Novation has completed its Launchkey MK4 lineup with the Launchkey 88 MK4, an 88-key MIDI keyboard controller available now for $449. It rounds out the range’s largest option with what Novation calls its “most expressive” semi-weighted keybed to date — seven-plus octaves of full-size, piano-style waterfall keys — while carrying the complete MK4 control set: nine faders, eight endless encoders, 16 velocity-sensitive pads with aftertouch, and the new central OLED screen that debuted across the range. It’s the “big” controller for people who want to actually play piano-style and run a session without reaching for a mouse.
Watch: Novation — New Launchkey MK4 MIDI Controllers | Overview + Included Software (YouTube)
What the OLED and creative tools add
The MK4 range’s headline upgrade is the new OLED display, which surfaces key parameters, chord names, and more without forcing you to stare at your DAW. Paired with it is an expanded set of onboard creative tools: many more scale types, a more powerful arpeggiator, a Scale Mode that locks your playing into a chosen key, and a Chord Mode that lets you trigger full chords from a single key. On an 88-key instrument, those assistive features are more than beginner training wheels — they turn a large keyboard into a fast idea-sketching tool, letting you stay in key and build harmony quickly while still having the room to play properly two-handed.
Control surface, not just a keyboard
The reason to buy a Launchkey over a plain MIDI keyboard is the tight, hands-on control it gives over a session. Nine faders map naturally to mixer levels, eight encoders to device parameters, and the 16 aftertouch pads to drums and clip launching — with deep integration into Ableton Live (and solid support across other DAWs). The MK4 88 also ships with a substantial software bundle, including Ableton Live Lite, Cubase LE, Novation’s own instruments, and a collection from Klevgrand, GForce, Orchestral Tools, and Native Instruments — enough to start making music the day it arrives.
Where it fits
An 88-key controller is a commitment of desk space and money, aimed at people who genuinely want to play — pianists moving into production, composers, and anyone whose ideas start at the keyboard rather than the grid. At $449 with a full semi-weighted keybed, the complete MK4 control surface, and a real software bundle, the Launchkey 88 MK4 is a well-judged flagship for the range: the answer for producers who refused to trade piano feel for controller features, and now don’t have to.