My verdict so far: great controller, awkward name — the official product info page lists the line as "SL MkII", yet the original series it's a sequel to is the "ReMOTE SL". But my place is not to be pedantic, but make music. Even tho I had the 49SL MkII out of the box and working in a few minutes, I like to let my first impressions gel before any sort of writing approaching a "review". Comparing those experiences is invaluable to me, and I hope will be useful to you, too.
Background: as pleased as I am with my M-Audio Keystation 88es, the long controller on the bottom rack you see in many of my videos, I wanted, well, more control. I looked at everything on the market and nothing else had the hybrid joystick-style and XY pad and aftertouch (that's when you press a key down, then press harder to add extra expression) that the SL MkII did. I'm deeply articulate and need tools to match! I decided to go for the 49-key version because it's a good range for synth solo'ing and not overly cramped or stretched. Earlier, the M-Audio Axiom line appealed to me, but then they introduced the Axiom Pro, and I still wasn't very comfortable with the layout.
While the 49SL MkII is in the higher-priced range of controllers at a typical price of US$500, I found a new one for ~$410 after Bing cashback on eBay, and knew it was the time for me to BUY!
The videos above show more of my early experiences. I treasure this, capturing moments and sharing with you so I can remember what breaking in a fresh piece of gear was like. Delightful to see how I've evolved over time.
The Focusrite-Novation staff even dropped by my YouTube channel to say hi; that was pretty awesome. And Kavinsky Facebook'ed my "Wayfarer" jam and Ronald Jenkees faved my "Guitar Sound" riffing.
I've been listening to a lot of disco house (and other homages to the 70s and 80s), and rediscovered my Glade plugin mood light thing. It's a cheap, resourceful (I've been thinking a lot about El Mariachi-style filmmaking lately thanks to Robert Rodriguez's book, Rebel Without a Crew) way to get vibrant photography like this (click any to enlarge):
The light doesn't angle quite the right way when placed on a flat surface so in the "Disco house jam to Maethelvin Delight" video above, you'll see me hold it while playing with my right hand. I really need more arms, but in the meantime, I'm acquiring more lights and may have a proclivity to record in the dark. We'll see… hear?
Let me know in the comments if you have questions about anything in the videos. 