For a long time, the big rivalry in Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) has been Ableton Live vs FL Studio. It's a silly argument, as almost all DAWs are equally capable. If you just judge software by available MIDI controllers, however, Ableton Live wins hands down. That's because there's never been a dedicated FL Studio MIDI controller—until now.

The Novation FLkey 37 and FLkey Mini are MIDI controllers designed to make creating music easier for beginners and experienced FL Studio users alike.

Why Should You Trust This Review?

It's a fair question—this is a tech website after all. Before I worked as a writer, I was a professional musician. I did a degree in music and I toured playing instruments and as a DJ for several years. In terms of digital music production, I've made beats, produced and remixed albums, contributed music to television and games, and briefly taught production classes using Ableton Live.

Throughout this time, I've used a variety of controllers, and have even built a couple of my own. I learned to play instruments long before I got into digital music production, and it was the use of MIDI controllers that bridged the gap between my live, out-of-the-box experience and the focused, software-driven, in-the-box production that dominates modern music now.

Here's the real key though—despite my experience with controllers, production, and formal musical education—I'm an FL Studio noob. I've used pretty much every DAW over the years for certain projects, but I haven't used FL studio frequently since I made the switch to Ableton Live over 15 years ago. While DAWs are just tools, FL Studio isn't the tool I've had in my hands for years and use naturally. My impressions of this controller come hand in hand with the FL studio workflow it is designed around. So if you are a beginner hoping to get into music production, this review might give you a unique perspective on how the controller and the software interact from a learner's perspective

What Is a Midi Controller?

In case you are new to MIDI, here's a very quick, two-sentence primer: MIDI, or Musical Instrument Digital Interface is the standard by which electronic musical instruments and computers talk to each other. A MIDI controller is a piece of physical hardware with keys or buttons, that sends and receives MIDI signals.

This means MIDI controllers can vary wildly. There are full-sized MIDI keyboards that feel like properly weighted piano keys. Some have arrays of drum pads echoing the classic AKAI MPC hardware; others have the faders and knobs you'd typically find on a studio mixing desk. Almost all modern MIDI controllers combine these elements into something allowing a broad range of physical control over music creation and production.

More recently, MIDI controllers have started including features to actually control music software too, cutting down on the time spent with the mouse and keyboard. Ableton's own Push 2 is the pinnacle of this, allowing almost complete control over the Live software using the hardware controller, and it's only going to get more comprehensive with the changes Ableton Live release 11.1 brought. The FLkey 37 and Mini are the first controllers designed to bring some of this software control to FL Studio.

This review focuses on the FLkey 37 over the Mini. While the Mini is more portable, it only has 25 keys, and it lacks a few of the features of the 37 key version, notably Chord modes, and a screen. Having used both, however, the FLkey Mini is one of the nicest feeling portable controllers I have used, and is almost $100 cheaper than the $199 FLkey 37.

Here's a brief rundown of the differences:

What Can the FLkey 37 Do?

The FLkey 37 blends a useful hardware setup of piano keys, drum pads, and knobs, which will work to control any DAW with a MIDI mode. It takes this basis, and goes beyond it, with FL Studio specific modes controlling the DAW transport—those being to play, stop and record, DAW options, like quantize, Undo, and Score Log, and direct control of the Channel Rack, Mixer, and Preset browsing within devices.

It also has an onboard scale and chord mode, which again, will work with any software, providing an easy way to hit the right notes for those without a traditional music background. Finally, it has the ubiquitous note repeat function, providing those crispy hi-hat rolls with a single button press.

This Review Is Not About FL Studio… But

It's important to acknowledge why having a dedicated FL Studio controller will be a big deal to some folks. For a long time, FL Studio wasn't just seen as a competitor to other DAWs. It was seen as the only accessible option to those on a budget.

Almost all DAWs either need to be re-purchased on every major update or require a subscription. Since day one, Image-Line has sold FL Studio as a one-time purchase that's cheaper than its competitors, with free updates for life. This, along with rampant piracy, has hurt Image Line a lot over the years, and still, this policy has never changed.

The FLkey controllers come with a 6-month trial of the Producer edition of FL Studio, along with a few extra effects and software instruments. The Producer edition is very much like the standard version of other DAWs, except it costs just $199, and you pay that once.

You also get a content bundle including XLN Audio Addictive Keys, AAS Session Bundle, Spitfire Audio LABS (Expressive Strings, Klevgrand Røverb, and Klevgrand DAW Cassett). Between them, it's a rich toolset of sounds, instruments, and effects for making pretty much any style of music

The video version of this review features a short demo of the FLkey37 in use, which will help give context to the rest of this review.

How Does It Feel to Use

The general workflow on the FLkey 37 is fantastic. It really shines at allowing musicians to get ideas down quickly when inspiration strikes. The drum pads play many roles, as selectors between modes, or a sequencer with visual feedback. A traditional drum and sample trigger. Automatic chords along with custom user chords. The pads are decent quality but here lies one of my few criticisms of the FLkey (however, that criticism is deeply subjective).

In short, I prefer softer pads that require a bit more power to trigger max velocity. You can change the velocity curves of most drum pads, but these harder ones don't do it for me. That said, I know many people who think I'm out of my mind and that harder pads give much better overall control.

The full-sized unweighted plastic piano keys are the same that you find on almost all cross-purpose controllers. 37 keys is a nice balance, allowing for some chord work if you are a piano player, but small enough to not completely dominate your desk. The FLkey 37 is 55 x 23.5 x 5.5 cm, compared to the 33 x 17 x 3 cm FLkey Mini, the latter absolutely being one of the better portable controllers I've used. Smaller than my laptop, more input and software control options than anything else I've used over the years including the much-loved Akai Mini range.

The control knobs are small but have a pleasing weight behind them. They are very easy to move smoothly, and were fantastic for recording automation like filter sweeps, or generally balancing audio across channel racks or the main mixer. You can choose between various pre-mapped modes for them, allowing for a whole bunch of control of tracks as a whole, and parameters of soft-synthesizers and instruments.

Lastly, there is a custom mode, allowing you to create unique mappings using Novation Components, a visual browser and software-based tool for creating custom MIDI mappings. Put simply, there's never been anything quite like this for FL Studio users.

How Does the FLkey Compare to Other Midi Controllers

Comparing the FLkey to other controllers is difficult, as there are so many options for different types of controllers - even at roughly this size and budget. Oddly enough, the FLkey 37's biggest competitor is probably the Launchkey 37, which is also made by Novation and is almost identical. We've talked about how much we love the Launchkey before.

Even this isn't simple, however, because the Launchkey has none of the FL Studio functionality we've been talking about. It's aimed principally at Ableton Live but has some key features that work across all DAWs that are missing here.

One feature of the Launchkey I love is the arpeggiator. It's onboard, so works with all software and MIDI instruments and has this wonderful pair of features called mutate and deviate, which randomizes the notes and pauses in an arpeggiation creating beautiful variations.

The Launchkey 37 and the FLkey 37 share the same chord and scale modes, same level of customization, same materials and build quality, and price. Which does beg the question: where is the arpeggiator on the FLkey 37?

I could go on and compare to yet more 37 key controllers, but it's pointless. The entire point of the FLkey 37 is that it works natively with FL Studio, and if that's your DAW of choice, this controller is incredible.

Should You Buy The FLkey 37?

The FLkey 37 and Mini are both fantastic controllers for the price. Yes, the difference between Launchkey and FLkey is a little jarring. But you could say the general lack of love for FL Studio across the entire MIDI hardware manufacturing sphere is far worse. This is the first MIDI controller for FL Studio, and while it's not perfect, it has the same high build quality and intuitive user experience that Novation is known for.

If you are an FL Studio user, the FLkey 37 and FLkey Mini are the best MIDI controllers available right now.