Nectar LX25 Plus USB Keyboard And MIDI Controller

The Impact LX25+ MIDI controller is compact and portable yet jam-packed with intelligent and expressive performance control not even available on many premium products. Ever wanted a controller that hooks up automatically to your DAW? Impact LX25+ does exactly that.

Nektar DAW Integration custom designed for Bitwig, Cubase, Digital Performer, FL Studio, GarageBand, Logic, Nuendo, Reaper, Reason, Sonar and Studio One takes Impact LX25+ way beyond functionality normally offered by a USB MIDI controller keyboard. With Impact LX25+ the hard work is done, so you can focus on your creativity.

IMPACT LX25+ CONTROLLER KEYBOARD

The 25 note velocity sensitive keyboard is a synth action with a medium tension. The full-size, piano-style keys are covered to protect against dirt and dust while also complementing the Impact LX design. With 4 velocity curves gradually increasing in dynamics there is a choice for any playing style. If you don’t need velocity, 3 fixed velocity levels cater for a consistent output. Octave and transpose buttons as well as pitch bend and modulation wheels are within reach, so you can quickly shift the keyboard up or down as needed, or apply additional articulation with the wheels.

OCTAVE & TRANSPOSE BUTTONS

There is more to the 4 Octave & Transpose buttons than meets the eye. 4 functions are selectable on the fly so you can make important changes at any time, even while you play. A key combination makes assignment quick and easy. Choices include sending out MIDI Program Messages, change the Global MIDI Channel or select any of Impact LX25+’s 5 user presets with either the Octave or Transpose buttons.

CONTROL CENTER

A 30mm fader and 8 pots are at the center of the Impact LX25+ control panel. Each control is fully programmable to send any MIDI CC message for use with hardware or software MIDI products. Used with Nektar DAW integration, the controls take on a life of their own, providing flexible pre-mapped DAW control giving you the best of both worlds. Control settings can be stored in any of the 5 Impact LX25+ presets for recall at any time. And if you switch Null on, any parameter values are stored when you change presets so you avoid parameter jumping.

PADS

For groove and beat creation, Impact LX25+’s 8 velocity sensitive pads make life easy. Calibrated to trigger at a light touch, finger drumming is suddenly well within reach with a nice and even velocity response. Each pad can be assigned any MIDI note number or MIDI cc message for use as MIDI trigger or toggle buttons. But the best part is the “Pad Learn“ feature, which allows you to just select a pad, play the note or drum sound you want on the keyboard and assignment is done. No complex menus for a task that’s essential to getting the most out of your pads. Assignments are stored over power cycling so you don’t lose your settings when you switch your system off for the night. In addition, 4 pad map locations can store your settings for future recall.

The 4 color LED illumination not only looks good but also indicate which pad map is currently loaded and can even tell you which type of MIDI message each pad sends. With Nektar DAW Integration, the pads are automatically mapped in for example Reason and Bitwig.. The two Clips and Scenes buttons are used in Bitwig  to trigger…., Clips and Scenes. In Reason, a clever control of Reason’s location points create a similar experience with scenes triggering of any Reason song.

NEKTAR DAW INTEGRATION

Impact LX25+ software integration supports most of the popular DAWs. A common workflow gives access to many of the functions you are most likely to need when recording and performing with your Impact LX25+. The best part is that it’s all done for you: Simply complete the installation process and start making music! Impact LX25+ DAW integration currently supports Cubase, Digital Performer, FL Studio, Garageband, Logic, Nuendo, Reaper, Reason, Sonar and Studio One. Buttons and controls are labeled so you don’t have to remember how they are assigned. That’s why Impact LX25+ is a breeze to use but with enough extra features under the hood to challenge even the most experienced power user.

TRANSPORT & NAVIGATION

The 6 dedicated transport buttons are always within reach and mapped to control Cycle, Rewind, Forward, Stop, Play and Record. Press Shift to get access to alternate functions such as Goto L, Set L, Set R, Undo, Click and Mode. Dedicated Track up/down and Patch up/down buttons are located below the display.

MIXER CONTROL

Press mixer and the  8 Impact LX25+ pots are assigned to control 8 channels of your DAWs mixer. The alternate Bank up/down function moves control assignments to the next or previous group of 8 channels.  Press the [Mixer] button and they switch to control pan.

The fader is assigned to the currently selected channel so you always know where to find it.

The pads also have alternate functions and can control Mute for the current bank.

To help you get the best out of your screen real estate, Impact LX also has shortcuts for opening and closing your DAWs mixer window so you can see what’s going on.

INSTRUMENT PRESET

The Instrument button assigns all controls to instrument parameters once an instrument track is selected in your DAW. Nektar mapping ensures this is done automatically, so you can start tweaking immediately. Better still, many devices and plugins are pre-mapped to match the blue control labels on the Impact LX25+.

THE PAGE BUTTON

With Nektar DAW Integration, a page button allows you to switch between Default settings and User settings with LEDs clearly indicating which page is active. Each page changes assignments of the 8 pots, leaving the User page for example for your own assignments. Many pre-mapped plugins take advantage of the two pages*. So you could use it for immediate access to both, oscillator 1 and oscillator 2 parameters from the pots, switching between oscillators using the Page button.

Pressing the Instrument button places amp and filter ADSR envelopes on the 8 pots for instant access, regardless of whether the Default or User page is selected.

“GRAB” AND NECTAR MAPS

The Nektar “Grab” mode allow you to temporarily assign parameters to controls as you work on your project. It’s as easy as holding down shift while moving the parameters on the instrument you want to control followed by moving the controls on Impact LX25+ you want them assigned to. Some DAWs even supports saving “grabbed” parameters to a Nektar map* which means you can completely customize your assignments for future use.