A full-size 49-key MIDI and CV control keyboard, around $650, built around a standalone eight-track polyphonic sequencer (derived from Novation's Circuit), five colour screens, eight faders and eight encoders, 16 velocity- and pressure-sensitive RGB pads, and extensive I/O. Reviewers broadly agree on its strengths: the sequencer is powerful yet easy to use and can drive hardware, CV and a DAW together; the connectivity — three MIDI DIN ports, two CV/gate/mod sets, a clock out and three pedal jacks — turns it into a genuine studio hub; the lit control surface, Zones, Scales and arpeggiator are well liked; the RGB pads (with polyphonic aftertouch) draw praise; and Ableton Live integration is a step above most controllers. Opinion splits mainly on the keybed: most call the synth-style semi-weighted action solid and responsive, but some players find it spongy and flat, and a subset of units show a slight 'stick' on the first press after sitting idle. The other caveats are consistent rather than contested: integration is deep in Ableton but only HUI-level in most other DAWs, and with Automap gone third-party plug-in control is shallow; it needs a wall-wart (no USB bus power) and comes only in large 49/61-key sizes; and while build is generally solid, a few owners report cheap-feeling faders, a clicking key or a yellowing key LED. It's expensive, but widely judged worth it if you'll actually use the sequencer and CV hub.
About this product
The 49-key model (49SL MkIII) — one of the two SL MkIII sizes, sharing its semi-weighted keybed, control surface and eight-track sequencer with the 61-key (61SL MkIII), which differs mainly in key count and footprint. Not the older SL / SL MkII (which used Automap), and distinct from Novation's Launchkey and Launchpad lines.
Novation's SL MkIII is the 2018 reinvention of the company's long-running SL control-keyboard line, and it aims far higher than a typical MIDI keyboard. Alongside 49 or 61 semi-weighted keys sit a standalone eight-track polyphonic sequencer borrowed from Novation's Circuit, five colour screens, eight faders, eight encoders, 16 RGB pads with polyphonic aftertouch, and — unusually — two sets of CV/gate/mod outputs for driving modular and vintage synths.
The pitch is a single surface that blends a hardware sequencer, a hardware-synth controller and a DAW controller, with especially deep, Novation-authored integration for Ableton Live. It also marked the end of Novation's old Automap plug-in system. Reviewers largely treat it as a studio hub rather than a starter keyboard; the 49-key model covered here (49SL MkIII) lists around $650, and the arguments tend to gather around its price, its size, and how its keybed feels.
