Novation ZeRO SL Mk II

Ableton and Novation announce new SL Mk II integration

Having jointly designed the Launchpad, Ableton have worked with Novation to update the SL Mk II. This makes it a comprehensive, fully bus powered Ableton Live 8 controller with a difference.

All Ableton's major controls are instantly assigned to SL Mk II's 56 knobs, faders and buttons. The changes mean that controlling session view, mixer and devices will be quick and easy, because you'll never lose track of what you're controlling: 

- Live's devicesare assigned to controls as you load them up. Open 'Auto Filter' and instantly see 'cutoff', 'res' etc, on the LCD screen above each knob, along with their current values (as well LED rings around each encoder).

- Comprehensive mixer control: Touch a fader to see the channel name and volume level on the large LCD screen, and the two buttons underneath will be lit up if the track is activated or record enabled.

- Launch scenes with the SL's buttons. You can also set up a row of 8 backlit buttons to launch clips (which light up if the clip is playing). 

SL Mk II now provides comprehensive Ableton 8 control with a 25, 49 or 61 note keyboard. Along with the keyless Zero SL, they are all USB powered, so require no external power supply. 

Existing SL Mk II owners will get the update for free. Download the latest version of Automap which will update your firmware. The latest Live 8 update is available from the Ableton website.

For more information and video tutorials, visit: www.novationmusic.com

Novation ZeRO SL Mk II

SL Mk II provides a full DAW and plug-in control surface, that visually feeds back all control information to the user. A giant 144-character display, back lit LED buttons and LED ringed encoders show the status of all controls. Ultra-quick mapping of all 56 knobs, faders and buttons is managed by the groundbreaking Automap 3 PRO software.

Features

• High quality professional keyboard - Velocity-sensitive, semi-weighted action keyboard from Fatar, 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 - Full control surface supporting ultra flexible DAW control and Auto-mappable plug-in controls, 16 knobs, 8 faders and 32 assignable backlit LED buttons.
• 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.

Specifications

• Physical controls
  • 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 (taken from Nocturn):

• Mac OSX 10.4.0 or greater (Leopard also supported) or Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or greater (Vista 32/64 also supported)

Minimum Computer spec:

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