Novation

T
en years on from the
release of the first
generation
Launchpad,
Novation’s
Live-focused pad
controller returns for
a Mk3 update, now with an ‘X’
appended to its name. That letter, we
assume, relates to the controller
line’s decade anniversary, as it
certainly doesn’t indicate increased
size – in fact, this latest Launchpad
is considerably thinner, more
lightweight and all-round sleeker
the DAW’s clip-focused Session
mode. The Launchpad effectively
inspired a whole new genre of live
electronic performance, giving DJs a
user-friendly way to trigger their own
music ‘live’, and giving birth to
countless YouTube videos from users
making use of its capabilities as a
combined loop triggering and light
show tool. It’s a format that’s been
built upon by numerous later devices,
including Novation’s own Launchpad
Pro, Ableton’s official Push
controllers and Akai’s recent
standalone Force.
In-novation
Naturally though, things have moved
on significantly over the past ten
years, and the slightly simplistic
nature of those original Launchpads
now looks rather dated. While the
Launchpad X retains the same core
design, there’s a lot of additional
functionality on offer here compared
to the original design. The most
notable change is the addition of
velocity and pressure sensitivity to
the pads. As you’d expect, this
immediately makes the Launchpad X
a considerably more expressive
controller when it comes to playing
drum and instrument sounds.
As with previous incarnations,
this is still primarily an Ableton Live
controller, and users of that DAW
benefit from simple plug-and-play
compatibility. Used with Live,
engaging Note mode from the top
row of buttons will configure the pad
grid to one of two layouts. Used with
an instrument, it displays the familiar
style of ‘scale’ mode used across
most modern pad-centric controllers
– whereby notes of a scale are
highlighted from left to right across
the grid with root notes delineated by
a change in colour. There are 16
preset scales to choose from, and
both Scale and Chromatic modes for
a choice of whether notes outside of
that scale are available or not.
The second layout is used when a
track assigned a Drum Rack is
selected. In this mode, much like
Ableton’s own Push controller, the
grid can be used to play up to 64
individual sounds from a drum rack,
arranged into 8x8 grids which match
the software layout. With multiple
Drum Rack tracks armed, the
Launchpad will trigger all tracks
simultaneously, meaning that by
laying out each drum rack at different
positions on the note grid – ie, one
starting at C0, the next at C1, etc
than the controllers that preceded it.
In terms of its general form factor
though, this version essentially
adheres to the same design layout as
the original, comprising an 8x8 grid
of pads flanked by two rows of
parameter/navigation buttons.
When the original Launchpad
arrived, its most obvious use was as a
launcher device for Live’s clip view.
Although it wasn’t the first MIDI
device designed to make use of Live’s
workflow – Akai’s APC range already
had that covered – it was the first
controller to feel fully dedicated to
THE PROS & CONS
+
Velocity makes this
launchpad far
more playable
New custom modes
are great
Hardware itself feels
better than ever
-
A MIDI output on the
hardware would have
been nice
Novation Launchpad X | Reviews
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FMU350.rev_launchpad.indd 99 10/2/19 5:18 PM