Novation Launchpad Mini Review

My launchpad arrived a few days ago. It is an excellent controller that puts a lot of fun into using Ableton Live. I’m mainly into external gear as I don’t enjoy mousing around looking at a screen for making music. The launchpad has fixed a lot of those problems and makes music creation and playback fast and easy. The setup is easy, install drivers, load Ableton  and start playing.

The live launchpad edition is ok, but limited in lots of ways. I’m using the 30 day demo of the full version at the moment. With the current Ableton discounts, the upgrade to the full version is pretty cheap. I did a DJ gig a few weeks ago and wish I had the launchpad for that. Much easier and compact for triggering tracks and for portability. The mixer functions are good on the launchpad, but it is easy to change the settings on the wrong track. Also, flicking back and forth between mixer and session view takes a bit of getting used to.

 

 

 

The launchpad is amazing for creating music! I was surprised at home much of a difference it makes. The user1 mode is excellent for drumracks, and if you make sample based music it is great. Load or record your sample, slice to midi using your preferred settings and then play away on the launchpad. This is similar to how I use the mpc1000. It’s a very fast and easy way to try out new ideas. The session view is also good. Setup your instrument or drumrack, set arm on for the track and press a clip button, recording starts and you can play away. It makes it easy to create variations on a riff or drum part. Record a heap of them and then play around using the launchpad clip triggers to see what works best.

All in all, an excellent controller for a small price.