Ableton Forum

...so what's X?

I have an APC40 - and really like it, but admittedly haven't completely dove in. From the start, I've wished it to be a bit smaller. I'm wondering about getting a Launchpad plus another controller to sort of equal the power of the APC40. ....I guess something with a crossfader - maybe and XY pad too, some knobs, etc. I even thought about the remote zero, but I really like the crossfader and it doesn't have one.

- traveling with the APC40 is a little bit much. I can live with it, but I wouldn't mind exploring other options.

I've got a Roland PCR300 & combined with the Launchpad will fulfill my needs.

18 velocity pads
1 crossfader + 3 assignable buttons
8 line faders + 1 master
8 rotary's + 1 master
Keyboard and a few other neat tricks, aftertouch, lower/higher select on keyboard, split keyboard, Stop, Play, Record, Rewind buttons..

It was daunting to map it to Ableton, but there is a thread on here somewhere which gives you 5 midi maps which work perfectly with Ableton.

The PCR + Launchpad would be about twice as big as a Apc ^^ And since the OP asked for a solution that isnt as big as the APC i think its a bit off to recommend a midi keyboard, maybe you should read what he was asking for *g*

afaik, there is no controller that has a xy + crossfader + rotarys/faders

controllers that would come close to Apc functionality would be

•Novation Remote Zero SL MK2 (it has a crossfader)

•CME Bitstream (no XY, but it has a ribbon controller, its quite expensive though)

•Novation Nocturne (no faders or XY, but its cheap and pretty small & lightweight)

For me the nanoKontrol will be perfect cause i really dont need a CF or a XY (even though i wouldnt mind having one), the UC-33 is a pretty cool compact controller aswell

Well, the new Remote Zero mkii has a crossfader... also the Nocturn would automap nicely, has a cross fader, and apparently has the same width as the launchpad. You might reconsider the xy pad. I used to have one on my old padkontrol, and, after an initial 5 minutes of wow cool, I never used it again...

I'd say your best bet is a Remote zero mkii. I have the original one and it was great with live. The newer one seems even easier (touch sensitive controls, longer faders, better button/knob grouping, crossfader, and a much nicer color scheme (for my studio at least)

Launchpad + Nocturn + Automap Pro + This would be a pretty powerful and compact combo (I use a nocturn with an arduinome and it's brilliant with guille's script) , you don't get an x-y pad though.
The remote Zero is quite large compared to the nocturn as is the bitstream.

In my world BCR2000 (in Mackie mode) + Launchpad = APC40.

Edit: not concerned about x-fader being an actual 'x-fader'

^ BCR200 is a cool controller, but surely a BCR and a Launchpad would be bigger than an APC.

Hmmmm.....Size,...... they say it's not important, but when it comes to the crunch....

...This time too big for a change!

....I was merely looking at functionality.

(And, I've already got a BCR!)

Bumping up a old topic, but maybe the Vestax 600 would be a good pair. I'm also looking into this myself.

bcr2000 / sl zero

It doesn't have a crossfader, but I use the launchpad with the UC-33e it is quite easy to carry.

and how is the nocturn keyboard ?!?

I thought about getting the original nocturn but then I realized that I needed a new keyboard. It's less expensive than the other novation keyboards...

are they worth anything ?!

Launchpad + Nocturn (w/ guille's script) + nanoKontrol (w/ myralfur's script) > APC40
plus it's still more portable and all usb-powered

I wish Akai would just make a small, inexpensive usb-powered controller with 8 of their APC macro knobs + transport. There could be switches exactly like the APC 40, so you can control the device parameters and mixing duties (pan, send, volume, etc...).

BoxDJ wrote:Bumping up a old topic, but maybe the Vestax 600 would be a good pair. I'm also looking into this myself.

The VCM-600 (while being awesome) is just as big (if not bigger) than an APC40.

This thread is missing the point of the APC40. The beauty of the APC40 is not only the auto-mapped controls, but also the labeled chassis. I love having a dedicated & labeled button for the metronome. Etc etc etc etc. Plug in, ready to go, done. Yes, the APC40 is big, but, with its exclusive auto-map handshake features the current answer to this equation is:

X + Launchpad = X + Launchpad