Plug & Play Performance: Launchpad X Native Grid Integration is Here

If you’ve ever performed electronic music live, you know that keeping your hands on the keyboard and mouse is a quick way to kill the vibe. When you're in the zone, you want tactile controls. You want pads you can strike, physical mute buttons you can slap, and a grid that lets you trigger patterns and launch scenes on the fly.

Usually, setting up a hardware grid controller to talk to your sequencer is a chore. It involves downloading proprietary drivers, mapping endless MIDI CC codes, and configuring MIDI routing matrices. By the time you get it working, your creative spark is gone.

That is why we are thrilled to introduce Native Novation Launchpad X Integration in closeby.1.

No drivers, no installations, no mappings. Just plug your Launchpad X into your computer, open closeby.1 in your browser, and watch the grid instantly light up. The sequencer automatically configures the controller into Programmer Mode, turning your Launchpad into a fully integrated multi-track grid, expressive keyboard, and pattern clip launcher.

Direct Control, Three Expressive Layouts

With your Launchpad connected, you can switch between three tailored performance layouts using the top row of circular buttons on the device:

1. Multi-Track Step Grid (Session Mode)

Pressing the Session button displays a bird's-eye view of your step grids across all 8 tracks simultaneously.

Tactile Editing: The 8 rows correspond to your 8 sequencer tracks, and the 8 columns represent your steps. Striking a pad toggles a note instantly on the grid.
Note Duration Visuals: Active notes light up in your track’s color, while sustained notes glow dimly across the grid. Empty steps remain lit in a dim white so you never lose your position.
Mixer Mutes: The right-hand column of circular buttons act as instant mute toggles. Slap the Volume button to mute Track 1, or Record Arm to mute Track 8.

2. Expressive Note Keyboard (Note Mode)

Pressing the Note button turns the grid into a pressure-sensitive keyboard mapped to your selected track.

Melodic Synths: If your track is a synth, the grid displays a custom scale with root notes glowing bright white and scale notes highlighted in soft blue. Transpose octaves up or down instantly using the Up (▲) and Down (▼) arrow buttons.
Drum Pads: If your track is a drum machine, the bottom-left 16 pads turn into a standard 4x4 drum kit. Striking pads inserts beats directly into the step sequencer.
Fast Focus: The right-hand circular buttons let you jump focus between track channels instantly.

3. Live Pattern Clip Launcher (Custom Mode)

Pressing the Custom button transforms the Launchpad into an interactive clip launcher, turning rows into tracks and columns into Patterns A to H.

Quantized Launching: Tap a pad to trigger a pattern. If the sequencer is playing, the pad will flash amber and queue up, transitioning in perfect sync at the end of the current measure.
Launch Scenes: The right-hand side buttons trigger entire vertical columns (Scenes) at once, letting you launch sections (like Intro, Chorus, or Outro) across all tracks simultaneously.
Safe Fills: Unpopulated empty patterns are locked out and unlit to prevent accidental silence, but the next empty slot in the sequence glows in dim white, allowing you to select and fill it with notes safely during a live jam.

Under the Hood: Auto-Following Playheads

We didn't just map the pads; we integrated the sequencer's timeline engine directly with the hardware:

Follow Playhead: When FOLLOW is enabled in the Web UI, the Launchpad step grid page dynamically scrolls during playback, shifting on 8-step boundaries to keep the active playhead in view.
Manual Override: The moment you press the Left (◀) or Right (▶) buttons to view or edit a different page, the playhead following automatically pauses so you can work on static steps without being yanked back.
Mute Filtering: When a track is muted, its note indicators in the step grid turn to a dim red accent, giving you instant visual feedback on what is active versus muted.

How to Get Started

If you own a Novation Launchpad X:

Connect the Launchpad X via USB.
Open closeby.1.
The browser will prompt for MIDI permissions. Click Allow.
Tap the CONFIG LPX button in the top right header to adjust settings, toggle modes, or read the full Novation Launchpad X Controller Guide.

Happy jamming!