Day 300: Another look at the Novation Launch Station

I think I will always have a fondness for Novation kit. One of the very first hardware synths I got back when I had my first stab at making music was the Novation K-Station. This since went on to become a legendary bit of kit. The V-Station (it's Virtual sibling) is still a good seller I understand.

That said something is bugging me about the Launchpad, and I can't quite put my finger on what it is. I've watched the marketing videos and seen it in action, and it seems tight. I've also seen that even with such a small footprint (especially compared to the APC40) that it can still pack in a whole bunch of features, including rotary knob emulation in a very clever use of the buttons.

So what is the problem then? I can only think that it's just asking too much from essentially a grid of buttons. There isn't really even any space for putting masking tape with handwritten notes on under the controls (to remind you what of the many options you are controlling).

I just get the feeling that either you would have to trim down the feature usage to make sure it didn't get muddled, and it wasn't all fingers and thumbs. That, or risk horribly crashing halfway through a set as you trigger the wrong thing, or tweak the wrong control.

I would love to be wrong though, as it looks smart, tight, and is fantastically priced. All that and the confidence of the solid build of Novation. So if anyone from Novation Europe reads this, I would love to give it an open minded road test for you!

In this video below we again get to see it's rich set of controls, and maybe you might get a feel also to what I am referring...

40/365

p&&l

bang!