The USB connection is on the side of the box, which I originally thought was going to be untidy, but it's actually quite unobtrusive, and means that the controller can sit flush with a laptop, display or keyboard that's directly behind it. All the clever work is done behind the scenes by the Automap 2.0 software, and the Nocturn cannot be used as a stand-alone controller. The only connection on the controller is a USB port, which provides power and all communication with the host computer. All of the buttons light up brightly to indicate their on/off status. The top eight are freely assignable to on-screen controls, while the bottom row are used for Automap functions, such as banking between parameter pages and switching between plug-in instances. I said £70! Along the bottom of the control panel are two rows of eight buttons. Like the knobs, the crossfader has a bit of lateral wobble, but, not for the last time, I draw your attention to the fact that this unit costs £70. In the centre is the ingenious Speed Dial knob (see the 'Speed Dial' box) and a touch-sensitive crossfader. A ring of LEDs around each encoder shows the current value of the controlled parameter. There are eight primary knobs, all of which are touch-sensitive continuous controllers - an essential feature for a successful controller, in my view. This clever design means that nothing obstructs your thumb when controlling the back row of knobs. The Nocturn controller is petite, but the controls feel surprisingly spacious due to the unusual way in which they are arranged. The controller stays in sync with the plug-in bi-directionally, updating with changes made on-screen by the mouse, automation, or patch changes. This means that the controller can instantly grab a list of all the controllable parameters in a plug-in and assign them to its knobs and buttons. Like the previous Automap-powered devices (the Remote SL and SL Compact series), the Nocturn hooks into the automation frameworks used by Audio Units, VST, RTAS, and TDM plug-ins. It is also capable of acting as a MIDI controller for other aspects of your DAW, and even hardware instruments and devices.
The Nocturn's primary purpose in life is to give hands-on control of plug-ins with the minimum of fuss and setup. Originally announced at the winter NAMM show, but only beginning to hit the stores in the last couple of months, Novation's Nocturn has been one of the most hotly anticipated releases of the year. The Nocturn uses Novation's sophisticated Automap technology to give you integrated, hands-on control of your software - and all for an almost unbelievably low price.
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