My original Push just died and I needed to play live and record albums. I decided to try a Novation Launchpad Pro and boy am I glad I did. This thing rocks. I compose albums and play live using only a Push and now the Novation is a great replacement at 1/3 the cost. The pads are very responsive. Like the Push I can play in a Note mode but unlike the Push there's also a chord mode (I'm leaving my Theoryboard behind) AND there's a sequencer (which suits my music well) .... another plus it's lighter and smaller for my shoulder bag - way lighter than a Push... So that's the good - how about the bad to make you pause? It doesn't have knobs to reach up and adjust the volume while you play and no master (I really miss that) Yes it can change volume with pad column swipes but not the same. I may have to add another fader/knob unit? It is NOT as tough (but did you notice it's smaller and lighter with same pad size) I treat this instrument like I would a guitar- no throwing, crushing etc While it has everything (almost) I need for playing or recording. It does NOT have things the PUSH had... it doesn't label things (column are color matched not named) it does not allow you to see instrument names or have directory access of VST's etc It won't edit samples etc. In other words all that stuff that can be done on the PUSH screen moves back to the computer. So if you work by looking at the PUSH screen and want to ignore the computer pay the extra and get a PUSH. If you are fine with looking at (or even having a computer) and only want to play things into Live while using a computer this might very well be your jam..... Plus did I say you can play other DAWs or even hardware synths with this since it sends out MIDI and is not absolutely paired with only Ableton... Hello Apple Mainstage

Since the data transfer is through USB-C; my man, this device replies fast.

I'll talk about the Launchpad Mini Mk3, the cheapest version.

Features:
Just tap the 'Drums' button for a default mapping of any drum rack you do input on Ableton, through any midi channel set the 'Midi from' and choose the weird LNMKPD3 name, and click over the Record button (the one that turns red and records your midi input and output.

The Session mode is just handling clips, if the slot is empty: by pressing it, you will start a loop. That looping stops when you re-tap.

Always set on the 'Stop-Solo-Mute' for the typical mapping of pressing the lowest button to activate the Stop channel feature of Ableton.

Other reason to buy it: Budget friendly. The aesthetic is sweet. As a controller have too many features and defaults mapping that are intuitive. Novation really did it, so cheers on this. If you go for higher version, well, is because you want sensisitive pads //a feature were, the harder you press, the more something of whatever you tell him to do, does

And the pro version, well, if you gonna buy it, is because you want the step sequencer. That's huge.

I got this thinking I was just going to use it to help tap out drums for recording music. While it helps do that very well, and works with Superior Drummer 2, I found that I have a lot more use for it than I thought I would.

If you are getting it for drums, I would highly suggested connecting it to your computer and going to the Components site. This allows you to program which notes (and colors) appear for each pad. This is very helpful when setting up drums.

Now for what I found most interesting and complete unexpected. This has something called Note mode. By default it has a chromatic scale (every note, laid out like a piano would), however, you can change it so it only has the notes of the scale you are using available , i.e. "Scale Mode". This means that you cannot hit a wrong note, every pad is assigned with notes from the scale you have chosen. There are 16 different scales to choose from, and you can also choose the key of the scale. Interestingly, you can choose an offset too, which determines how many notes the next row should be offset by.

All of this comes together in an experience I never anticipated having. As a guitarist for 20+ years, I am pretty capable of playing something if I want to, comfortable with scales, etc. But with that, I get stuck in a rut of playing a certain way, or having familiar phrasing, note choice, etc. Furthermore, I'm "terrible" at song writing, I'm decent at doing covers. It's not that what I write is completely awful, it is just that what I write is obvious for lack of better words. When I listen to the bands I like, what impresses me the most is when there was a surprise to the music and it worked well into the song. My song writing is typically not that at all.

With this scale mode and not being able to hit a wrong note, I can just tap random patterns out and have come up with concepts that I would have never written by myself prior to this. What makes it better, is that I don't have any concept of what the notes are going to sound like yet before I hit them, I haven't memorized where each note is located like a piano or a guitar, so it is forcing me to tap randomly. And from that, I am hearing note choices I would not have attempted before. The process is so fascinating, because it is like taking all the extra baggage that goes into song writing (i.e. knowing music theory, knowing the notes on a guitar and scales, being able to play the guitar, trying to translate an idea into a reality, not hitting wrong notes, trying to figure out the harmony) and divorcing it from just thinking about what you want to accomplish. If I want a higher note, I just move up, if I want a lower note, I just move down. In a way, it is like distilling the song writing process into just thinking and not having to work so hard at the doing aspect. It is so hard to describe the feeling, but I haven't felt that close the song writing process in maybe... forever?

The process of making harmonies for lead parts on guitar isn't rocket science, but sometimes it can take a little work to figure it out. This makes playing a harmony much easier. If I am trying for thirds, I just play the same pattern two pads over, done. This has been another way to breed creativity. I have tried different notes together and it has lead to better harmonies.

When I finally get the music midi recorded from the launchpad, I then learn the parts on guitar. This can be challenging, which is part of the "beauty" of doing music this way. I would have never played guitar this way, nor made these note choices for myself on the guitar.

Just a note on this compared to the Launchpad X. Shipping was originally delayed to the point where I wasn't sure I was going to get this, so I ended up getting the Launchpad X and then this finally arrived. This gave me the opportunity to test out the pad sensitivity between the do. For whatever reason, I felt like the launchpad X had decent pad sensitivity, but the pro mk3 just had slightly better sensitivity. I am not sure it would have been worth the extra money to spring for the pro mk3 just for this factor alone, both are good products, but the pro mk3 does seem to have slightly better pad sensitivity. I ended up returning the X and keeping this pro mk3. This also has a sequencer and some other additional functionality too that the X doesn't have, including a row of buttons on the left and two rows of buttons on the bottom.

it knock my computer out for a day

To start with, I do not use only Ableton, so to me, the challenge is to have devices that can work with different DAW.

This one just blew me away; it is thin, well built; the buttons are rocking a lot, but nothing too bad; you won't find the same firmness of an MPC pad, so if you like that style and feel, you may not find the same in the launchpad mini.
Responsiveness of the pads is great, color is bright and can be reduced/increased, based on your preferences.

As far as functionalities, it works with Ableton of course; and it has 3 configurable modes, which is the best part of the device. You can assign a drumpad , a scale, a full keyboard or sliders and faders to the 64 pads; I found the faders being just a gimmick, so I am not using the buttons in that way.
But if you think that you can set up 64 buttons as CC messages or program controls, this is huge; and imagine you have 3 "pages" to save those settings, so you have 64x3 buttons available to customize macros from your favorite DAW.

I set it up with Cubase and Studio one, and used all 3 modes as custom, since I don't care to have neither 4x16 drumpads, nor a 4 octave keyboard; so I set one custom mode for each DAW, while the third mode is common to both (like mute, solo, arm track controls and so on.), and it works great.

It is very small and fits great on my desk, with my other gear; I was skeptic since I knew that the launchpad is fundamentally a midi controller for Ableton live; but it works with anything, and you can really customize it as you see fit, with the Novation editor, and save profiles.

Best 100 dollars ever spent