Novation has launched FLpad and FLpad Mini, two 8x8 pad controllers co-developed with FL Studio maker Image-Line. Novation calls them the first grid controllers built specifically for FL Studio, and they're designed around the DAW's Channel Rack for a fast, groovebox-style way of making beats.
Both are available now from the FLpad product page. FLpad Mini costs $139.99 / £99.99, and the full-size FLpad was announced at $219.99 / £179.99.
Launchpad shape, new insides
FLpad borrows the form factor of Novation's Launchpad range, but Novation says the user interface, firmware, and DAW scripts are all new and written for FL Studio. It follows the company's two generations of FLkey keyboards, which were also built with Image-Line.
Both models have 64 RGB-backlit pads and a row of dedicated buttons for navigation, transport, undo and redo, quantise, tempo, and FL Studio's Score Log, which recovers MIDI you played but didn't record. Everything works out of the box, and Novation Components lets you build up to four Custom Modes of your own.
What you can do from the grid
- Make beats in the Channel Rack by selecting and triggering samples straight from the color-coded pads.
- Step-sequence up to four instruments at once, then shape individual notes with FL Studio's Graph Editor from the pads.
- Finger drum with dedicated layouts for FPC, Slicex, and Fruity Slicer.
- Play basslines, chords, and melodies in Note view, either locked to a scale or chromatically.
- Build tracks with Patterns, with a view for creating, selecting, clearing, and duplicating them.
- Mix the Channel Rack by turning the grid into a row of faders, with mute and pan available on Shift.
For now, FLpad controls Patterns as part of its Channel Rack integration but not FL Studio's Playlist view. Novation says it's open to feedback on deeper Playlist control.
FLpad vs FLpad Mini
The main difference is the pads. The full-size FLpad has velocity-sensitive pads for more expressive drumming and playing, while FLpad Mini has smaller fixed-velocity pads for tight desks and travel. Both are bus-powered.
- FLpad Mini: 64 mini fixed-velocity pads, four Custom Modes, 180 x 180 x 15 mm, 0.38 kg.
- FLpad: 64 full-size velocity-sensitive pads, four Custom Modes, 240 x 240 x 18 mm, 0.83 kg.
FLpad sends polyphonic aftertouch, which FL Studio doesn't use by default but Custom Modes can pass to other software and hardware. Through Custom Modes, either model also works as a generic MIDI controller in other DAWs, though Novation points Ableton Live and Logic users toward Launchpad for deeper control. FLpad can run alongside an FLkey, and it works as a basic MIDI controller in FL Studio Mobile.
Software bundle
Each FLpad comes with six months of FL Studio Producer Edition, plus UVI Prime 8+, Klevgrand Slammer and LUXE, three GForce synths, and finger-drumming lessons in Melodics.
Price and availability
FLpad and FLpad Mini were announced on 1 October 2026 and are available now from Novation and authorized retailers. Launch pricing is $139.99 / £99.99 for FLpad Mini and $219.99 / £179.99 for FLpad. More coverage is in Sound On Sound's FLpad news story and MusicRadar's launch report.
Images in this article are from Novation's FLpad product pages.