Product Reviews

The Nocturn is Novation's smallest Midi control surface and is one of the company's first products to feature Automap Universal 2.0 - the latest incarnation of its highly impressive and intelligent plug-in management technology, which is now Pro Tools compatible. For these reasons and more, Nocturn is turning a lot of heads.

In essence, the pleasingly diminutive Nocturn is a Midi controller interface for plug-ins and DAWs. It features eight buttons and eight continuously variable rotary dials, plus a 45mm cross-fader and the delightful Speed Dial knob.

Nocturn requires that your plug-ins be wrapped by the Automap Universal software before it can work. The wrapping process takes a little while at first, but after that it's plain sailing. However, it does mean a duplicate listing of every plug-in, titled 'Name [Automap]', so you can end up with some very long lists according to the size of your plug-in collection. Naturally, you must instantiate the Automapped version of a plug-in to have Nocturn control it.

Once wrapped, the Automap Universal software floats as a translucent control map above all other windows. You can adjust the window size and degree of transparency, and there's also a View button on the Nocturn to show or hide the entire interface.

Most of the time, the automatic mapping is fine, but it's good to have the freedom to switch things around. Occasionally, we

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found the layout order of the software knobs would be inverted on the Nocturn, but you can freely change any Automapped assignments using the software's instant learn function - point, tweak, done.

Even better, you can set your new mapping to be the default every time that plug-in is opened in any host. If you forget, all of your instance control maps are saved with the sequencer session anyway and will be automatically recalled. Clever stuff indeed.

To complement the automatic control assignments, there is also the Speed Dial. This takes instant control of whatever on-screen parameter your mouse is currently pointing at. For instant adjustments, it's brilliant: virtual knobs; faders; on/off radio buttons - they can all be Speed Dialled.

Everything about the Nocturn feels of good quality. The rubber buttons offer a firm response; the nine touch-sensitive dials and the cross fader display a smooth, reassuring transport and are addictively tactile; the 11-position level lights around each dial are stylishly subtle, and even the software has an understated, minimalist aesthetic.

There is an issue over Nocturn being yet another USB device to find room for. With a large plug-in and DAW collection often requiring several USB dongles, not to mention a USB Midi keyboard and possibly an audio interface, hard drive and quite likely a mouse as well for pointing at on-screen controls, it's unlikely that a laptop will have enough free ports.

The Automap Universal software is also not infallible and the breadth of its control does vary from sequencer to sequencer, integrating better with some than with others - and in the case of Reason, not at all. In such cases, you have to teach Nocturn all the Midi control mappings yourself. However, the Nocturn is a great product. It's simple, but beautifully presented, and it's clear that a lot of thought has gone into both its operation and its look and feel. The fact that it costs less than £70 is no less impressive.