Ableton has announced the Launchpad, a dedicated controller for its Live music production software. The unit sports a 64-button grid with color-coding, separate scene and function buttons, two customizable user modes, and control modes for Session view and the Live mixer.

The device is Automap-enabled, and can be assigned to several different purposes such as drumpads or effects. Up to six Launchpads can daisy-chained, providing over 400 buttons. Each controller ships with a copy of Live 8 Launchpad Edition, and 1GB of sound content.

The hardware is expected in stores November 1st, with an estimated price of $199. It will require Live 7 or higher, along with Mac OS X 10.3.9. An Intel processor and 1GB of RAM are recommended.