Novation Launchpad
for Ableton Live

Performing live with a guitar is one thing, but performing electronic music live is an altogether different matter. Especially today, when the core of any setup is a humble laptop, its mouse user-interface presents something of a hurdle to artistic improvisation. Tools like Ableton Live help, but something more is needed. That's why Novation has teamed up with Ableton to create a controller that finally frees us of the limitations of the traditional laptop interface.

 
Enter the Launchpad, an unobtrusive ten inch-square controller which hooks up to the laptop by USB. It doesn't even need a separate power supply. The controller offers an eight by eight grid of buttons which can trigger a sample playback plus an additional sixteen buttons for navigation. Each can change between three colors for additional visual feedback: amber when the button has a loaded sample, green for when it's playing, and red for when it's recording. The sixteen navigation buttons can be assigned to various functions in Ableton Live or perform more complex navigation when the controller's Session Overview mode is used. They use Novation's Automap software to handle mapping.

Still not enough buttons? For those who are never satisfied, you can work with up to six Lanchpads at the same time.

Available from November 1, the Novation's Launchpad will cost $200.

Links:
Novation +44 (0)1494 462246
www.novationmusic.com

Date posted: October 7, 2009
 

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