(The latter is essential to me as a keyboardist for switching instruments.) And until Ableton comes up with its own mixing-friendly controller (Ableton Fade, perhaps?), LaunchControl XL is essential. You’re never more than one button away from selecting a track you need, or two buttons away from quickly record enabling. I love Ableton’s Push, but the LaunchControl XL quickly addresses some of its shortcomings – particularly when used live.
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There’s not even so much as an installation you only need to download something to use the custom editor. Plug in the hardware, start a compatible version of Live, and you’ll instantly be in control. There’s literally no setup whatsoever for Live. There’s no Ableton logo on the LaunchControl XL as on the Launchpad, but it definitely feels like a Live controller when used with that software. One obvious pairing is the LaunchControl XL with a Launchpad, though it’s just one option. For device control, there’s also a Device switch, useful in conjunction with Instrument, Drum, and Effect Racks.
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There are simple LED indicators below each to see which is active.Įach strip also has a Track Focus switch for quickly moving Live’s display to a particular track, plus a second trigger that mutes, solos, or record arms tracks. That detent is subtle enough that you can also ignore it – for example, if using as a send – though that makes me worry slightly about wear over time. These have center detents so you can use them for pan (oddly, all three of them, not just the one labeled pan). Each strip is coupled with three rotary pots. These aren’t the fanciest faders you’ll ever encounter – they’re single-rail and so you’ll feel some slight wobble, as on nearly all controllers in this price range – but there’s enough resistance to mix with some accuracy. Its main selling point is its eight 60mm faders. That’s where the LaunchControl XL hits a sweet spot. If you use an iPad for clips, or you have another hardware controller, or you focus on instrumental playing, that’s overkill. Others will provide faders and knobs but in combination with clip launching. That can be confusing if you’re in the middle of playing and just want to reach for a send or volume. Ableton’s Push is a great example: you can adjust track parameters, but only on encoders (not faders), and it requires switching modes. When you want dedicated mix controls, however, many of these devices disappoint.
Ableton works in collaboration with some of these vendors to make integration work so well, and it shows. In addition to Ableton’s deep and beautifully-made Push hardware, Akai alone has three new additions to its APC family introduced just this year.
(Boutique maker Faderfox, for instance, was a pioneer.) Now, they’re all over the place. It’s hard to remember, but a few short years ago when Novation unveiled the original Launchpad, there weren’t any mass-market controllers dedicated to the software. I expect Ableton Live will be the most popular use case, though, so let’s begin with how Live integration works. You can use it anywhere, because it’s bus-powered and driverless, so it works with iOS, Windows, OS X, and Linux. And this being a Novation controller, it’s also lightweight and compact: the footprint is the same as the Launchpad, and it weighs in at under a kilogram. The upshot is, you’ve got a MIDI controller that makes it exceptionally easy to mix eight tracks. As on the Launchpad, Novation also provides separate user/factory templates you can access with a push-button, and switches for selecting tracks and sends, all mapped to Ableton Live. Each column also gets two triggers these are switchable when used with Ableton Live to control mute, solo, and record arm functions. It’s just faders and pots: 8 faders, with three knobs each. So, that makes the new LaunchControl XL from Novation a potential stand-out. There are surprisingly few controllers out there tailored to this application. Maybe it’s not about elaborate custom parameter assignment, or clip launching, or playing an in-tune Phrygian scale on a colored, light-up grid as you solo on a bowed marimba sample. Sometimes, you just want to grab a fader.
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