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Billed as the world's first intelligent keyboard, Novation's ReMOTE 25 SL certainly has no shortage of creative control for its size, but does it live up to the hype?
My background as an engineer in Nashville normally finds me reviewing recording gear, so when I got the chance to review a small controller keyboard, I made sure I pulled all the stops out to put the 25SL to a serious test. Here is what I found:
I glanced briefly at the quick start guide, it assured me that installation was going to be a breeze; all I would have to do was plug it in to the USB port on my computer and it would work - they were right. It doesn't get much more plug and play than that. You do however have to install drivers in order to use the "intelligent" auto-mapping features (more on that later).
As far as playing goes, I have to say that I do like the feel of the "semi-weighted" keyboard. I have never played on anything from Novation before, but the hype about their keyboard's playability seems to be accurate. No, I didn't get to abuse it for hours in a live setting, but having knocked the keys off many KorgM-1s in the last millennium, one tends to get a feel as to whether they are playing a toy or a tool; although the 25SL is toy sized, the keys do in fact feel "tool worthy." I do have to add, however, that as a keyboard player I find a two-octave keyboard somewhat limiting; of course with the MIDI in you can plug in a larger keyboard, but for me I would personally opt for something with a lot more white notes (those pesky black...