Serious DAW Control to Streamline Your Workflow!
Novation's 61 SL Mk II gives you more than just high-quality MIDI control via its semi-weighted keyboard. This 61-key USB controller doubles as a professional DAW and plug-in control surface. Thanks to its giant 144-character display, back-lit LED buttons, and LED-ringed encoders, the Novation 61 SL Mk II lets you know the status of all of your controls. Plus, you can easily manage all 56 of your controls, using the Automap 3 PRO software that comes included with the Novation 61 SL Mk II.

Take a hands-on, touch-sensitive approach to all aspects of making music
The Novation 61 SL Mk II provides 61 great-feeling, semi-weighted keys for expressively playing in musical parts. Beyond that, though, the Novation 61 SL Mk II offers a full 16-knob, 8-fader, 32-button control surface, so you can take charge of your software, make adjustments to plug-ins, and ultimately speed up your workflow. You'll especially love the Novation 61 SL Mk II's touch-sensitive "soft-feel" drumpads — perfect for sketching beats or triggering samples — and its unique 2-axis Xpression Pad and Pitch/mod Joystick controls.

Map controls at break-neck speed using the included Automap 3 PRO software
It's incredibly easy to assign out controls on the Novation 61 SL Mk II MIDI controller. That's because it comes with a copy of Novation's Automap 3 PRO software. This powerful program lets you simply touch the controller, click on a an on-screen parameter, and consider the control assigned. You can even assign almost any QWERTY or ASCII keyboard shortcut to the hardware controls. On-screen, you can manage your mappings, rename them, or swap them by dragging and dropping — it's all really easy and really fast. Plus, there's an "Autoview" function, which only brings up the Automap 3 PRO GUI when you touch a 61 SL Mk II controller — it will hide the GUI after the controller is released. Automap 3 PRO offers intelligent control over all sequencers and VST/AU/RTAS/TDM plug-ins. It gets better, though — keep reading to find out about the Novation 61 SL Mk II's extensive visual feedback.

LED visual feedback keeps you in touch with every MIDI assignment
With most MIDI controllers, you have to memorize the way you've mapped out your control assignments — not an easy task and one that makes it nearly impossible to collaborate with anyone else while you work. The Novation 61 SL Mk II, though, sports an LED screen above the row of encoders. It displays words to tell you just what you've assigned to each control. Beyond that, those encoders feature an LED ring around them, so you get the visual cues you need to set levels or take note of your levels — whether you're in the studio or out on a dark stage. Add to that 32 assignable back-lit buttons, and you'll have a lot of control — and important feedback — with your Novation 61 SL Mk II.

Includes the Xcite+ Pack, so you can immediately start getting creative
Make music straight out of the box with your Novation 61 SL Mk II USB MIDI controller. It comes with the Xcite+ bundle, which includes popular Ableton Live 7 Lite DAW software. Beyond that, the Novation 61 SL Mk II controller's Xcite+ Pack comes with 502MB of Mike the Drummer live drum loops, the Novation Bass-station synth, and a 1GB Loopmasters Samples library.

Bus-powered for the musician on the go
You can take your Novation 61 SL Mk II out anywhere — to a friend's house or out to the coffee shop. Just pair it with a laptop and you're automatically mobile, as the Novation 61 SL Mk II can be powered completely by USB bus power from yoru computer.

Key features

• High quality professional keyboard
  It uses the same velocity-sensitive, semi-weighted action keyboard from Fatar that the orininal SL does, with assignable after-touch. Novation deliver the feeling of playing an instrument, rather than just a computer peripheral.
• Illuminated controls provide instant visual feedback
  Brightly lit LED rings around the eight smooth encoders, and backlit buttons throughout provide instant visual feedback for every physical control, further reducing reliance on the computer screen.
• Giant 144-character LCD screen
  Frees the artist from being chained to the computer screen, placing all the essential data right alongside the relevant controls.
• Huge array of touch-sensitive controls
  Huge array of touch-sensitive controls
• Automap 3 PRO Control Software
  SL Mk II comes with Automap software which enables you to instantly map software parameters to faders, buttons, encoders and pots and other controllers.
• MIDI control interface
  Built in MIDI I/O Interface and comprehensive MIDI implementation provide complete control over all external hardware synths and other external MIDI devices.
• Novation’s unique ‘speed dial’
  A touch-sensitive rotary encoder that instantly takes control of whatever your mouse is focused on, providing real time access for composers and performers alike.
• Programmable ‘soft-feel’ drumpads
  Eradicates the need for a separate set of drumpad triggers, providing the ideal platform for sketching out beats or triggering samples
• Unique 2-Axis Controls
  Fantastic ‘Xpression’ pad and adjustably sprung pitch/mod joystick, both freely assignable in MIDI Controlling mode
• Dedicated, yet fully-assignable transport buttons
  Control the sequencer’s start/stop/loop/record/forward/rewind actions, direct from the MIDI controller, reducing reliance on mouse and screen, or switch them out to allow use of more assignable buttons. SL Mk II recalls how these buttons were previously assigned
• USB buss powering
  Provides the artist with a mobile MIDI control solution, freeing them from the confines of the studio
• Includes the Xcite+ bundle
  Featuring a host of royalty-free loops and samples, a full-fledged soft-synth and Ableton Live 7 Lite, providing an affordable upgrade path to Ableton Live.
   

What is Automap3 ?
Put simply, Automap is a bit of software that enables you to assign parameters in your sequencer and plug-ins with incredible speed and ease, to the buttons, knobs, faders and other controllers on your Novation SL or Nocturn.

Anyone who has used a hardware controller can testify to how time consuming and awkward this can be - searching through hundreds of MIDI continuous controller numbers and trying to match them with numbers assigned to knobs on the hardware.

For many plug-ins, Automap enables you to simply touch the controller, click on the parameter and its assigned! Novation controllers also provide instant and comprehensive control over all major sequencers - Automap even allows you to instantly assign almost any QWERTY or ASCII keyboard shortcut to buttons and other controllers on the hardware: So you can open and close windows, jump to locators in your DAW and make edits without touching the mouse or keyboard!

Remembering which parameters are assigned to which controllers is a problem of the past. As soon as a controller is touched, all your mappings are shown on the computer screen via Automap's GUI, as well as the LCD screen of the SL. You can also manage all your mappings from the on-screen GUI; rename them, swap them around by dragging and dropping, or even change the resolution of each control. If the GUI starts to clutter up your screen, you can turn on the "Autoview" function which only brings it up on the cressn when a controller is touched, then hides it again after the controller is released.

Key Features - Automap 3
Automap 3 PRO software comes bundled free with SL Mk II, and boasts the following features:

• Intelligent control over all sequencers and VST/AU/RTAS/TDM plug-ins
  Automap 3 removes the pain and time involved in assigning MIDI parameters, and all layouts are fully customisable.
• Heads-up transparent control GUI
  Places a transparent control map across your computer screen - see at a glance how the parameters are automatically assigned to each of SL Mk II’s controls.
• Instant ‘learn’ function
  Simply click on the software parameter and touch a touch-sensitive control to assign it. Now you can re-assign every control in seconds.
• Keystroke Assignments
  Automap 3 can assign almost any computer keyboard shortcuts to hardware controls. For example arrow key functions can now be assigned to hardware controls, allowing you to flick between tracks using buttons on your SL/Nocturn. You could also zoom in and out, open windows or create and jump to markers in your DAW.
• Innovative MIDI support within Automap
  Name your parameters and store mappings for later use. The same heads-up display provides quick and simple assigning of regular MIDI parameters. This ensures SL Mk II can also turn its hand to controlling the few software application that still rely solely on the MIDI protocol.
• Plug-in and Mixer Browser
  Lets you review all open plug-ins, then quickly switch to control and one of them. Mixer 'MIDI maps' can be created, saved and recalled via the same map browsing facility.
• Autoview Mode
  Optional Autoview mode means that the GUI only becomes visible when a controller is touched, then it disappears again allowing you to get back to your DAW.

Assignable controls:
• 8 Encoders (Infinite Rotation) with touch-sensitivity and 11 segment Led rings
• 8 Pots (270 Rotation) with touch-sensitivity
• 8 Sliders with touch-sensitivity
• 32 Buttons with integrated LEDs (37 in MIDI mode]
• 8 soft feel Trigger pads
• Xpression Pad (as on existing SL)
• Xpression Stick (as on existing SL)
• Touch sensitive Speed Dial (as on Nocturn)

System buttons:
• General Automap Operation Buttons (Learn, View, Browser Groups etc.)
• Octave up/down buttons with LED indicator

The central system buttons from the SL have been simplified; there is now:
• 1 Automap button with LED to toggle Automap mode on and off (this replaces the PLAY button) – this way, manual MIDI mode is separate from Automap mode and can be avoided completely if preferred
• Template and Edit modes have been combined into one edit mode, for editing both individual controls and overall settings within one Template

Connectivity

Rear Panel connections are as follows:
• Data Port: 1 x USB (Win XP/Vista and Mac OSX – Not Class Compliant
• MIDI: MIDI ONE: IN, OUT and Thru, MIDI TWO: OUT
• Sustain Pedal: 1 x 1/4 Jack Input
• Expression pedal: 1 x 1/4 Jack Input
• Power switch: Ext DC/USB

Minimum Operational Requirements:
Mac OSX 10.4.0 or greater (Leopard and Snow Leopard (32-bit kernel only) also supported) or Windows XP with
Service Pack 2 or greater (Vista 32/64 and Windows 7 32/64 also supported)

Minimum Computer spec: Mac - G4/1GHz, both with 256MB RAM or PC -
Pentium 3/1GHz/256MB RAM (machines running Vista will require a higher spec)

Dimensions
Size (25 key): W=468mm, H=68mm, D=293mm
Size (49 key): W=803mm, H=68mm, D=293mm
Size (61 key): W=965mm, H=68mm, D=293mm

Weights
25SL net weight : 3.3kg /unit
49SL net weight: 5.2kg/unit
61SL net weight  : 6.1kg / unit

Automap 3 User Guide

Drivere & Software

Owner's Manual