Shine
February 12, 2009

Rating: 7/10

I have to personally say - when i first got this controller i really felt like throwing it out the window. However when i gave it another chance i actually realised how good of a controller it is for the software i use.

I use Ableton live and NI Traktor Scratch Pro.

It works absolutely perfect with Traktor and i could say it makes DJing even easier than it should be. I have it set up obviously as a mixer for traktor but thanks to the pages function - i can use it to control fx and more...

Its a bit harder to control with ableton - but that\'s only because it has to be set up everytime u turn it on.

I will agree wit some people sayin it isn\'t a brilliant product - however i will say that for £80 - it is the perfect midi controller for djing with traktor as a mixer and it is perfect for launching your productions and varying fx while your recording etc.

The drawbacks of it are that the automap function tend to sometimes really mess up... its better to manually assign everything and assign it through different channels and etc.

If anyone who bought this product doesn\'t know how to fully use it or assign anything etc - just drop an email into me. djssite1@hotmail.com

Overall - i will give this a 7.5 for the handyness and overall great product.

john
November 10, 2008

Rating: 6/10

i\'ve used this product for about two months and had mixed feelings at first, but make no mistake this piece of equipment has potential. i use this with logic pro 8 ,logics own plug-ins wont assign without manually configuring learn mode using automap-midi in midi out port
on automap settings then setting logic(apple + L) even then it wont always recognise the learn function.but i also use au-plug ins within logic and every one i have,has automatically assigned itself to the nocturn some plug-ins even have 2 to 3 pages on automap. if this hasnt worked for you try reinstalling automap after the plug-ins have been loaded,and one of the first options given on automap is to assign specific plug-ins dragging them from left to right. i spoke with focusrite staff at bpm 2008 and was given assurances that their coming to \"future arrangements\" with macintosh/logic for an update to automap universal to work with logics own plug-ins (fingers crossed)

RIDE157
October 28, 2008

Rating: 1/10

I saved up for this only to be dissapointed as it does not work with Reason 4. 2 hours now sitting here reading through every nook and cranny of the so-called simple instruction manual and websites to only get even more frustrated when i find that the price is actually going to go up and for what? Its supposed to be the latest in technology at that price and it doesnt even work with up tp date software such as Reason 4 and i cant even get it to control Abletons very own instruments only VST\\\'s which take up more power than a kettle.
Ripped off is one thing but to claim it works with any software is just another recipe for another brand spanking new failed product and reviews which Novation should take into account before their next disaster.

September 8, 2008

Rating: 2/10

DO NOT BUY A NOCTURN IF YOU ARE USING REASON 4!!!! I bought one only to find out that the automap software is not compatible with reason 4! However after speaking to novation i realised that all was not lost!! I found that i could use the nocturn as a straight forward midi controller. So i spent about an hour creating a subtractor template. This actually worked quite well. I then closed down the random project i used to do this and opened a previous song. However my template didnt work on the subtractor in this song. At that point i put the unit back in the box in order to stop myself from smashing it on the floor.

The only reason i havent given it 1 star is that on software that the unit is compatible with i imagine it would be wuite good. If you can deal with poor build quality and loose knobs!

August 7, 2008

Rating: 7/10

Since my previous review I thought it is only fair to update the situation. Novation have sent a very nice email expressing their regret for the misleading product launch info and have corrected the info on their website. I have signed up as a beta tester. I have been working with the first beta version to work with windows based pro tools. It works and eventhough it still isn\'t quite right I am getting some real benefit from using the nocturn now. If the next non beta version works and irons out some of the bugs then I can see the review score going up to 10. But only a 7 so far.

Christian Loyal
June 2, 2008

Rating: 5/10

This is going to be a great product. Unfortunatley it is only half way there. We have bought two of these after seeing what it can do on the internet and reading the reviews. Careful checking on the Novation and Focusrite websites all failed to make clear that this product doesn't work with Pro Tools RTAS plugins on Microsoft Windows based PCs.... Well not yet anyway. We have signed up for the beta testing program so now we sit and wait to be the Novation guinea pigs! If you intend to use the Nocturn with Pro Tools for Windows don't do without being sure the new software is available. Otherwise, like us, you will be watching your warranty slip away as time ticks by waiting for the novation guys to get it working. I'm not knocking the product it looks great but double check it will works with your system. We thought we had but obviously we missed the small print somewhere. We still can't find it even now! I'm sure we can get a refund if we wanted to but to be honest I want to keep it and get it working. I'm just annoyed that we're stuck with two useless boxes with no idea of when we will be able to use them.

You have been warned........