Aaron Leese from Stagecraft Software has released this video about a new Novation Launchpad synth hack, which alters the layout of the Launchpad and, in his words, “makes it more playable” by quantizing the pads to be scales and arpeggios.

With the Novation Launchpad Pro, Novation has open sourced its “firmware”; Leese explains that “it’s not technically the firmware but an API that gives you enough low-level control to be dangerous (and not to yourself). We spent a long weekend hacking and came up with some promising results.”

This hack also has “mixer” mode, and “session” mode, which he says is “a lot like using Ableton [Live],” among others. A full product, in both plugin and standalone form, will be released in December.

Leese says the project is close to completed, but “we are still running a beta program so anyone who wants a free copy can get it this week.”

Here’s a more detailed tutorial on setting up the Launchpad quantizing player plug-in, using Ableton with a LaunchPad MK2 or the LaunchPad Pro:

Finally, Stagecraft has also recently updated their Addiction Synth with added features like preset sharing (you can save/share presets in the synth with users online), improved sound quality, added PWM and advanced automation, among other features.