Novation Launchpad Pro MK3 (2024)

Ik zocht een controller die van alle markten thuis was. En dat is deze. Ik gebruik deze controller in logic voor letterlijk alles behalve de clip launch. :D
Vooral de chordmode en de sequencer met enorm veel mogelijkheden maken het ook in productie een waardevol ideeën doosje.

Om het beestje te laten praten met logic moet je wel e.e.a. goed instellen. (recording delay o.b.v. samplebuffer invoeren, play button toewijzen)

Gebruik je live en zoek je een pad controller, niet over nadenken, gewoon doen.

Update: I've now updated the quality rating as my first Launchpad had an issues with pads self-triggering after a month of use and my replacement has noticeable pads discoloration. It's still a great and compact device, when it works.

It's the largest of the launchpads, even though it's still smaller than e.g. Ableton Push. The pads are nicely responsive and the pressure curve immediately makes sense.

It seems like a 8x8 grid at first, but as you work more with it you start to appreciate the layout and the features. I got to the point where I haven't touched my keyboard at all because I could program both drums and synths on pads alone.

Novation seems to prioritize the Ableton Live crowd and as such the controller has lots of great features specifically tailored for Live. Nevertheless, it's a joy to hook it up to an iPad (and avail of the built-in 4-channel sequencer). It also works really good with Bitwig.

This is a bit of a strange animal — physically, it feels a bit fragile: the housing is plastic, and the unit is relatively thin and light. However, the actual pads and buttons are very responsive and feel *great* to the touch. So long as it can stay stationary on a flat surface it feels very good. I'd be wary of traveling with it though.

In terms of function, the Launchpad is incredibly capable, especially when using Ableton. Some of that functionality is difficult to reach, however. The basic operations are easy enough to access — the buttons, knobs, and grid arrangement are all clear organized and labeled. However, the lack of screen does make some of the more complex functions (e.g., scale mode) annoying or even daunting to use, as there is very little feedback on what setting is active. (This despite some clever workarounds using the colored pads to show settings.) The key combos for many hidden functions can be easy to forget, also; which has required me to keep the manual within easy reach. this kind of hampers the "spontaneous creation" this sort of controller is meant to inspire.

So overall a good product, but could be immeasurably improved with a small screen.