Ableton Forum

got it down to the Akai mpk 25 and the Novation SL MKII 25

I'm bumping this because I'm in the same boat; which controller should I get for Live? Novation is a bit pricey though.

Thanks!

I've got the Novation.

I also thought that spending $400 was too expensive so I stalked eBay for a couple weeks and ended up getting a mint condition SL MKii for $275.

Automap, for me, works wonderful. I've got it along side the Launchpad, and although I'm still getting used to the extra tools, I think it will be phenomenal down the road.

So the Novation SL25 would be better you think, rather than the MPK25?

For last few hours I've been digging through the internet regarding this exact issue - which to choose. My conclusion for now is that they're very close. A lot of times it depends what your other controllers are.

No competition at all! Novation for Automap HUD making things sooooo much easier!
you can see everything thats assigned at a glance without havign to remember what's assigned to what or having to put stickers all over your equiptment.

if you want to use EVERYTHING you have on your controller, get yourself a MPK25 and fix the pads like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mI4SutQJpQ (or cut squares from a rubber sheet, or buy new pads from mpcstuff.com).
the pads on the SL MKII are even worse than those of the MPK without the upgrade, and you can't fix 'em.
I also read somewhere on the forum that their release signal works in a strange way, but if you want to be sure you should have a search.

apart from that both are great controllers and they work very well. they are sturdy and don't fear gigs.

MPK feels a lot better to me, much more solid (i've owned both). Automap can be useful, but honestly I never used it that much.