NOVATION LAUNCHPAD X
Novation’s Live controller is back on the block with a new name, some new tricks and a fresh new look for 2020
Launched back in 2009, Novation’s original Launchpad helped set the standard for today’s grid-based MIDI controllers. It can therefore take a chunk of the credit – at the very least – for introducing a totally new way of programming and composing music with technology. Along with Akai’s APC40, Launchpad then paved the way for a flood of similar clip controllers and launchers, such as Ableton’s Push, Livid’s Base and Akai’s Force. However, things in this controller market have clearly moved on a lot since then, so how does the new Launchpad X measure up to the current crop of competitors?
The range
The Launchpad X sits in the middle of the current Novation Launchpad range, flanked by the already-established, pricier and more feature-rich Launchpad Pro, and the smaller, more basic Launchpad Mini, itself launched alongside the X as a cheaper alternative. The big news with this model is that the X features fullcolour RGB pads, which are both velocity and pressure sensitive and exhibit true polyphonic aftertouch, which was inherited from the Pro. The unit can now also be configured to function as a fully-customisable MIDI controller capable of storing and recalling four different controller layouts across the pads, so has a couple of ace cards up its colourful sleeves.
Nice pad(s)
At a mere 18mm high, the Launchpad X’s profile is satisfyingly slim and the build quality reassuringly solid – it seems like the unit should easily be able to stand up to the punishment of prolonged, enthusiastic finger drumming.
The 8 x 8 grid of 64 brightly-lit pads – which dominates Launchpad X’s surface – is unsurprisingly designed for viewing and controlling Ableton Live’s Session View, with each pad’s colour matched to the corresponding onscreen clip. Pads aside, the buttons that flank the top and the right hand side have a satisfyingly squishy resilience.
One of the major differences between the X and the Launchpad Pro is that the former lacks the Pro’s extra row of buttons down the left and across the bottom of the grid. It also has no
“The Launchpad can take some credit for introducing a new way of programming and composing music”
hardware MIDI connectors like those found on the Launchpad Pro and the Launchkey Mini Mk3, relying on a single USB-C connection for both power and MIDI.
Button up
Even though it might lack some of the controls of its larger sibling, the Launchpad X is still suitably festooned with buttons. Across the top of the unit, the first four buttons are used for navigating around Live’s Session view. As you do this, so the range of triggerable clips moves around the display according to your movements, with the pad illumination shifting to match. The area of clips currently visible on the Launchpad’s grid is shown on screen by a coloured border, so it’s easy enough to tell which pad corresponds to which onscreen clip. After this, you get three mode buttons – Session, Note and Custom – and a dedicated button for Live 10’s Session Record and handy new Capture MIDI function, which effectively records whatever you last played as a MIDI clip, even if you weren’t in Record mode at the time.
The eight buttons arranged down the right side of the grid are Scene launch buttons by default, but double up as selectors for the different modes the pads can fulfil in Mixer mode. The first four of these transform the rows and columns on the grid into virtual volume, pan and send A and B controls. Meanwhile, the last four buttons turn the bottom row of pads into stop, mute, solo or record-arm toggle switches, controlling each vertical track above them. There isn’t a global play/stop button though – as featured on the Launchkey Mini Mk3 – which we found a little odd on a device that is so geared towards live performance.
Mode diggity
In Session mode, the pads function as clip launch buttons – just hit a pad to launch the corresponding audio or MIDI clip, and then hit an unlit pad on the same track to stop it. In Mixer mode, the rows of pads turn into virtual faders or pan pots for control of onscreen tracks while mixing. Faders are velocity-responsive – hitting a pad hard moves a fader quickly, while tapping it softly will change the value more gradually.
Select Note mode and the Launchpad intelligently senses what type of track is currently active and deploys the pads accordingly. If you have a drum track enabled, four panels of 4 x 4 drum pads corresponding to the currently-loaded drum rack will be displayed. If it’s an instrument track, the whole grid is laid out according to the currently selected scale. Select a scale by holding down the Note button and choosing your required scale pattern from a selection that includes 16 of the usual suspects (major, minor etc).
Overall, drum and instrument playability has been improved exponentially by the Launchpad X’s velocity-sensitive pads. The Capture MIDI button is a welcome nod to spontaneity, the added MIDI controller functionality a huge bonus, and the various Scale modes nothing short of inspiring. It may not turbo-charge your workflow in quite the same way as the Push 2 does, but for the money the Launchpad X certainly represents a worthwhile addition to anyone’s Ableton armoury.
“If you are not an Ableton user and wondering whether to buy it, then this could be the deal breaker”