Now Novation is taking its well related to LaunchKey series, giving it a light facelift and rebranding it as FLKey– the very first keyboard MIDI controller designed solely for managing FL Studio.
FLKey comes in two ranges, the FLKey 37 and FLKey Mini. What makes the FLKey stand out, however, is its out-of-the-box mapping for controlling FL Studio. With the pots and pads you can quickly manage volume and panning both from the mixer and channel rack, manage numerous of Image Lines native plugins, and play chords with a single button. I really believe that the FLKey lineup offers much deeper control than its Ableton-focused siblings in the Launchkey series, at least when it comes to producing a full song from start to complete.
Its tough to believe that FL Studio (née Fruity Loops) has been around for 24 years. Now Novation is taking its well concerned LaunchKey series, offering it a light facelift and rebranding it as FLKey– the very first keyboard MIDI controller designed exclusively for managing FL Studio.
FLKey comes in two ranges, the FLKey 37 and FLKey Mini. The only genuine distinction is that the FLKeys are gray rather of black, and the labels on the controls are slightly different.
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The construct is strong, but not what you d call rugged. I most likely would not take the FLKey out on trip. Everything is plastic, and the secrets have a small springiness to them. The pads are velocity delicate, and have polyphonic aftertouch, however are a little stiff and little. Theyll get the job done for finger drumming, but cant compare with those found on an Akai device. Theres a small screen that provides you useful info at a look, like predetermined names. And the eight knobs across the top are smooth and have a great amount of resistance, but are rather small. They make good sense on the Mini design, but on the 37 they look somewhat out of location. Still, considering the nearly rock-bottom price of $200, this is all quite outstanding.
What makes the FLKey stand apart, though, is its out-of-the-box mapping for managing FL Studio. With the pots and pads you can quickly manage volume and panning both from the mixer and channel rack, manage much of Image Lines native plugins, and play chords with a single button. You cant ditch the mouse completely, but you can carry out most basic jobs directly from the controller.
Possibilities are youll be able to get even more with the keyboard than me if youre intimately familiar with FL Studio. I have not used FL Studio much considering that I was in college and it was still called Fruity Loops. I needed to try and relearn some terms to unlearn some routines I d established after years of utilizing Ableton Live as my primary DAW. Once I got over the preliminary hump, I discovered it relatively easy getting the rough outline of a locate with simply the keyboard.
Terrence OBrien/ Engadget
I in fact think that the FLKey lineup offers deeper control than its Ableton-focused brother or sisters in the Launchkey series, a minimum of when it comes to producing a complete tune from start to finish. Whereas the Launchkey lineup seems more concentrated on Lives efficiency features, FLKey feels developed more with production in mind. That probably has as much to do with the difference in the DAWs approaches as anything else, though.
Its super fast and easy to lock the keyboard into a specific scale, or to designate the pads across the top to the chords in said scale. The latter is especially useful for me given that I am what is typically described as a terrible keyboard gamer. It likewise takes simply a single button push to quantize an efficiency after youve recorded it which, once again, is incredibly helpful for somebody like me whos just fabricating their way around a keyboard.
Terrence OBrien/ Engadget
If youre adhering to FLStudios built-in plugins the knobs are frequently mapped to controls instantly, however, it seems a little random in regards to what they really manage. This is most likely the greatest issue with the FLKey (once again, probably more to do with FLStudios peculiarities than anything else)– consistency.
Ableton Live was built very consciously from moment one with UI consistency being high up on the list of concerns, so mapping controls is a much simpler and more foreseeable affair. FLStudio is a bit more hodgepodge. Every plugin has its own distinct user interface with controls spread around, and in some cases provided in strangely skeuomorphic methods. In some plugins the mapping is entirely nonexistent. For example, while the buttons for altering presets work perfectly in DX10 and Harmless, they do not operate at all in Sawyer or GMS. And the mod wheel does not seem to do anything in most plugins.
Terrence OBrien/ Engadget
Its likewise worth quickly pointing out that while the back is largely spartan, there is a full-sized 5-pin MIDI DIN there. So, when youre not knocking out beats with FPC or slicing up samples in SliceX you can manage your hardware synths too.
FL Studios peculiarities can be part of its charm. It does make it tough to develop on top of what Image Line has already done. Still, if theres any business I d believe making it work, it would be Novation. Over the years its established a credibility for relentlessly updating its products and adding new features. So theres a good opportunity that FLKeys rough edges will get smoothed out.All items recommended by Engadget are picked by our editorial team, independent of our moms and dad business. Some of our stories include affiliate links. We might earn an affiliate commission if you buy something through one of these links.