Nektar Impact LX49+

The Nektar Impact LX49+ 49-Key USB MIDI DAW Controller is a compact and portable keyboard controller featuring Nektar’s DAW Integration technology, granting instant access to many of the most popular available DAWs. The currently supported DAWs are Bitwig, Cubase, Digital Performer, FL Studio, GarageBand, Logic, Nuendo, Reaper, Reason, Sonar and Studio One, and the MIDI learn functionality of the range means if you’re using a DAW not in this list you will still be able to program your pads, pots and buttons in the old fashioned way. There are 5 independent GM compatible setups that can be overwritten for exactly this purpose should the need arise.

The keys are velocity sensitive synth action with a medium tension. They have four velocity curves which gradually increase in dynamics, although three fixed velocity levels can be selected if consistent output is more important.

To the left of the interface are two Up/Down Octave and Transpose buttons, which are also assignable to other functions such as sending MIDI Program Messages or changing the Global MIDI channel.

The central control area contains the LED screen, transport controls, command buttons and the rotary pots. Nine faders are also here, and will generally be assigned to the first eight DAW channels. The ninth fader is assigned to the currently selected channel for ease of identifying where you are. The eight velocity sensitive pads are calibrated to trigger at the lightest touch, and can be assigned to any MIDI note number or cc message for triggering or toggling. The “Pad Learn” feature allows a user to simply select a pad and then play the desired sound to link it to the pad. Finally, the four colour LEDs inform of the nature of the MIDI each pad has running (as well as looking good!).

A version of Bitwig 8-Track is also shipped with every LX+ controller, meaning immediate recording is possible if you currently have no DAW. This version can be updated to the full version of Bitwig at a later date, and, needless to say, the LX49+ can be mapped to perfectly utilise Bitwig 8-Track seamlessly.