Members ElectricPuppy Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 I have the ReMOTE SL 61, bought new from Musician's Friend last May on the strength of positive reviews, since my local stores didn't have one to demo. I liked the idea of the LCD control labels, and I wanted something to control Sonar remotely with that had a good keyboard feel (which several people said it had). Well. 5 months later, and I'm just not gelling with this thing. The LCD is hard to read at a sitting position, the buttons feel mushy, Cakewalk and Novation haven't gotten their act together to make it easy to use with Sonar, but worst of all... I don't like the key action. It's difficult to describe exactly, but the keys are too springy/stiff, and they seem to bottom-out on what feels like putty; it just doesnt feel very positive. It's killing my chops (such as they are. ) Am I alone in my assessment of this thing? Am I going to find any better controller than this? I was NOT impressed with the M-AUDIO controllers at the local GC, they looked and felt cheesy. I'm thinking I may just go back to my venerable KX-88. Anyway, semi-rant/whine finished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Daft Punk Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 Nope, they definitely suck. The pads feel horrible, i can't tell if i'm pressing them or not, the knobs suck and it feels like a toy in my hands. Definitely not alone on that one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members XorAxAx Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 The action is too stiff. The knobs feel like toys. Oh, and the SL 61 is long enough that the plastic case bends and ripples slightly if you don't brace it under the middle. That said it's better than any other controller on the market. They all pretty much suck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Audacity Works Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 That said it's better than any other controller on the market. They all pretty much suck.Absolutely. The SL has a truly remarkable feature set and UI, but Novation insisted on cramming it into a pricepoint case with a pricepoint keybed and pricepoint controls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Superace25 Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 Absolutely. The SL has a truly remarkable feature set and UI, but Novation insisted on cramming it into a pricepoint case with a pricepoint keybed and pricepoint controls. I just picked up an Axiom 25, and it is made out of metal, like god intended. (also, it was the only controller I could actually purchase in Singapore ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 Well, I prefer my midiBoard's action to my x-station's (likely the same as the remote) but that's hardly surprising--I'm a piano player. I find that my reaction to the x-station varies with the weather or my mood or something. Sometimes it's nice and bouncy and pushes back just right and sometimes it's like playing plasticine. But for organ and synthy stuff I'm generally okay. Oh yeah, and it weighs 1/10 what the midiBoard does (and 1/100 what my piano weighs). Man, though, I'd like an x-station with all-premium components (especially if it cost the same ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rabid Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 I don't like the feel of the SL and the aftertouch on the XBoard is horrible. I threw my Oxygen 8 in the dumpster a few months ago. The only portable I have and like is the Korg Kontrol 49. It feels great but I wish it was smaller. I need to try the new Roland units and see how they feel. I'm another that is disapointed with the Sonar/NovationSL combination. I'm hoping that will improve with Sonar 7. If not I will try the Roland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OPEN OCEAN Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 tough luck .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Oliver Chesler Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 I'm fastest with a qwerty keyboard and a mouse. Learn every shortcut you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ElectricPuppy Posted October 11, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 Absolutely. The SL has a truly remarkable feature set and UI, but Novation insisted on cramming it into a pricepoint case with a pricepoint keybed and pricepoint controls. I think this sums up my dissapointment to a T. Now that I've totaly dissed the SL, I'm gonna go make a spam thread and see if anyone here might actually like it enough to take it off my hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Birdienumnum Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 The LCD is hard to read at a sitting position, the buttons feel mushy, Cakewalk and Novation haven't gotten their act together to make it easy to use with Sonar, but worst of all... I don't like the key action. It's difficult to describe exactly, but the keys are too springy/stiff, and they seem to bottom-out on what feels like putty; it just doesnt feel very positive. It's killing my chops (such as they are. ) Just to play the devil's advocate/contrarian here, I absolutely love my 61 SL. The LCD is easy to read at my sitting position, at least - I guess it depends on the angle you're at. I absolutely love the key action, it's so consistent and reliable up and down the keybed, the throw is perfect, it has exactly the right amount of tension IMO of course and the keys bottom out beautifully with the least amount of clacking I've heard. And I love playing piano on it (that's with Pianoteq 2, which is a joy to play). Keybeds are such a personal thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ElectricPuppy Posted October 11, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 I don't doubt that you like your SL, Birdie. Taste is subjective. Want a second one? :poke: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Birdienumnum Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 I would love a 76 (with the "A" on the bottom) or an 88 key 2nd one, of course! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members XorAxAx Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 LOL, you could probably bend the 88-key version into a circle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ElectricPuppy Posted October 11, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 It's a shame. If it were built better, I'd live with the Sonar incompatibility for now and even try cooking up my own mappings, but since I'm not loving it, I don't want to invest the time. I do believe that's the last Novation I'll be buying for a while. I didn't much care for the build quality of the the X-Station I had briefly, either. The current crop of controllers just seem really flimsy lately. If someone made a solid, well-built controller with a GOOD keyboard, I'd be willing to spend the extra coin. Enough with the plastics, please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Umbra Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 Interesting, I thought the key action on the remote 25 was really good, not sure if it's the same on the SL or not. The buttons did suck, the knobs were ok. It didn't do a good enough job with sysex for me to keep it. What's the problem with it and Sonar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cloacal-X Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 Umbra - what did you need it to do sysex-wise that it could not handle? I find it to be a pretty robust board in terms of sysex implementation. I pretty much agree completely with Audacity - great concept marred (somewhat) by a pricepoint. But still better than any other dedicated USB controller, IMHO. And I rather like the key action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Daft Punk Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 That said it's better than any other controller on the market. They all pretty much suck. CME is better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Birdienumnum Posted October 12, 2007 Members Share Posted October 12, 2007 CME is better. I have a CME UF5. The action is excellent, definitely up there with my SL 61. The aftertouch is great, too, and can be switched on and off. But the rest of it is a pain in the ass. Automapping RULES! I should also point out that the CME driver was the worst in my experience - it corrupted my hard drive and I actually had to initialize and reinstall everything. Whereas Novation software just uses my Mac's coreaudio and midi drivers and works perfectly the first time out, as do their V and Bass Stations. Novation is totally pro, from the beautiful LCD (s) to the touchpad to switching automatically from one softsynth to the next - but CME is kind of like Studiologic - excellent keybed, everything else sucks - IMO. And they can't save patches. I should also point out that the CME build quality seems good but really isn't - the entire chassis is attached to a particle board bottom and the whole thing could easily fall apart on the road. Whereas the Remote might be plastic but it's very streamlined and compact, a marvel of design really. And unlike the heavy, clunky CME, the Remote is both sturdy but lightweight, with a slim design, and slots right into a relatively small workspace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stikygum Posted October 12, 2007 Members Share Posted October 12, 2007 Just so you guys know, I can see both sides of this because I owned a SL25 and now have a SL37. Interestingly the screens were different. The 25 had a screen that made it hard to see. I could only really see it a certain angle. THe 37 has a lighter LCD and can be seen and much more angles. I was suprised to see this as all I wanted were more keys, but I got a much better reading screen. The SL is not meant to be the end all for real players. It's meant to be a tool to get your music done. If I were to learn piano properly and practice, I wouldn't choose any controller that's out there. Controllers are simply tools to get the job done, not to help you with your chops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Daft Punk Posted October 12, 2007 Members Share Posted October 12, 2007 I have a CME UF5. The action is excellent, definitely up there with my SL 61. The aftertouch is great, too, and can be switched on and off. But the rest of it is a pain in the ass. Automapping RULES! I should also point out that the CME driver was the worst in my experience - it corrupted my hard drive and I actually had to initialize and reinstall everything. Whereas Novation software just uses my Mac's coreaudio and midi drivers and works perfectly the first time out, as do their V and Bass Stations. Novation is totally pro, from the beautiful LCD (s) to the touchpad to switching automatically from one softsynth to the next - but CME is kind of like Studiologic - excellent keybed, everything else sucks - IMO. And they can't save patches. I should also point out that the CME build quality seems good but really isn't - the entire chassis is attached to a particle board bottom and the whole thing could easily fall apart on the road. Whereas the Remote might be plastic but it's very streamlined and compact, a marvel of design really. And unlike the heavy, clunky CME, the Remote is both sturdy but lightweight, with a slim design, and slots right into a relatively small workspace. You have to consider that that particular model isn't even in production anymore. VX > All controllers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MuzikB Posted October 12, 2007 Members Share Posted October 12, 2007 Because sometimes, you do get what you pay for. All you hear around here is about CME and the Novation stuff. You never hear about anybody with the above with too much complaints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ed A. Posted October 12, 2007 Members Share Posted October 12, 2007 If Korg had a Kontrol 61 with aftertouch, I'd buy it in a minute. I tried CME, M-Audio Axiom, Emu Xboard, Novation SL61, Edirol PCR 800 and I don't like the feel of any of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MuzikB Posted October 12, 2007 Members Share Posted October 12, 2007 If Korg had a Kontrol 61 with aftertouch, I'd buy it in a minute. I tried CME, M-Audio Axiom, Emu Xboard, Novation SL61, Edirol PCR 800 and I don't like the feel of any of them. I hear ya. I've been trying to get Korg to do just that. I didn't like the feel of any of the others either. The Kontrol 49 felt so good that I overlooked the more keys and aftertouch want. Besides, you can program the joystick for aftertouch like expression and really don't need the extra keys if you want portability and it's primary use is with a DAW. Logic 8 in my case. Maybe they'll surprise us at NAMM next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members XorAxAx Posted October 12, 2007 Members Share Posted October 12, 2007 You have to consider that that particular model isn't even in production anymore. VX > All controllers Yeah? Call me when they can write drivers that don't suck. And who wants a controller with a "game mode"? These are supposed to be professional units, not glorified GameBoys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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