Novation Launch Control XL 3

Novation’s popular MIDI controller gets a new lease of life.

Mixer‑style MIDI control surfaces occupy a middle ground in the modern studio. Too basic for those who want deep two‑way integration with their DAW, too computer‑dependent for those who want to control hardware directly. Novation’s Launch Control XL has lived in that space for over a decade, doing one thing — giving DAW users a bank of faders and knobs — reliably and affordably. The third generation has its sights set higher.

The Launch Control XL 3 is a mixer‑style MIDI control surface designed for anyone who wants hands‑on control of their DAW, their hardware, or both at once. Like its predecessors, it offers eight MIDI ‘channel strips’, each consisting of three rotary controls, a fader and two buttons.

What’s New?

The original Launch Control XL arrived in 2014 and quickly became a go‑to controller for Ableton users. Its familiar mixing desk layout made it a practical, affordable controller. The Mk2 followed a few years later with just one upgrade: RGB LEDs replacing the original’s three‑colour buttons. Useful, certainly, but hardly revolutionary. Beyond that, the two versions were essentially the same. Both were USB‑only, neither had a display, and both depended entirely on a connected computer to function.

The XL 3 adds a slew of improvements. The potentiometers are gone, replaced by 24 endless encoders. On a traditional pot, moving a knob to a position that doesn’t match the current parameter value causes an unwanted jump. With endless encoders, that problem disappears. You can switch modes, change presets, come back to the same knob, and trust that nothing is going to lurch unexpectedly. The faders solve the same problem: firmware 1.1 introduced fader pickup in Custom modes, meaning the hardware value must first catch the software value before it takes control, eliminating the same kind of sudden jump from the faders.

Aesthetically, the XL 3 has ditched the Mk2’s budget design for something far more classy. It looks great, though some of the legends on the front panel are quite small and hard to read in low light. The build feels solid — no flex in the chassis, consistent resistance across the controls, nothing that rattles or wobbles. Novation have also moved to...