Published
Thu, Jan 22, 2015, 16:00
- The company's latest eight-by-eight, Ableton Live-centric grid controller emphasizes performance and on-the-fly tweaks.
Novation has announced a new entry in its Launchpad line.
These minimalist, grid-based controllers are aimed at Ableton Live users, who have been using its pads to launch clips since the first one was released in 2009. The Launchpad Pro, with 64 pads laid out in an eight-by-eight grid, will be familiar to users of that original device, but the company describes it as "a total overhaul." The most obvious change is visual: the pads are more colorful, allowing them to match the hue of the clips they correspond to in a Live session. The grid works in four modes: Session Mode, where you trigger and combine clips; Note Mode, for using the grid to manipulate beats and instruments; Device Mode, for working with effects; and User Mode, for customized applications. There's also a Standalone Mode, which opens the Launchpad Pro up to applications beyond Ableton Live, like Logic Pro or MIDI hardware synthesizers. Like other Launchpads, it's bus-powered and class-compliant, so it doesn't require much more than a USB connection to a laptop to get started. The product is rolling out today at the NAMM Show in Anaheim, California, but its release date and retail price are still to come.
The Launchpad Pro is coming soon from Novation.