:!: Own a Launchpad? Get LPC-Live !!! The missing link.

[White_Rabbit]

He also has some nice free scripts and his APC Series scripts have been amazing. If I bought a controller that he had a script for I'd buy the script without hesitation he's that good.
[Free script]Macrobat for Live 8
[Free script]TrackDefs for Live 8
[Free script]ExtraPrefs for Live 8

[alex.the.forge]

thanks so much for this! I somehow nearly missed it - it's EXACTLY what I was after and more!

[RajahP]

I can only imagine what he has up his sleeves for the IPad.

[sporkles]

Bought it yesterday - it's going to take some time getting into it, but this is really going to change things for me. My
Launchpad has more or less been collecting dust since I got it - partly because I've seen it more as a performance tool than
as a production tool, and partly because I'm colour blind, and cannot discern between the states of the pads in Session view.
Now I can finally get some use for the LP! (And I have to wonder: if a third party developer can program such cool
light feedback on the pads - would it not be possible for Novation to alter the pad lighting )

Huge Kudos!

[alex.the.forge]

Bought it yesterday - it's going to take some time getting into it, but this is really going to change things for me. My
Launchpad has more or less been collecting dust since I got it - partly because I've seen it more as a performance tool than
as a production tool, and partly because I'm colour blind, and cannot discern between the states of the pads in Session view.
Now I can finally get some use for the LP! (And I have to wonder: if a third party developer can program such cool
light feedback on the pads - would it not be possible for Novation to alter the pad lighting )

Huge Kudos!

admittedly since having it a few days the biggest draw back I see is that it is complicated and there is a lot to remember and get used to - I think it's definitely possible to learn it and get fluent, but I'm not sure that I would want to have that much to think about - I'm not a great fan of switching modes a lot in a mission critical live situation, definitely in the case of controlling faders/knobs etc

but the drum mode step sequencer that inputs notes into clips is fantastic and a definite keeper, but I think that's as much for production as anything

also the clip mode is great fun, especially chromatic mode

scale mode is definitely useful, and chord learn is great too although again I'm not sure how much this would actually speed things up as it seems it would probably take longer to fiddle around with the launchpad than it would to actually play or draw the chords into the clips

overall though I am really impressed at the sheer amount of work that's gone into it, and in some cases it even highlights areas where Live itself is inferior without it - for example, having a fold button for group tracks is something I've wished for a lot in Live, and it seems it is easily available through the API (or however they do it?) because it's there in the LPC preset. It would be nice to be able to just map it normally to Live's MIDI/KEY remote mapping.

Unfortunately for some reason the preset doesn't allow you to actually trigger the group track 'scenes' even though the default Launchpad mode does this fine.

The biggest worry for me though has been that I have found it to be occasionally unpredictable. every now and then it stops responding to switching between the default LP mode and LPC mode, and it displays some random lit up buttons which don't seem to relate to anything and the only way to get it back is to disable all the MIDI inputs in the prefs, reset the MT player and then enable them again. Quite a show stopper if you were on stage.

I'm not sure if it's something to do with using the VCM600 at the same time, or whether it's when the sets start to get more complex with lots of group tracks etc. I found it did this a lot when I tried to use it in a complex set that I already had, but then when I started a new set it was really reliable until it got more complicated.

[metastatik]

Good to hear that most of you are enjoying the preset and I’m sorry to hear you’re having trouble with it, Alex. It should play perfectly fine next to your VCM or other controllers/control surfaces. If possible, please get in contact with support with info regarding your OS and version of Live. Screenshots of your MIDI/Sync tab in Live would be helpful as well, but aren’t a necessity.

I’m in the process of preparing an LPC-Live update and I’d like to get this sorted out before releasing that. I'll also look into group track launching. Thanks for pointing this out.

Best,

Stray

[sporkles]

Alex: Well, to me, this add-on is definitely more geared towards production than performance. The Launchpad is undoubtedly a
performance tool, but now it can do so much more, too. It's a bit complicated because there are no labels, but because of
the way it's laid out, with sensible grouping of pads, indicated by lights, I find it a lot easier to navigate than when
it's in Session mode (I simply can't get used to how folding and unfolding group tracks cocks up my overview).

The spacing between the pads on the LP is a little narrow, but I'm going to try to make some laminated overlays when I'm
getting into this.

As for those arguing that the iPad with the relevant software is better: I can definitely see that, which is a bit of a
shame, as the Launchpad's core functionality (launching clips, and triggering various bits and bops) is really the only area
I could imagine that a touch screen (with parameter labelling) is better than physical controllers (encoders and faders).

Oh, and since you chimed in, Stray: thanks for all your effort! You have turned my Launchpad from dust collector into a
very useful tool!

[alex.the.forge]

Good to hear that most of you are enjoying the preset and I’m sorry to hear you’re having trouble with it, Alex. It should play perfectly fine next to your VCM or other controllers/control surfaces. If possible, please get in contact with support with info regarding your OS and version of Live. Screenshots of your MIDI/Sync tab in Live would be helpful as well, but aren’t a necessity.

I’m in the process of preparing an LPC-Live update and I’d like to get this sorted out before releasing that. I'll also look into group track launching. Thanks for pointing this out.

Best,

Stray

Hey Stray, thanks a lot for chiming in!

Yes I fully intend to give you a proper report on the problems I've been having as soon as I can isolate exactly what conditions seem to trigger it and if there is something specific I can do to make it happen every time. At the moment I don't think I can tell you anything that helpful because it hasn't really happened in a predictable way yet. Or at least not that I have been able to reduce to a specific action that leads to it.

All I can say for sure is when I loaded up the mega Live set I was working on it seemed to give me a lot of trouble, in particular when trying to switch between default launchpad mode to the LPC mode. Then I started from scratch with an empty set and started loading in a MIDI track with an 808 drum rack, then building it from there I found it to be pretty rock solid for quite a while. It was only as the set got a lot more complicated it started happening again.

I have a slight feeling that group tracks might be somehow related, because I think today it did it after I grouped 2 MIDI tracks together, but at this stage it's just a vague suspicion and I haven't tested it any further.

So as soon as I have something more detailed I'll let you know!

Just to briefly describe what is actually happening though - sometimes it will seem to lock up and maybe the first five buttons along the top row will be lit up green and yellow for no apparent reason and they do nothing. I keep trying to press User 1 or User 2 + Arm and nothing happens. I try pushing lots of different buttons and it doesn't respond until I totally reset the MIDI prefs. Sometimes this has happened and it's recovered after pushing some buttons, but sometimes it's totally locked up.

To get it back I have to switch off the track and remote buttons for Launchpad and LPC series IN and OUT then 'restart' on the MT player and re-enable them. I think in the past I've also had to set control surfaces to 'none' and also remove the input and output options so that I am choosing them from scratch. I even have a feeling I may have had to restart Live and MT player at some point as well. (mainly when working with my big live set)

I'm on a 2009 white macbook, snow leopard 10.6.4, Live 8.2.1

I only downloaded the preset and MT player the other day so I assume they are up to date.

[metastatik]

Thanks for the info. That’s okay if you can’t recreate the issue with a specific set of conditions, we can still troubleshoot it. The next time it occurs, please go to Live’s Preferences folder, find Log.txt and send that to support. A screenshot of your MIDI/Sync tab in Live would also help. BTW, Live’s Preferences folder is typically located in: (your name)/Library/Preferences/Ableton/Live x.x.x/.

In the interim, you shouldn’t turn on the Remote switches for the LPC_Series ports (From/To MT Player 2). This could cause strange issues when loading sets with conflicting MIDI messages. They should be off as shown in the manual, which you can access via the ? button on MT Player.

Also, many of the things that you’re mentioning doing (turning on/off switches, setting control surfaces to none, etc) are accomplishing re-initialization. If Live is already running when you select or restart LPC-Live, you need to re-initialize. The easiest way to do that is by entering and then exiting MIDI Mapping mode. FWIW, this is also mentioned in the manual.

Let me know how you make out.

Best,

Stray

[sporkles]

I just felt like bumping this thread again! I've never had so much fun messing around in Live! I whole-heartedly recommend this add-on if you own a Launchpad. If you don't own a Launchpad, I recommend you go ahead and own yourself a Launchpad, and then get LPC-Live!

[outershpongolia]

I just felt like bumping this thread again! I've never had so much fun messing around in Live! I whole-heartedly recommend this add-on if you own a Launchpad. If you don't own a Launchpad, I recommend you go ahead and own yourself a Launchpad, and then get LPC-Live!

OR you can just say, go ahead and get ANY nativeKONTROL product for ANY of the supported controllers - I'm picking up the APC stuff on friday and we're also getting the OHM stuff when we pick that up

[alex.the.forge]

In the interim, you shouldn’t turn on the Remote switches for the LPC_Series ports (From/To MT Player 2). This could cause strange issues when loading sets with conflicting MIDI messages. They should be off as shown in the manual, which you can access via the ? button on MT Player.

Ah thanks Stray, that sounds like it could be the problem! I somehow missed that in the manual. I'll give it a go later today and report back.

Also, many of the things that you’re mentioning doing (turning on/off switches, setting control surfaces to none, etc) are accomplishing re-initialization. If Live is already running when you select or restart LPC-Live, you need to re-initialize. The easiest way to do that is by entering and then exiting MIDI Mapping mode. FWIW, this is also mentioned in the manual.

Yeah I did catch that bit in the manual, but at the start it was getting so screwy that turning just one thing off and on was not solving the issue and because there were like 10 or more steps involved turning things off and on I never narrowed it down to which ones specifically made a difference, I just went through and disabled them all then re-enabled. When I first started using it with a big complex set I definitely remember one time it seemed to be resetting the control surface options that set it right, but the fact that remote is supposed to be off for LPC Series though makes me think it was just generally messed up because of that and it just happened to be that time when I re-initialized it that it worked for some reason and not specifically anything to do with the control surface options.

But now you mention it, later on when I was working on the new set I created for this preset it definitely came right just after resetting the track/remote buttons

Anyway I'll let you know how I get on!

cheers

[alex.the.forge]

ok so I spent a bit more time trying to work out what's going on, disabled the REMOTE buttons for LPC series, still had problems and gradually managed to work out that the REMOTE button for Launchpad MTplayer1 seemed to be causing it. I've sent an email to support@ with screenshots + log

cheers

[dave_house]

I'm loving the LPC-Live. I think it might finally be what I've been looking for to streamline my live performances without the need for tons of knobs and sliders, etc.

Having been through the manual and had a good play around I'm finding it surprisingly intuitive, too. To save making acetates to overlay the pads with functions written on, though, I've had a cunning idea - it's probably bloody obvious but I thought I'd share it anyway incase it's useful for anyone:

Stick little squares of sellotape on the Launchpad's pads and write their LPC-Live functions on with a CD marker. That way you don't permanently mark your Launchpad, you don't have to have annoying acetate overlays, you can select which functions you'll use and only label up those pads, and perhaps best of all - when the function is available in a particular mode the LED back-lights your label by default/accident!

[Sarrova-Q]

LPC-Live v1.0.6 is out!
Something totally awesome just got better!
Check out the MONOSEQ Mode, superb!

http://www.nativekontrol.com/LPC-Live.html