The lights do, indeed, look substantially brighter, and this should go a long way to silencing folk who thought this was an issue with the original. Sadly, though, the devices on the stand at the show weren't connected to the right software to either test this out, or show it off.

The new iteration claims to be have an improved refresh rate, which means jumping between these user modes should now be a much smoother ride. There are different modes, so that you can cleverly use columns of the pads almost like faders (slide your finger up the squares, watch the lights follow). First and foremost, it's still an Ableton controller, with those 64 multi-colored pads letting you control your sessions all from the small, lightweight device. But, given that that was four or so years ago, it doesn't hurt to remind ourselves. We took a few minutes to get to know the Launchpad S a little better, which you can see in our video past the break.%Gallery-185229%Īs you can imagine, the Launchpad S is pretty much identical to the original it revises. So far so good, but we're really thinking that S stands for 'software.' Why? Because thanks to standards compliant MIDI implementation, the Launchpad S is now plug-and-play with a whole host more applications, not least core-MIDI iOS apps such as the popular FL Studio Mobile. It's out with the original's black, and in with an almost metallic gray. One other superficial change - perhaps more to give it its own sense of identity than anything else - is a change of color. It's also worth noting these pads are entirely USB-powered, making it trickier than simply sucking down more juice. It could also be for superior lights, as the brightness has been dialed up in response to user feedback.

What does the S stand for? We're not entirely sure, but it could be for speedy, as Novation has ramped up the refresh rate to give a snappier response when you switch between modes. It appears, however, the firm's decided it was long overdue a refresh, so that's exactly what it's done. It was 2009 when Novation's Launchpad turned the Ableton world onto its simplistic charms. A couple of years is a pretty good run in MIDI controller-land.

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