Overall, this is a rock-solid addition to any Ableton-based studio setup. For example, on Operator the banks include oscillators, filters, filter envelopes, etc. I was pleasantly surprised to see that in many cases for Live's devices, these banks are thoughtfully organized. As you switch between banks, the status bar provides a helpful tip into what type of parameters are in each one. If the selected device has more than eight parameters, you can switch to them by again holding the Device button and then using the Track Control buttons to switch between the banks of parameters for the current device. We've already covered how you can select other tracks via the XL, but you can also navigate to select other devices within that track by holding the Device button while using the Track Select buttons. By default these knobs map to the first eight parameters of the first device on the track that's currently selected within Live. This transforms the third row of knobs from controlling pan and puts them on device parameter duty instead, with the LEDs underneath the knobs switching from red to green to indicate this. Thankfully, Novation also built in support for device control via the Device button.
If the Launch Control XL was released as a dedicated mixer controller only, it would still be a functional (if a bit boring) offering. To be fair, I have to assume that's a limitation on Ableton's side rather than a conscious design decision by Novation. It would be nice to have the same box outline on the mixer that Live provides for clip navigation-I found myself lost more than once when trying to mix a large set.
The LEDs on the controller indicate when you've reached the end of the available channels of the current set, but within Live the only visual cue of what's being currently controlled is a small line of text in the status bar at the bottom of the Live window. The Track Select left and right buttons on the Launch Control XL allow you to scroll through the Live mixer channels, similar to the way the Launchpad can scroll through the session view. (Yellow is mute, green is solo and red is record arm.)Īs you might expect, you're not limited to controlling just the first eight tracks within Live. This allows these Track Control buttons to toggle the mute, solo and record-arm buttons for each track within Live, with the multicolored LEDs behind the buttons providing helpful visual cues as to which mode is currently active. But the second row can be switched between three different modes, via buttons off to the right. The first row is locked to a single function: track focus. Sitting below the faders are another two rows of buttons. The third row controls pan by default, and as one might expect, the faders map to Live's volume faders. The top two rows of knobs are mapped to the mixer sends, with the ability to control more than two sends via the Send Select arrow buttons off to the right. Novation's integration for Live is pretty straightforward here: the three rows of knobs and eight 60 mm faders automatically map to control Live's mixer by default. Ableton actually configured itself when it detected the Launch Control XL connected to my system. It's not all bad news, though-installation on the current version of Live could not be easier.
The obvious downside is that anyone still sticking with older versions of Live won't benefit from the dynamic integration you can still map it like a normal MIDI controller. Due to the way Novation achieves their Live integration-with integrated scripts that ship with Live-the Launch Control XL is only supported on version 9.1.3 or later. Novation suggests that the two can be combined to achieve a new level of hands-on control over Ableton Live. The Launch Control XL expands on the original Launch Control design, stretching it so it shares the same dimensions of the LaunchPad S (239 x 239 x 22 mm). The latest is the Launch Control XL, a mixer-style MIDI controller with built-in integration for Ableton Live. Last year they unleashed a barrage of new devices, raising the number of controllers sharing the Launch family name to eight. Despite its raging success, Novation held off from expanding the Launch line for four years, a surprisingly long stretch. It has even served as a springboard to viral popularity for some musicians, Madeon being a prominent example. Since its release in 2009, the unassuming little device has been spotted in countless artists' setups, both live and in the studio.
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