Today, Chase Bliss introduces TEMPO – a free alternate firmware for their CHOMPI portable sampler that turns it into an intuitive groovebox.
Here’s what they have to say about it:
“The new TEMPO firmware will change your CHOMPI into an entirely new instrument. It’s an alternate imagining of what CHOMPI would be like as a groovebox – a syncable pattern-maker that is hands-on and as intuitive as possible.
And, importantly, it’s free.”
The TEMPO firmware is available now as a free download. The CHOMPI is available for $599 USD.
Today, Novation unveils the latest generation of its Launch Control MIDI controller, Launch Control 3. It’s a compact, fader-less alternative to the Launch Control XL 3 released in 2025.
The Launch Control 3 offers key features of the Launch Control XL 3, but with a smaller footprint, and sports the same sleek black aesthetic and OLED display, enabling you to preview parameter names and values as you’re tweaking controls.
Like the XL 3, Launch Control 3 finds the controller transitioning from a primarily Ableton-focused device into one that’s aimed at users of any DAW, and those working with hardware-based DAWless setups, bringing updated hardware, improved connectivity and a visual refresh to this popular control surface.
The controller is equipped with 16 endless rotary encoders that each sit above an RGB LED indicating its position via colour and brightness levels, and below these you’ll find a row of eight assignable, LED-equipped buttons.
You can connect it via USB or MIDI I/O and adjust parameters using 16 endless rotary encoders, eight assignable buttons, and an OLED display.
Launch Control 3 expands the controller’s connectivity with a USB-C connection and the addition of three 5-pin DIN MIDI ports – In, Out and Out2/Thru – making it possible to hook up with external gear and DAWless setups.
Novation’s Components software can be used to program and store up to seven Custom Modes combining assignments across multiple devices, which can be recalled later when using the device standalone.
The controller offers out-of-the-box integration with several major DAWs, including Ableton Live, Logic Pro, FL Studio, Cubase, and Bitwig, and supports HUI integration.
Launch Control 3 comes with a full bundle of software to get you started, including both Ableton Live Lite and Cubase LE, along with Klevgrand’s Fosfat, a “transient fertilizer” that promises to bring life to drums and percussion, Baby Audio’s Parallel Aggressor, a parallel compression tool, and Output’s Movement, a rhythmic multi-effects plugin.
Features:
16 endless encoders
Eight assignable buttons
MIDI routing via USB and 5-pin DIN
Store up to seven Custom Modes
The Novation Launch Control 3 is available now, priced at $169.99/£129.99.
303 Day: Today, Michigan Synth Works has introduced the LRB-303, an open source version of the classic Roland TB-303 Computer Controlled Bassline Synthesizer.
It’s a full-size clone, controlled by the OS-303 Open Source TB-303 Processor. This chip is a drop-in replacement for the u650 processor used in the TB-303, TR-606, and TR-808. It runs an open-source version of the 303 firmware.
