Ok seriously, APC40 or Launchpad?

[Captain Johnson]

Different controllers work better for different needs, I have no problem with the design or amount of clips in the matrix on APC40. All the other functions are superb too.

To work within limitations is a skill not be ignored or afraid of either....

[humnumb]

I would get the Launchpad and combine it with another controller but not APC40/20 (too bulky, power supply...etc.). Nocturn or nanoKontrol with midi remote scripts is a good action. But my favorite Live controller to combine with Launchpad is Maschine which has some excellent Live macro/drum rack/mixer templates.

[arctic ranger]

omg! omg! OMG!!!!

get em both you can find em cheap enough

personally i love the apc except the side things that stick out

[Ben_Binary]

I got the APC40.

I would have waited for something like the LaunchPad
but i believed the ableton marketing machine when they proposed that
the APC40 would be the only controller with the session view red box...
and now the
extra functionality in the APC20
that the APC40 doesnt have !!! = LAME

I really like the APC40 but now I dont believe much of what ableton says anymore.


Get the LaunchPad because its cheaper.
Get the APC40/20 because its solid.

[Lazos]

APC 20

[3phase]

I had booth.. and booth suck..

as soon you entere rewire mode into a real daw...

so you are actually better of with controlers that emulate the mackie protocoll and have your computer keyboard as cliplaunch matrix...

as it was before the dedicated controlers came up..


BUt.. of cause you can work with ableton live standalone.. and, after the princip that hope dies last, with the soon to come stable version of L9.. ( L8.1 mfl is actually L9 the ableton guys are just too chaotic and therfore got it all mixed up ) it also can be called a real DAW... only pussys need automation.. i dont... propper timecode handling would be nic thou..

however..

THe APC wins..

it has a very good haptik feel to it.. and the dedicated buttons for menu controls turn it into a real dedicated controler..

with abletons quirky thru routine a button for midi overdub on/off quickly becomes essential..

dedicated track arm and mute / solo... comfi..

the rotary emcoders are the shit.. never touched a better rotary sofar.. exeptionally well done..

But.. the clip launch matrix is too small... when you really play live and dont just fake it by firing you backing in 5 slices... theese 5 rows are not enough..

you allways end with solid blocks with all clips engaged..with results in a total overview loss that leads to anyway consulting the monitor on stage..because ther are no grafical patterns anymore in the arrangement of clips..

The launchpad with its 8 rows actually has just! enough rows to concive that...

A APC with an 8x8 matrix and a better software from ableton to handle it would be a pretty cool..

theese square button design is actually a failure anyway.. looks good..but dont matches reality on screen..and therefore results in overview loss..and overview is important.. no second thaughts on stage..

Anyway.. who can live with the 5 row matrix is defenly better of with the apc.. you get much more for the money..


The Lunchpad is a toy..thats nice has 8 rows..good.. but with the wide square format that is allmost to big to have it all in sight there is defently no match to screen reality at all.. but as a plain cliplaunch ok..it works.. no ideal design do suit the program, but works..

ANd..its fun to do patches for it on other programs like reaktor or even my nord G2

so i guess the main fun with lunchpad is for MFL users.. there the plain square that is not dedicated to anything you find in Live is like a clean slate... and even the szise is good than to have some distance between functional parts.. The internal software handling of the LP is much more optimized for mfl use than it is developed as stand alone live controler... that shows a bit the main intention..its rather a programmers toy.. not really a remote control for ableton live..


So in the resume..

booth suck

The APC is ideal for DJ like acts that replay prerecorded material or in the studio as comfort control..there 5 scenes are enough and having no access to fx returns or just one block of 8 rotarys auto assigned is enough... you still have your normal daw controls in the studio and no reason to hide a monitor..

The lunchpad is ideal for MFL patchers that can create button and sequence controls with visual feedback... it also is better cliplaunch matrix because the 8 rows.. lightwight ..bus powered good looking..

but not ideal for live use because you cant record arm clips on the fly to create new content like you can do with tha APC.. what could be changed by software updates.. of cause..

but as mentioned..square buttons are nt that ideal IMO and its actually bigger than it should be..

in the end of the day an APC dont eats much more space on stage than the lunchpad..

Conclusion.. booth ar good devices that might get even better with some software updates..

But booth of them compromise stage use for other goals.. They are rather living room optimized..

I would say there is plac for a third model somehow... A stage orientated version that really allows to abondon screen contact.. maybe with a little display for the knobs.. and real multicolour leds for the launch pads..

touchscreen? lemur ..i pad? probably the close future.. could be however fun to have a device with real knobs and buttons that allows a similar overview..

[3phase]

omg! omg! OMG!!!!

get em both you can find em cheap enough

personally i love the apc except the side things that stick out

why you just dont get rid of them? unscrew them, tape the side with quality tape.. no gaffa..

cut around with a cutter.. ready...

[format6]

I did a review of the launchpad based on my initial impressions and compared it against the APC40.

http://thedspproject.com/novation-lauch ... akai-apc40

I basically cover what the Launchpad can do that the APC cant, check it out and let me know what you think as im doing an episode every week the show will be quite Ableton-centric.

Thanks

[Hermanus]

I regret the fact you're not showing anything live with both controlers.
just talking during 6minutes is a bit weak in my opinion.


You can have fun with both, if you already got a controler with knobs and faders, then LP is a good choice for less money.

Personaly i'm happy with each

[ShelLuser]

I did a review of the launchpad based on my initial impressions and compared it against the APC40.

Hmm, I thought it was a bit boring to be honest.

A lot of talk without any demonstration gets boring really quick IMO...

And quite frankly; you took 6 minutes to say that the launchpad is quite small, made out of plastic, usb powered, has a bigger grid, has native drum rack support, no velocity control, can operate on controls like volume but an 8 step setup might be too broad.

No offense but there's not anything new there which hasn't been mentioned in this thread already. It'd get a lot more interesting if you'd also shown some of that stuff. Launchpad can do drumracks? How? Its smaller than the APC? Show a quick comparison glimpse, etc, etc.

Don't want to sound too negative here, but the advantage which a video has over written content is that you can show stuff. So if you then simply tell a whole story without showing anything it loses this advantage. IMHO of course.

[toxictobi]

I did a review of the launchpad based on my initial impressions and compared it against the APC40.

Hmm, I thought it was a bit boring to be honest.

A lot of talk without any demonstration gets boring really quick IMO...

And quite frankly; you took 6 minutes to say that the launchpad is quite small, made out of plastic, usb powered, has a bigger grid, has native drum rack support, no velocity control, can operate on controls like volume but an 8 step setup might be too broad.

No offense but there's not anything new there which hasn't been mentioned in this thread already. It'd get a lot more interesting if you'd also shown some of that stuff. Launchpad can do drumracks? How? Its smaller than the APC? Show a quick comparison glimpse, etc, etc.

Don't want to sound too negative here, but the advantage which a video has over written content is that you can show stuff. So if you then simply tell a whole story without showing anything it loses this advantage. IMHO of course.

sorry, but that´s exactly what I thought when I saw this boring video some days ago...

[3phase]

besides..the lunchpad is huge.. and pretty solid.. i dont know where the guy gets the thin plastic idea from..its more solid than my laptop..and allmost as big :-/

[Sureno]

APC40 ALLLLL THE WAY HOME

[format6]

Fair points guys, I would of shown more hands on stuff but I didnt actually have one. This video was only a first impressions rant after seeing it at the release party. Thanks for your feedback, I know the show is far from perfect and I will be working hard to make it better for you as its still very early days.

As for the thread question my conclusion stands: Do you want light and portable or the do it all daddy.

[Hidden Driveways]

APC for sure. The encoders are by far the best part of the controller and get the most use by me. The Device Control section is just about perfect in my opinion. I almost couldn't use Live without it now

agreeed

launchpad should be called lap-pad, because that's the only way it's better than the APC40. I used the LP for a week, and it is nice, but of the two I'm psyched that I own the 40.