Novation FLkey 2 37

The reason the product exists, and the one axis where the sources genuinely diverge. Reviewers are unanimous on depth: FL Studio detects it automatically, the pads drive the Channel Rack and step sequencer, the encoders map to the Mixer and plugin parameters, and there is nothing to install. Against that, FL Studio's own forum carried a run of reports in late July 2026 of the DAW crashing when the FLkey's Record, Undo or Redo buttons were pressed — reported independently on the Mini, the 37 and the 49. Reading the threads through, the cause was a host regression in FL Studio 2026.1.2 rather than the controller: Image-Line shipped 26.1.3 within days and both reporters confirmed it fixed. The durable lesson is the coupling itself — a controller this tightly bound to one DAW rises and falls with that DAW's release train. Outside FL Studio you get Mackie HUI and NKS, which every source describes as workable but ordinary.

The clearest upgrade of the generation, and no source argues with it. Eight endless encoders replace the first generation's fixed pots, so a knob no longer jumps a parameter when its physical position and the DAW value disagree, and they carry five modes (Plugin, Mixer, Mixer Inserts, Channel Mixer, Transport). Above them sits a 128×64 monochrome OLED that names what you're adjusting and the chord you're playing. The 37 also gets the full workflow button row the Mini 25 goes without — Pattern/Song, Undo/Redo, Metronome, Score Log/Quantise — alongside transport and the pitch and mod wheels. The caveats are small and consistent: the screen is still small, the encoders aren't touch-sensitive, and the Mk1's note repeat button didn't survive the redesign. Faders are a 49-and-61 feature.

“The shift from fixed knobs to endless encoders is the most practically significant change across the full range.”

Production Expert

“All FLkeys now have a brighter OLED screen and though it’s still small, it now has three lines and displays basic graphics.”

MusicTech

“The OLED display is one of the biggest upgrades here.”

Sanjay C (video review), via Synth Magazine

16 RGB pads on Novation's FSR sensors, velocity-sensitive with polyphonic aftertouch, and the sources that have played them rate them highly — for Channel Rack triggering, step sequencing and finger drumming with FPC, Slicex or Fruity Slicer. Two honest qualifications belong here. Production Expert flagged at launch that the claimed sensitivity gain is hard to verify without hands-on time, and Novation's own FAQ says polyphonic aftertouch is not supported by any of FL Studio's stock plugins — you can route it to third-party plugins, but only with extra setup. So the pads are a genuine strength; the aftertouch on the box is, for most FL Studio users, a spec rather than a feature. gearnews also notes the pads have moved to the right of the panel this generation, which suits right-handed drumming and not left.

“Channel rack control is outstanding on this keyboard. You can sequence beats right on the keyboard and this is not something you typically find on other keyboard controllers except one Arturia's KeyLab Mark III.”

Sanjay C (video review), via Synth Magazine

“and those pads – upgraded for better responsiveness – are now on the right, better for right-handed finger drumming.”

gearnews

“The pad improvements are harder to quantify without a hands-on test, but Novation has specified polyphonic aftertouch on the pads for the 37, 49, and 61 models, which expands expressive possibilities for users working with instruments that respond to aftertouch.”

Production Expert

A large bundle by any standard, and nobody in the source set calls it thin: six months of FL Studio Producer Edition, Native Instruments Komplete Select, Novation Play, four GForce synths (Bass Station, Oberheim SEM, OB-EZ and AXXESS), Klevgrand LUXE and Slammer, Orchestral Tools Parallel Orchestra, and Melodics lessons. The agreed catch is that the FL Studio part is a six-month licence rather than a permanent one — after it lapses the DAW reverts to trial mode. Read Image-Line's own small print before counting it: activation only works on a computer that has never had a full or time-limited FL Studio licence installed, which means the producers most likely to buy an FLkey are the ones least able to claim the bundle's headline item.

“the bundled subscription is temporary rather than a permanent license”

Dubspot

“When you register your unit using Novation’s Components app or via the website running in Chrome, with its native MIDI support, you unlock some bonus downloads including a six month license for FL Studio Producer Edition, Komplete 15 Select and instruments, and effects from Melodics, Klevgrand and GForce.”

MusicTech

Three full-size octaves of synth-action keys with pitch and mod wheels — and the quiet story of this particular size. The semi-weighted waterfall keybed that headlines the second generation went to the 49 and 61 only; Production Expert, Dubspot and MusicTech all note the 37 keeps the synth-action bed. Nobody calls those keys bad — the one verified owner in the source set praises the feel, and MusicTech's only keyboard complaint is about aftertouch, not action — but the reviewers who played across the range consistently point buyers who actually play parts one size up. There is no aftertouch of any kind on the keyboard: polyphonic aftertouch is a pad feature here.

“The 37-key model has the lighter, synth-action keybed and no faders, so it’s like the 25 but with more transport controls, wheels and full size keys.”

MusicTech

“Semi-weighted keys on the 49 and 61 models, a significant step up from the synth-action keybeds of the previous generation. Mini 25 and 37 retain synth-action keys.”

Production Expert

“Polyphonic aftertouch on pads but not keys”

MusicTech

Well judged for the money and uncontroversial: USB-C for power and data, a full-size 5-pin DIN MIDI out for driving hardware, a 1/4-inch sustain pedal jack and a Kensington slot — with the whole board bus-powered and no wall wart to lose. The 37 gets the proper DIN socket the Mini 25 misses out on (that model has a 3.5mm out and no adapter in the box). What isn't here: MIDI in, CV or gate of any kind, and a USB-C-to-C cable — the box ships C-to-A.

“All models also have a full-size sustain pedal socket, and a MIDI out – a 3.5mm port on the 25 (though there’s no adapter in the box) and old-school DIN port on the other three.”

MusicTech

Plastic, but reportedly a better grade of it than the first generation. The one reviewer with both generations in hand describes a more robust feel at the same light weight, Novation claims improved build across the range and a more tactile button click, and the single verified owner review calls the construction excellent. Two independent voices is thin evidence for durability, and no pattern of QC complaints has surfaced in three months on sale — but three months is also not long enough for one to.

“The build quality has improved since the Mk1, with a more robust feel while maintaining a light weight.”

MusicTech

“Super Verarbeitung. Schönes Spielgefühl.”

Finis51 · Thomann (verified owner, in German — "great build quality, nice playing feel")

Bus-powered over a single USB-C cable with no power supply to carry, and light for its class at 2.18 kg — but 557 mm wide is a desk instrument, not a bag one. Sources treat the bus power as a plus and don't argue about it; the reviewer who covered the whole range points portability-first buyers at the Mini 25 instead.

“All four models are bus-powered over USB-C and send data over the same port, with a USB-C to USB-A cable provided.”

MusicTech

Sources split, and the dissent is structural rather than grumbling. One camp reads the range as fairly priced for what no rival offers — an FL-native control surface plus a bundle worth real money to a newcomer. The other points out that this size is the awkward rung: $50 more buys the 49 with nine faders and a semi-weighted keybed, and Novation's own FAQ states that the FLkey 2 hardware is identical to the Launchkey MK4, which Thomann US sells in 37-key form for $155 against $211 for this board. What you're paying the difference for is the firmware, the bespoke FL Studio script, the FL-specific silkscreen and six months of Producer Edition — genuinely valuable if FL Studio is your DAW and you don't already own it, and close to nothing if it isn't or you do.