The flagship of Novation’s distinctive ‘Launch’ range of grid-based Ableton Live controllers, the Launchpad Pro Mk3 is focussed around a grid of 64-velocity sensitive pads.
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Read our full Arturia BeatStep Pro review It can also send and receive MIDI clock, and so can act as either master or slave with almost anything. The same goes for plugins in a DAW, of course, and we can imagine many studio producers using it to create sequences on the fly that are subsequently recorded into their DAW for further editing. Perhaps the most obvious targets for BeatStep Pro's sequencers are hardware synths and samplers, but we had just as much fun controlling standalone music apps on our laptop. All three are programmed with 16 velocity-sensitive pads (with aftertouch), 16 step buttons and 16 rotary knobs.
Two of the sequencers are monophonic, intended for riffs, basslines and the like, while the third is for sequencing up to 16 channels of drums. The second choice in our best MIDI pad controller round-up is the BeatStep Pro, which features three independent step sequencers and a set of general purpose MIDI controllers. Read our full Novation Launchpad X review
The new custom modes are great for bespoke MIDI control too, and are a breeze to set up in Novation’s Components app. This instantly makes this a far more expressive controller and, while the ‘virtual’ faders used for mixing are still no match for the real thing, this allows for cool, velocity-controlled manipulation of the speed at which level and parameter changes occur. Not only is it smaller and sleeker looking (though with larger pads) but it also adds velocity sensitivity, previously available only on the Launchpad Pro. This latest incarnation is as clear step up from its predecessors. There’s no doubt that, in that time, the Launchpad has proved hugely influential, inspiring the design of many other clip-launching MIDI controllers, providing the centrepiece of countless electronic live shows and founding a whole genre of YouTube mashup videos. The X in the name of this third-gen Launchpad marks a decade since Novation’s original 8x8 pad controller hit the market.
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On a similar level in terms of a software and hardware partnership Native Instruments Maschine Mk3 is also a fantastic buy with both an MPC workflow and excellent features, not to mention its audio interfacing capability.įor budget pad control, Arturia's Beatstep Pro gives you great features and perfect sequencing over your modular hardware and instrument software, while IK's iRig pads is a fantastic device for control over your more mobile devices. With its compact design and many of the features found on its bigger singing, the Launchpad Pro, it ticks all of the creative performance boxes but is also practical and flexible, not to mention fantastic value.įor Ableton Live control, nothing still beats Ableton's own Push 2, which has simply been designed with nothing more than Live in mind so its control focus with that software is second to none and it has become the perfect hardware extension of it. Novation's Launchpad X is one of our top MIDI pad controller buys.
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