, and many option with the knobs to fine tune and tweak that sound to my preference. However, my biggest gripe is that the string action is ridiculously tight for this bass. I like to play with ticker gauge strings, as I typically go for lower tunings, but this bass is (ironically with it being a 5 string) is simply not made for it. The action towards the neck of the fretboard makes thicker strings unplayable. They make contact with the fretboard at around the 2nd-3rd fret, and raising the bridge to compensate isn't enough. To make matters worse, the screws that are used to raise the strings on the bridge are very easily stripped, and I'm struggling to find any sort of replacements for them.
- Practice4
- Recording3
- All around great guitar1
- Metal songs1
- Rock songs1
- None6
- Poor Quality2
- Virtually no low end warmth.1
- Kind of expensive1
- Shipping box arrived damaged1
- Beginner2
- Stray player since 19741
- 74 years old, been playing 60 years.1
- Jazz, rock, classical player for 60 years1
- Metal,hard rock and instrumental rock1
- Sound4
- Attractive3
- Stays in Tune2
- Stays in tune2
- Tone2
Reviewed by 186 customers
Great all around strat
submitted8 days ago
byCass
fromDenver
Price is right
Sounds really good
submitteda month ago
byTrenton
fromGladwin county
This pedal sounds quite good. It is quite customizable. If you do buy this, if you do not have the cord used to power it, there is a battery adapter under the actual pedal part. you just put the black pins on the pedal in and take the pedal off. anyways, really good sound if you want a proper rock or metal distortion/overdrive for an affordable price.
Not too bad for the price
submitteda month ago
byJeff
fromNashville TN
Typical Chinese bling, the sound is lacking.
This drum is just like the vintage ones
submitteda month ago
byJeff
fromSeattle, WA
Play with freelance jazz and rock standards groups. All kinds of gigs and shows. I want to buy one of the sets.
Love this guitar.
submitted2 months ago
byLarry
fromMinnesota
Love this guitar. Easy/Good tuning, very playable, thin neck is fast.
Its so good it fits my church setting well
submitted2 months ago
byjordan
fromHamilton, new jersey
This product is the best drums i've ever played on because the shells are a nice color and when you tune the drums up, it sounds so good. When you play it in a open space it fills the room and when you play it in an enclosed space it sounds even better. All Im saying is that this is hands down one of the best drum sets.
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