Sample Placement
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Samples: Sample placement
Sample placement is how individual sounds are mapped onto the launchpad. This section will clear out any doubts you might have on the legitimacy of most launchpad performances on the internet.
The first part of making samples is adding an instrument rack in Ableton (samples are only made in Ableton. Other softwares such as FL Studio can technically be used, but it is very under-explored and not recommended). This instrument rack is essentially the parent group for every 'page' in a launchpad project.
A page is comparable to chapters in a book (Dαsher, 2025). Each page loads in a new set of samples, allowing for the same button to be used multiple times.
Using a more advanced technique called multi-sampling, multiple samples can be layered on a single button on the same page. This guide will not go into the fine details however, but I do have future plans to make a tutorial that will explore and explain every part of a launchpad performance, and teach you how to make one too!
Pages can be changed by mapping the instrument rack to the side buttons using a 'chain selector'. launchpad projects can have up to 128 pages, but given the physical limit of the launchpad, it is not recommended. Besides, no song would require 128 pages anyways. The average number of pages in launchpad projects is 8.
There are a few launchpad projects that go beyond 8 pages. Some launchpad models only have 8 side buttons to map these pages on, so you might be wondering how people with these launchpads can play these project.
Using new max4live (M4L) plugins, pages can be automated and set to switch after the last button in a page is pressed. This is widely used in new launchpad performances.
The next step in assigning samples is by adding a drum rack to the instrument rack. This drum rack holds the samples for one page (or more, depending on how it's set up). Each drum rack has a unique chain value that corresponds to its page number.
A drum rack is arranged in 4x4 grid sections. The middle 4 sections are used as they are the main pads of the launchpad. From bottom to top, the sections on the drum rack correspond to the bottom left, top left, bottom right, and top right quadrants on the launchpad respectively.
Samples can be assigned as easy as dragging and dropping them into each grid on the drum rack. and thats basically it!
There are more settings that can be tweaked to make the samples sound better. This includes disabling 'snap' and setting the fade-in and fade-out timings to 0.1ms. These allow your samples to flow from one to another without any audible gaps or pops when played perfectly.
Once you are done with the samples, you are finally ready to move onto making the lights!
Next section: Introduction to Lights