I’m surprised those Novation videos regarding their support for Elektron products didn’t cause more of a stir, they’re very cool!
So I am a long-term user of the original Launchpad Pro, mainly because of the excellent Arsenal_LPP script made by Native Kontrol. That script allows for MPC-style 16 levels mode on Drum Racks in Ableton Live, and is the main reason I ended up abandoning the old-skool MPCs. It makes Live feel so close to an actual MPC that it almost makes the real thing redundant. Plus the script allows for an intuitive Note Repeat mode like our beloved MPCs.
I am very interested in the Launchpad Pro MK3 because it allows for standalone sequencing of up to four MIDI devices without the use of Live. I want to be able to control a multi within the Virus B for pads, bass, lead and FX, while sequencing drums on the Digitakt. Or heck, controlling both of them at once, because you can do that on the MK3.
I have a couple of questions to owners of the Launchpad Pro MK3 - Is there any way of accessing the 16 levels of velocity, and does it allow control of a Note Repeat function? I have watched the Novation videos and am currently browsing the manual but can’t find any answer to these questions at present. Thanks!
Thanks for the reply - I respect that 16 levels of velocity and note repeat could be tied to Ableton Live - even though my Launchpad Pro with the Native Kontrol firmware allows for both of these things without a Push, it still only works within Live. Still, having a four-part sequencer with eight patterns per part and a chord mode is definitely an upgrade on the bare-bones standalone features of the original Launchpad Pro.
I pretty much buy/try all newly-released midi controllers (ugh, GAS).
I like the Launchpad Pro MK3 a lot. It doesn’t add a TON from the Launchpad Pro (original). The chord mode is nice, but so is Scaler 2 and other chorder things. The sequencer is really cool, but there are other cool options (the SL MK3, Keystep Pro, etc). Print To Clip is nice, but after you Print To Clip, you hear a duplicate of your sequence, from the Launchpad Pro MK3 itself, and from Ableton. Only way around this is to change the MIDI channel it’s transmitting from, or open an empty Session. I don’t know any other workaround for that.
Plenty happy with the original LP Pro. With the Launchpad Pro 95 script from a generous person, you get step-sequencing and basically all the benefits of the LP Pro MK3, except chords, and Fixed Length. You can always enter User Mode and midi map a pad or two for Play/Stop, Back To Arrangement, and a dedicated Stop button.
That said, I’m jonesing for an LP Pro MK3 again. Sold it a few months ago to help with bills. I had the Push 2 as well, which I sold for bills. Jonesing for both.
Side note-- I put a custom firmware in my original Launchpad Pro (from mat1jaczzy or however you spell it)… that genius allows you to save 8 custom MIDI maps into the LP Pro (Launchpad X maps made in Components)… AMAZING. That breathed new life into my Pro, no doubt about it. Worth a look if you guys haven’t checked that out. You can only update the firmware from the web, and transfer your syx maps via his website (I’d love an offline option, just in case)… but yeah, worth it!
Hope you guys and girls are doing well out there! So glad to be done with 2020.
I’m pretty sure it’s just Note Mode. Do you have a LPP MK1? The video guides for the Arsenal scripts aren’t the best so I had to figure it all out myself.
Yeah, I picked up a used one for 80 euros before christmas. Great device. And I got the LPP and the sequencer matrix mode. Been trying to find custom firmwares for the thing, but it’s kind of hard to dig up. Seems to either not be that much around, or it’s hidden within github or something And yeah, the documentation for LPP could be a whole lot better
Agreed, also see the potential and have a Pro Mk3 on the way - think it was mainly Calc’s Octatrack demo, excited to take some of the ideas demonstrated in the custom pages he had set up and run with them.
Considering the original Launchpad Pro can do 8 custom modes (Launchpad X sysex/.syx as per the custom firmware from mat1jaczzy (google it), I’d recommend that over the LPX, bigtime… the Launchpad X sells between $160 and $200 new… and the LP Pro is usually only $30 more, these days. Worth it and then some. Plus, standalone (midi in/out, don’t need a computer).
the mk3 you mean? Im looking to buy second hand…
What i would like to do is add to the Digitakt with pads for as cheap as possible.
I already have a midi KB as well tho. so might be overkill at this stage.
In terms of playability… I bought a keystep 37 specially for chord /scale mode. No experience playing piano and learning slowly.
It looks like a LP pro could just as well play chords on my Synth but i assume there’s a downside in terms of playing octaves etc. How do the two compare? I feel like “finger drumming” is more up my alley then playing KB but having 3 octaves. But for 100 bucks with a bit of ableton integration i would be fine but 300 is overkill.
Awesome, yeah it’s a great device but Novation didn’t take it as far as they could have, was hoping they would allow for more customisation, especially over the standalone mode, but they reserved that for the MK3.
I’m really interested in the MK3 chord mode, but I saw someone complaining that you can’t record the chords into the sequencer. Is that true?
And yeah, the documentation for LPP could be a whole lot better 