Nektar's Panorama T4 takes their already impressive DAW integration to a higher level.

Nektar have built up a strong name for themselves through their Panorama and Impact series of USB MIDI controller keyboards, both of which feature Nektar's DAW integration software that allows control of DAW parameters directly from the keyboards' faders, encoders and pads. Enhancing the DAW integration of the latest members of the Panorama line — the 49-note T4 reviewed here and its larger 61-note T6 sibling — is Nektarine, a VST, VST3 and AU plug-in that can host VST, VST3 and AU instrument plug-ins. This setup allows you to control these plug-ins directly from the new controllers, either through the pre-configured mapping that Nektar have created for many popular instruments, or through your own custom maps.

T4

Somewhat petite, rather than small, the T4 is USB class-compliant with Windows XP and higher, Mac OS 10.5 and greater and Linux (Ubuntu). For someone like me who still runs XP because of some crucial legacy hardware whose support got 'sidelined' in Vista, this is an important consideration. Unsurprisingly, the Nektar DAW integration software requires Windows 7 or higher, and Mac OS 10.7 or greater, and this again helps to support users of legacy operating systems.

With its control topology laid out on its black fascia in the familiar Nektar fashion above the keyboard — faders and switches to the left of centre; LCD screen and mode and performance control switches in the centre; encoders and transport controls centre right; and pads to the far right — the T4 packs a significant level of functionality into a relatively small space.

Keys & Pads

The T4 is equipped with a 49-note version of Nektar's second–generation synth-action keyboard, which features aftertouch, five velocity curves and one fixed velocity (127) that can be programmed to be varied in real time by a fader or encoder. The octave shift buttons above the pitch-bend and modulation wheels can shift the T4's keyboard up four octaves and down three. The eight velocity– and pressure-sensitive pads have tri-colour LED illumination (green/red/orange) and can be programmed to transmit either MIDI Note On, Switch or CC messages with four curved velocity options and one fixed. These settings can be saved in 16 (two banks of eight) preset Pad Maps that are recalled by a combination of the Pad Bank switch, the Shift display button and the appropriately numbered pad.

Both keys and pads can be set to repeat using the independent Key and Pad Repeat buttons that sit to the left of the keyboard above the pitch-bend and modulation wheels. This intriguing feature can give some great results as its tempo can be set either from the T4 or driven by an external MIDI Clock and, using the encoders, the note length, repeat rate (quarter to 1/96th notes), swing, accent velocity and the interval between accents can all be continuously varied. Diving deeper into its setup, you can pick a velocity source (aftertouch/pad pressure, expression pedal or mod wheel), make the repeat buttons either momentary or latching (you can also change this on the fly), and set the sync point — either the clock, the point at which you actually pressed the key, or beat sync at eighth, 1/12th or 1/16th repeat rates.

Internal Mode & Controls

Internal mode — the default at switch-on — can be used alongside both Nektar DAW integration and Nektarine. In this mode MIDI messages can be assigned to the T4's faders, encoders and pads, and Presets and Pad Maps to store these assignments can be configured, saved and loaded. In addition, there are 19 Performance controls whose settings are stored over power cycles, but not as part of Presets or Pad Maps.

The Performance controls consist of the pitch bend and modulation wheels; aftertouch; optional footswitch; optional expression pedal; the Track/Bank down/up, Browse/Zoom- and View/Zoom+ navigation buttons (a total of eight possible assignments); and the six transport buttons.

The T4's nine 30mm faders, the eight red-LED illuminated push–button switches that sit beneath them, and its eight continuous rotary controllers are each individually MIDI-assignable. The combination of their individual settings can be stored in 10 Presets, which can be recalled almost instantly using a combination of a mode switch (see below) and the E1 encoder or, more leisurely, from the Setup menu.

To the right of the 128x64 LCD screen sit the four mode buttons: Mixer, Instrument, Multi and Internal. In the default Internal power-on mode these four switches load Presets 1-4; however, if you're using the T4 to control Nektar DAW integration or Nektarine, the mode buttons operate as defined by these two sets of software. If you're not using either of these programs, you can assign any one of the 10 control Presets to any one of the four buttons simply by pressing and holding it down and using the E1 encoder to select the Preset to be assigned.

Global Settings

I don't propose to go through the T4's Global Settings menu in detail, as it's mainly housekeeping — MIDI channels, Program Change settings, keyboard and pad velocity curves, etc — however, there are some items in there that are worthy of mention. The first is DAW Control, which allows you to set the T4 to either MCU or Pro Tools DAW control mode if you're not using Nektar DAW Integration. The second is the MapLink function which, when on, will load Pad Maps 1-8 along with Presets 1-8, and loading Presets 9 and 10 will load Pad Maps 1 and 2 respectively, making life easier if you've matched your Presets to their Pad Map numerical counterparts. The last to be singled out is the MIDI Output setting that can be switched between Internal, in which case the T4 sends data directly to the DIN MIDI out, and USB, in which case the MIDI out acts as a USB MIDI interface.

Computer Connections

Although I suspect that the majority of its potential users will purchase the T4 for its Nektar DAW Integration and the new Nektarine software, none of the T4's hardware-based functionality that I've covered thus far actually requires a computer for its delivery. Therefore, you could connect a suitable power supply to the T4's rear USB connector to power the unit and connect to an external sound module using the MIDI out, thus making it into a useful stand-alone master keyboard. This is especially true if you happen to own a MIDI host such the MuMidi HubMidi or Kenton's MIDI USB Converter Host MkII, both of which can expand the T4's overall functionality by providing both power and separate MIDI in and out sockets plus, in the case of the MuMidi unit, an additional USB port allowing you to connect another USB controller or synth.

As you'll probably have gathered by now, the Panorama T4 has the internal capability to be a powerful, extremely flexible and effective addition to your workflow when it comes to controlling a DAW, plug-ins and other MIDI-based hardware and software. To help harness this power, Nektar have taken two software approaches: Nektar DAW integration and the Nektarine VST/VST3/AU plug-in host.

The convenience of being able to switch instantly between Nektar DAW integration and the Nektarine instrument control plug-in from within your main composing keyboard is huge.

Nektar DAW Integration

Nektar's DAW integration is essentially a DAW-specific support package that links the relevant parts of the T4's functionality to that of the specified DAW. Since not all DAWs have precisely the same interfaces to MIDI control, the precise details of what a T4 can control will vary from DAW to DAW. Currently, the T4's DAW integration supports Bitwig, Cubase, Garageband, Logic, Nuendo, Reaper and Reason. If your DAW is not supported by Nektar DAW Integration, as mentioned earlier, the T4 can be set to MCU operation or a dedicated Pro Tools mode.

Although there appears to be no way to find out the exact extent of the T4's functional links to a named DAW without purchasing a T4, registering it and downloading the appropriate support package, there seems to be a common level of basic control across the supported DAWs.

You can step through tracks; open and close the DAW window for the currently selected T4 mode; directly control cycle/loop, rewind, forward, stop, play and record functions in your DAW using the transport buttons; and, in addition, these six buttons also have a secondary, shifted functionality: set (and locate to) a left locate point, set a right locate point, plus undo, click, and mode switching.

The two modes of DAW integration are selected using the T4's Mixer and Instrument mode buttons, and these switch control between the mixer and the instrument plug-ins in your DAW. The Multi mode button is used for Nektarine and is only active if that is loaded. In Mixer mode, the first eight faders are mapped to the first eight mixer channels in your DAW, the ninth fader controls the volume for either the currently selected track or the master output, and the eight encoders act as the pan controls for the current channels under fader control. You can step through your mixer channels in banks of eight using the Shift+Track+/Track- buttons. In Instrument mode, faders 1-8 typically control amplifier and filter envelope (ADSR) parameters, whilst the eight encoders control parameters across one of two pages.

Nektarine

Nektarine, which is part of the T4/T6 package, is a Nektar-developed VST/VST3/AU plug-in that can host any other VST2.4, VST3 or AU plug-in instrument, thereby allowing you to control it directly from the Panorama T4 and T6. Not only can you run as many tracks with an instance of Nektarine as your CPU can handle, but also you can host up to 16 plug-in instruments in each instance, loading each plug-in in its own individual layer with control of volume, pan, mute and solo.

Nektarine arrives with pre-configured control mapping for most popular plug-in instruments. An edit menu allows you to both customise the Nektar maps and to create new maps for plug-in instruments where none are supplied. Nektarine also features pre-configured patch libraries for many popular plug-in instruments and its in-built browser allows you to manage these — including grouping, tagging, rating and search functions — and to import user patches directly from a plug-in into the library.

Although Nektarine does require a fair amount of initial setup work, which mainly involves downloading, importing and configuring the patch and map libraries to suit your way of working, if you commit to incorporating it into your workflow then it delivers two benefits. Firstly, providing that all your DAWs can load VST or AU plug-ins, Nektarine gives you the same user interface across all your plug-in instruments, which can (and does) make life a lot easier. Secondly, you can load an AU plug-in instrument into a VST instance of Nektarine and vice versa.

In use, the combination of Nektarine and the Panorama T4 proved to be quite intuitive in operation. On launch, Nektarine communicates immediately with a connected T4, and loading an instrument plug-in that has been mapped in Nektarine assigns the T4's controls according to that map, and those assignments, and their status, can be viewed on the T4's screen. Under Nektarine, the LED-illuminated buttons under the T4's faders help you navigate around an instrument plug-in (each button being labelled with common control page names covering OSC, Filter, Env, LFO and FX), and select the corresponding Nektarine factory map page when pressed.

If the particular plug-in instrument that you have loaded has not been pre-mapped by Nektar, you can create a map for it using the program's Control Edit page, assigning parameters to controls either through drag-and-drop, or by using the T4's Parameter Learn function. Control Edit also allows you to edit the factory maps, so you can customise those maps to your liking.

Despite its intuitive operation and ease-of-use, Nektarine is a program whose benefits are only going to come from committing to it and carrying out the setup and configuration necessary to integrate it with all your instrument plug-ins and into your workflow, not to mention the setup that would then become necessary to bring Nektarine into legacy projects and songs.

Naturally, that also means committing to the T4 (or T6) as your control surface in order to harness the full potential of its partnership with Nektarine, a route that also brings with it the benefits of Nektar's DAW integration.

Overall

As a controller, Nektar's Panorama T4 is actually pretty impressive. Its keyboard has a nicely firm, but supple, synth action that I found enjoyable to play and, like the eight touch pads, its keys are velocity-sensitive and equipped with aftertouch. Its MIDI setup is well thought–out and, not being the greatest keyboard player in the world, I particularly loved having the ability to assign notes, chords and separate MIDI channels to the pads as it made playing chord stabs and/or percussion against a keyboard bass or melody line a breeze. On top of that, the layer of expression added by the pad and note repeat functions opened up some interesting horizons that I'm not sure I'd have been able to explore without those features.

The T4's MIDI control capabilities under Nektar DAW integration and Nektarine make a great deal of practical sense, especially if you're a keyboard player who is looking for a centrepiece for a DAW-based recording/composing setup. During this review I had the T4 set up at right angles to my DAW workplace and, once I'd got my head round its functions, operational quirks, shortcuts and place in my workflow, relying on its small screen for status information felt quite natural and meant that I didn't have to keep on turning to view my own monitor screens for confirmation.

On both Reaper and Studio One the T4's Nektar DAW integration and the Nektarine plug-in performed exactly as set out in their respective manuals. The differences between each program's Nektar DAW integration are reflected in the facilities that can be accessed and controlled from the T4. Swapping from one to the other and back again involved a bit of mental gymnastics until I got the differences between their respective DAW integrations logged in my memory banks. Nektarine, on the other hand, presented a consistent VST/AU plug-in instrument UI and T4 control experience across both DAWs. The convenience of being able to switch instantly between Nektar DAW integration and the Nektarine instrument control plug-in from within your main composing keyboard is huge. If, like me, you are looking to fill or update this particular niche in your workflow, you really should take a very close look at the Panorama T4, its larger T6 sibling and the capabilities of the Nektar DAW integration and Nektarine instrument control plug-in.