The second layout is used when a track assigned a Drum Rack is selected. There are 16 preset scales to choose from, and both Scale and Chromatic modes for a choice of whether notes outside of that scale are available or not. Used with an instrument, it displays the familiar style of ‘scale’ mode used across most modern pad-centric controllers - whereby notes of a scale are highlighted from left to right across the grid with root notes delineated by a change in colour. Used with Live, engaging Note mode from the top row of buttons will configure the pad grid to one of two layouts. As you’d expect, this immediately makes the Launchpad X a considerably more expressive controller when it comes to playing drum and instrument sounds.Īs with previous incarnations, this is still primarily an Ableton Live controller, and users of that DAW benefit from simple plug-and-play compatibility. The most notable change is the addition of velocity and pressure sensitivity to the pads. While the Launchpad X retains the same core design, there’s a lot of additional functionality on offer here compared to the original design. Naturally though, things have moved on significantly over the past ten years, and the slightly simplistic nature of those original Launchpads now looks rather dated.
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It’s a format that’s been built upon by numerous later devices, including Novation’s own Launchpad Pro, Ableton’s official Push controllers and Akai’s recent standalone Force.