Review: Novation Launchpad
I’m a fan of controllers. I have a few of them, and when the opportunity to review the Launchpad came along, I had to take it.
I’ve been using Live for a few years, and when performing live (pre-APC40/Launchpad), I had found it highly unenjoyable to click around on my computer to launch different clips and control volume. Granted, there’s always been workarounds: and MPD for launching clips and a Remote Zero LE for controlling all my effects, pans…you name it.
Enter controllers like the Akai APC40 and the Novation Launchpad. The APC40 has been around a bit and while it looks impressive, I still a giant Novation fanboy at heart. Their controllers have always been easy to setup, fun to use, and right within my pricepoint.
Enough small-talk, let’s get into what’s important: the review!
Controlling Live
In the end, controlling Live is what this thing does best. One immediate advantage of the Launchpad versus the APC40 is the size of the grid: 64-buttons on the Launchpad, 46 on the APC40. That being said, 64 pads in such a small package (9.45″x0.79″x9.45″), there’s a few things that the Launchpad is missing when compared to the APC40. Mainly the encoders and short-throw faders.
Aside from missing a few things that the APC40 has, the controller is an awesome unit. The Launchpad operates via several different views, just like in Live: Session view gives you a view of your selected area inside your session and let’s you launch clips.
The volume page gives you volume control which is nice. The only downfall to this page is the fact that the volume change is in increments and no matter how small you want the steps to be, its never small enough: even turning the volume by one block is a noticeable jump, which makes things a little bit awkward for mixing.
The pan and sends page work well, too. The way the sends page works allows you to do quick bursts of effect soaked signal making for interesting drum sounds when you send your percussion tracks to one of Live’s delays.
One of the best things about the Launchpad is that, at its heart, its still a MIDI controller meaning you can map anything on the Launchpad to a parameter to one of Live’s many effects or instruments. You can use the pads themselves to program drums with Drum Rack or assign individual knobs to entire rows of pads (much like how the volume and send page work).
Because it’s a Novation product, you know it’s going to be compatible with Automap which, in my humble opinion, is a god send. I use a healthy amount of VST and AU plug-ins inside Live when I’m mixing my work, and having Automap there helped me out a lot while working with the Launchpad.
Either Live or more studio-ish work, the Launchpad performed just as well as its Akai counterpart and when it came down to it, I had a lot of fun playing with it in either circumstance. It took me a few minutes to figure out what pages were what and getting used to navigating the device took a few moments as well, but once I got used to all the page flipping, the Launchpad was a highly enjoyable experience.
Setup & Expandability
Setup was as simple as it comes. Install drivers, make sure Live is reading the controller, turn it on, and go. It wasn’t any more complex than that.
The Launchpad ships with a version of Live 8 dubbed the “Launchpad Edition.” It is by no means a full version of Live 8 but it’s also not a horribly stripped down version of 8, either. It does limit how many audio/MIDI tracks you can have per project, how many audio ins/outs you can use, number of Live instruments you can use in each project, and so forth. For a full side-by-side comparions, check out Ableton’s page: http://www.ableton.com/pages/2009/novation_launchpad_vs_live8
The simple fact about the Launchpad is that you can expand it to fit your needs. You can connect up to six Launchpads together for your live or studio setup. A nice example is provided on the website: if you have three Launchpads, two can be dedicated to launching clips while the third can be left on the mixer page to control all the other parameters you want.
You can also setup the Launchpad to work with existing Novation controllers (and even the APC40). Novation has made it so that regardless of your setup, you can add a Launchpad in it without many issues. This means there’s no reason NOT to add a Launchpad to your rig.
Conclusion
When I saw this at AES, I was stoked. While the Novation booth was swamped, I did get a little demo and it left me wanting more. After spending some extensive time with this piece for the last couple of months, I have to believe that if you’re using Live for any reason, you probably need to add this into the mix. The pricepoint is just right so that you won’t have to think too much about spending some money on this thing. It’s cheap, but nowhere near a cheap feeling piece of gear. The expandability makes it so that if you’re running large Sets, with the addition of a USB hub you can have limitless control over your Set. Also, the fact that Novation has done so well with making sure the Launchpad integrates with other controllers gives you no excuse as to why you can’t throw this in with the rest.
In all, DJ or producer, remixer or live performer, there’s no reason you shouldn’t look into getting a Launchpad.
Pros: Looks amazing when you’re using it; lot of fun to use; setup is a breeze; super small; nice build quality
Cons: Volume control is in incremental blocks; no faders or encoders
Recommend for: Everyone using Ableton Live that doesn’t need faders or encoders
The Novation Launchpad is available now from all major retailers at a price of $199.99.
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