Nektar Impact GXP61 USB MIDI Controller Keyboard

At the core of Impact GXP is a newly designed and carefully balanced keyboard action. Its 49, 61 or 88 semi-weighted full-size keys with velocity and aftertouch deliver a nice, firm touch and great playability.

Impact GXP gives keyboard players all the right expression options needed for live and studio work. It offers large pitch bend & modulation wheels and connections for up to 3 optional external pedals: Connect any standard expression pedal to the first, and any standard footswitch to the second socket. And if you use an optional Y-cable adapter, the footswitch socket even supports two independent switches.

Of course you can use Impact GXP like any other standard MIDI controller with all the features you’ve come to expect. But if you install the included Nektarine plugin host and librarian software, you can do a lot more:

Nektarine lets you switch complex setups like on a live keyboard workstation including zones, layers and more; build multipatches from multiple instrument and effects plugins and have them available at the press of a button. Nektarine adds powerful control features for your VST, VST3 and AU instrument plugins to Impact GXP!

Launch Nektarine in your DAW and it immediately communicates with your Impact GXP: Now you are ready to create Multis with up to 10 instrument plugins, each with up to 4 insert FX plugins each and additionally 4 global send FX. All of this is stored in one Multi Patch and can be assigned to one of GXP’s ten RGB-illuminated front panel buttons for instant recall.

Impact GXP has dedicated buttons for direct control of patches and plugin slots. This brings true hardware synth-feel to sound selection: Load 10 instrument plugins into Nektarine and make them instantly selectable from the hardware. This includes soloing, layering and realtime switching. And like on a stage piano, you can press multiple slot buttons at the same time for instant layering in any combination.

Each plugin slot has its own unique browser settings as well as volume, pan, mute and FX send parameters assigned. The volume can be mixed for each selected slot using the Data Encoder.

Once you import or save your patches into Nektarine, you can take things further: Each plugin has its first 10 patches available on Impact GXP’s buttons right away. All other patches are available using the Data Encoder.

“Direct” mode allows to store 10 complete setups for instant recall: This could be one plugin including a selected patch or even a complete multipatch including multiple plugins – a great feature for flexible live setups!

Impact GXP includes licenses for Steinberg’s acclaimed Cubase LE Music Production Software and Retrologue 2 VST synthesizer. So you can start producing music like a pro from day one. To claim your free DAW and virtual synth, register your Impact GXP in your Nektar user account and follow the instructions.

Cubase LE comes with Halion Sonic SE including 180 instrument presets and Groove Agent SE drum production software as well as a host of VST FX processors. Cubase LE lets you record on up to 24 MIDI, 8 instrument and 16 audio tracks. You can use any 3rd party VST plug-ins you might own, too. Over 5GB of sounds and loops provide you with all you need to get started.

Nektar DAW Integration makes Nektar Impact GXP and Cubase LE a fantastic combination, and lets you experience remote control direct from the hardware. The Nektarine plugin host and librarian software is of course also compatible and adds additional power to this setup.

If you are just starting out, you will find it’s the perfect way to take your first steps in the world of digital music creation. And if you’re already familiar with using computer software, then you’ll be amazed at what this combination has to offer! To claim your free DAW and virtual synth, simply register your Impact GXP in your Nektar user account and follow the instructions.