Ableton Forum

Hi all,

Ive been trying to find mods for the launchpad to make it velocity sensitive. I know the hardware itself is not capable of sending note velocity but i was wondering if there was any way of modifying the hardware to achieve velocity changes.

The only work around for it I've found is to midi map the 'midi velocity' plugin in Ableton to a controller like a fader to add some variation. It really isnt expressive enough when trying to use drum racks.

Anyone out there that has achieved velocity sensitivity through modification?

Cheers

Modification for this would be opening up the launchpad, ripping out it's sensors, replacing them with different pressure sensors, and replacing the board with a new one that would transmit the correct midi information. at that point you might as well build one yourself.

I dont know how to do it hardware wise, but i purchased a program that has this ability, so it must be possible software wise. There are a few of these types of programs out there where you pay a little bit, but you get all kinds of expanded control for the unit. I use LPC by Native Kontrol. There is also some stuff from Isotonik like octop4d. If you have M4Live there are more options, but i dont so i cant help there. LPC gives me velocity control in the drum racks among many other things.

I think the OP is specifically talking about velocity sensitivity for the pads though, not control over velocity. I have LPC as well, but it does not do what is being requested. He actually already tried something similar to what I'd suggest, which is using the velocity tool in ableton, and mapping ranges to some of the arrow buttons on the side in user1 mode, so that you could change velocities like that, but that doesn't seem to be working for them. I doubt that there is any simple mod to do this, as previously stated, it would likely be a question of overhauling the whole thing, but at that point you basically invested $150 in a plastic shell, with a rubber mat on it, and whatever you have to spend to get a new board with pressure sensitive buttons, and even then, as it was not designed for pressure sensitivity, the pad response would likely be pretty dull. Makes a lot more sense to buy the iStage linked above, or a dedicated drumpad controller.

Thanks for all your help guys. That iStage looks just the ticket! Gonna have to invest in one i think.