New Novation releases from last months
Launchpad Mini [MK3] and Launchpad X have arrived
Marking ten years since the arrival of the original Launchpad, Novation is immensely proud to release the latest full-sized and portable versions of the world’s favourite Ableton Live grid controller: Launchpad X and Launchpad Mini [MK3].
Made to perform, Launchpad X is Novation’s essential MIDI pad controller for Live, enabling fast and effortless clip and scene launching, expressive instrument play, and direct transport and mixer control. Launchpad X’s 64 velocity- and pressure-sensitive RGB pads are Novation’s most responsive yet, while Drum and Note Modes provide automatic switching between percussive and melodic instrument triggering, and the dedicated Capture MIDI button means you’ll never lose a great idea again. Dynamic Note and Scale modes keep your basslines, melodies, chords and leads perfectly in key, and crucial performance controls – stop, solo, mute, record arm, levels, pans and sends – are a button press away. With USB-C connectivity and no drivers to install, Launchpad X puts everything you need right at your fingertips, so you can spend less time mousing around and more time making music.
Made to move, Launchpad Mini is Novation’s most compact and portable 64-pad MIDI grid controller, giving you everything you need to start performing in Ableton Live - and it'll fit in your bag. Bright RGB pads perfectly match your clips and scenes, making it easier than ever to see your Ableton Live sessions, while immediate and tactile access to Live’s performance controls liberate you from the mouse and keyboard, and Drum and Note modes let you instantly flip between playing beats and melodies.
Extending Launchpad X and Launchpad Mini’s remit beyond Ableton Live, you can customise the MIDI mappings of each within three (Mini) or four (X) custom modes using Novation Components, for control of almost anything. Send out MIDI CCs, notes and program change messages, and even use rows or columns as faders – the only limit is your imagination. And both models come complete with a comprehensive bundle of included software, including Ableton Live Lite, a range of plug-ins by AAS, XLN Audio, klevgrand and Softube, two-months’ free subscription to Splice, and membership of Sound Collective, bringing Novation hardware owners a new free plug-in every couple of months.
Whether you prefer the advanced features and velocity sensitivity of X or the unrivalled portability of Mini, there’s a Launchpad for every performer and producer.
Continue with the launch of Launchkey Mini [MK3]
With the new Launchkey Mini, Novation have made their hugely popular 25-mini-key portable MIDI keyboard controller for Ableton Live more versatile, adaptable and playable than ever. Now you can make tracks anywhere using Launchkey Mini’s new arpeggiator, Fixed Chord mode, Capture MIDI, 16 big RGB pads, transport controls and more.
Featuring their best, most responsive mini-keymech to date, all-new pitch and modulation touchstrips, a sustain pedal input, and 16 newly RGB-backlit pads, Launchkey Mini is the perfect platform for expressive performance and colour-matched clip launching. The new Fixed Chord mode and arpeggiator help you take your melodic and harmonic ideas in new creative directions, enabling chords to be triggered from single notes, and turning held chords into riffs, melodies and sequences on the fly; and thanks to the Capture MIDI button, you’ll never lose a note, even if you forget to hit record.
Spend less time clicking mouse buttons and more time making music, as Launchkey Mini’s device control and deep, intuitive integration with Live lets you step back from the screen and feel the beats. Start and stop playback and recording via the dedicated transport buttons, operate the mixer’s Mute, Solo, Volume, Pan and Send controls, and take instant control of Device Macros with eight rotary encoders – connect more deeply with your music, navigating and mixing your projects in a more tactile way than the mouse and keyboard can hope to match.
Launchkey Mini comes with everything you need to make complete tracks in the box, including sounds, virtual instruments and plug-in effects from AAS, Softube, Spitfire Audio, XLN Audio and Klevgrand, plus membership of Novation Sound Collective, bringing you new free content from our plug-in partners every couple of months. It also has a MIDI out port for connection to hardware synths and grooveboxes; and if Live isn’t your only production environment, included mapping templates make Launchkey Mini the ideal solution for on-the-go control of Logic, Cubase, Reason or any other HUI-compatible DAW, too.
Novation’s most compact and portable MIDI keyboard controller, Launchkey Mini gives you everything you need to start creating in Ableton Live – and it’ll fit in your bag.
How many patches!!!??
To celebrate the launch of Summit, Novation released 1000 presets throughout August, September and October, suitable for both Peak and their new flagship synth from artists including Legowelt, Craig Williams, Lightbath, Hinako Omori, Emily Sprague and Shawn Rudiman, amongst many others.
Give Peak to different people and they will always produce dramatically different sounds. Playing to Peak and Summit’s particular architectural strengths – like the multiple simultaneous synthesis types, analogue filters, VCA and distortion, the high-quality onboard effects, and so on – these patches can be of huge educational value, too, giving you insight and inspiration around the varied approaches to programming Peak and Summit to find your own sounds.
Ultimately, these 1000 artist presets comprise a vast and diverse library of basses, leads, pads, arps, FX and more that showcases the synth itself, as well as the skill and talent of some incredible sound designers – and they’re free.
At the same time, Novation have also completely redesigned the Components application from the ground up, so that you can really take advantage of the librarian and the variety of presets offered by all these inspiring artists.
The new Components browser puts the Bank Editor and content side by side, and enables content to be dragged directly into the Bank Editor patch list. Presets can also be filtered in the browser, and you now have the option of showing the Novation and User banks together. Mandatory login is no longer a requirement, either, as you can now use site-wide features without logging in (although you do still need to make an account and log in to store user content in the cloud).
1000 artist presets for Peak and Summit were released in weekly sets via the new-look Components between the end of July and the end of October.
