Automapping, the ability to automatically assign controls on hardware to software parameters, is a big draw for a lot of users, and a new upgrade to the ReMOTE SL keyboard brings this feature to Pro Tools for the first time — while smoothing out the rough edges in support for other software.

The ReMOTE SL is a fantastic keyboard in terms of hardware, but the software when released was a work-in-progress, at least when it came to the much-publicized “Automap” capabilities. Fortunately, Novation’s been making steady progress on its SL keyboard software over the past months, as have some of its partners. When I first fired up Ableton Live 6, for instance, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that many things “just worked”, thanks to new features on the Live end.

This week, Novation has released its new version 2 of its SL operating system, with some major new features:

1. Mackie HUI support
2. Automatically maps to Pro Tools tracks, sends, panning, record arming, plug-ins, effects, and even window navigation
3. Use manual and automatic templates simultaneously in software like Pro Tools and Live

My review of the Novation ReMOTE SL keyboard/control surface is in the current issue of Keyboard and free online. Here’s a taste at how I approached the review:

Music stores and closets alike are full of controller keyboards aimed for use with software. Most seem identical save for a set of drum pads here and a free plug-in there. The variety of options and generally low cost is great, but the keyboards themselves (you know, the black and white bits) often seem like afterthoughts. And adding and subtracting knobs and controllers seems to miss the point: What we really want isn’t just more or different controls, but ones that are better integrated with our favorite music software.

Novation’s ReMote SL line aims to be different on both points, with hardware that feels like an instrument, and intelligent “Automap� capabilities to save us from the drudgery of programming MIDI assignments one-by-one. So, is this finally the MIDI keyboard you’ll keep for years into the future?

The Novation Remote SL keyboard has been intriguing since it was first announced way back in October: imagine a keyboard/control surface that automatically displayed what you were doing on LCDs, and assigned its copious knobs and faders to useful functions. Now, it finally seems to be shipping, and while CDM broke the story that it would support Ableton Live last fall, Novation has made that information official.

So, what exactly does the Remote SL control?

Controlling soft synths with keyboards can be a pain, only because it often requires messing around with templates or MIDI learn to map hardware knobs and faders to onscreen controls. Propellerhead’s Remote is a fantastic two-way protocol that allows your keyboard to automatically control synths — but it only works in Reason. What about the rest of your software?

The folks at Novation have a brilliant new keyboard, the ReMOTE SL, that takes that idea to the rest of the soft synth world. Via their Automap technology, the keyboard can configure itself for whatever synth you’re using, displaying each parameter on a beautiful LCD display above its knobs and faders . . .