Novation Launchkey 61 MK3 MIDI Keyboard Controller AMS-LAUNCHKEY-61-MK3

User Guide - Transcript

• Page 2 - English - : Trade Marks The Novation trade mark is owned by Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd All other brand product and company names and any other registered names or trade marks mentioned in this manual belong to their respective owners Disclaimer Novation has taken all possible steps to ensure that the information given here is both correct and complete In no event can Novation accept any liability or responsibility for any loss or damage to the owner of the equipment any third party or any equipment which may result from use of this manual or the equipment which it describes The information provided in this document may be modified at any time without prior warning Specifications and appearance may differ from those listed and illustrated Copyright and Legal Notices Novation is a registered trade mark of Focusrite Audio Engineering Limited Launchkey MK3 is a trademark of Focusrite Audio Engineering Plc 2021 Focusrite Audio Engineering Limited All rights reserved Novation A division of Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd Windsor House Turnpike Road Cressex Business Park High Wycombe Buckinghamshire HP12 3FX United Kingdom Tel 44 1494 462246 Fax 44 1494 459920 email salesnovationmusiccom Web wwwnovationmusiccom Caution The normal operation of this product may be affected by a strong electrostatic discharge ESD In the event of this happening simply reset the unit by removing and then replugging the USB cable Normal operation should return User Guide version V11
• Page 3 - English - : Contents 10 Introduction 5 11 Key Features 5 12 Box Contents 6 13 Getting Started 6 14 Support 7 15 Model Specific Features 7 16 Hardware Overview 7 17 Getting Connected 10 171 Connecting Launchkey with a Computer 10 172 Connecting Launchkey with External MIDI Enabled Instruments 10 20 Working with Ableton Live 11 201 Installation 11 202 Setup 11 21 Session Mode 13 211 Launching Clips 15 212 Launching Scenes 16 213 Stop Solo Mute 16 214 Record 17 215 Capture MIDI 17 216 Quantise 17 217 Click 17 218 Undo17 219 Arm Select 61 amp 49 Key Models Only 18 22 Drum Mode Playing and Recording Drums 18 23 Using Ableton Lives Mixer 19 231 Pots 19 232 Faders 49 amp 61 Key Models Only 20 24 Device Mode Navigating and Controlling Devices 20 241 Device Select21 242 Device Lock 22 25 Transport Functions 23 30 Standalone Features 24 31 Grid 24 311 Drum Mode 24 32 Chord Modes 24 321 Scale Chord Mode 24 322 User Chord Mode 25 323 Fixed Chord27 33 Scale Mode 28
• Page 4 - English - : 34 Custom Modes 29 341 Pads 30 342 Pots 30 343 Faders 49 and 61 key models only 30 35 Arpeggiator 30 351 Arpeggiator Rotary Pots 31 352 Arp Modes 31 353 Arp Rates 32 354 Arp Octaves 33 355 Arp Rhythms 33 356 Latch 34 357 Arp Control Lock 34 36 Octave Buttons35 37 Settings 35 38 Pot Pickup 36 39 Navigation Mode Button 36 310 Strum Mode 36 3101 Arp Controls in Strum Mode 37 40 Working with Other DAWs 38 41 Logic 38 411 Setup 38 412 Session Mode 39 413 Pots Knobs 40 413 Faders 49 amp 61 Key Models Only41 414 Arm Select 61 amp 49 Key Models Only 42 415 Transport Functions 42 416 Navigation 42 42 Reason 43 421 Setup 43 422 Transport Control 44 423 Rotary Knobs 44 424 Pads Session Mode 44 425 Navigation 44 426 Preset Browsing 44 43 Working with HUI Pro Tools Cubase Studio One etc 45 431 Setup 45 4311 Pro Tools 45 4311 Cubase 45 4311 Studio One 45 432 Pad Session Mode 45 433 Navigation 45 434 Controlling the Mixer 45 435 Faders and Fader Buttons 49 amp 61 Key Models Only 46 The faders always control track volumes for the selected bank of tracks 46 436 Transport Buttons 46 The transport buttons listed below will function as described when used with HUI 46 50 Custom Modes and Components 47
• Page 5 - English - : 10 Introduction Launchkey MK3 is Novations intuitive and fully integrated MIDI keyboard controller for making tracks in Ableton Live designed to give you everything you need to create and play your music Made for creators of all abilities Launchkey gives you inspirational tools to expand your musical vocabulary Launchkey gives you unrivalled access to Ableton Lives functions including Capture MIDI track arm quantise click and loop controls Not using Ableton Live No problem Launchkey also has full integration with Logic and Reason plus out of the box functionality with other DAWs including Studio One Cubase and Pro Tools via HUI Inspirational features include Scale Chord and Strum modes and a powerful arpeggiator which together extend your musical capabilities and let you create in new ways Scale Mode transposes keys and pads played to notes in the scale selected chord modes let you trigger complex chords with one finger while the powerful arpeggiator gets melodies moving Launchkey also works in standalone the fullsize fivepin MIDI output works with any MIDIcompatible device Use Novation Components to update firmware and configure Custom Modes We recommend updating the firmware right away so your Launchkey is up to date and fully featured 11 Key Features Designed for Ableton Live immediate access to all the controls you need Additional DAW support Full integration with Logic and Reason out of the box functionality with Studio One Cubase Pro Tools and more via HUI Produce and perform 25 37 49 or 61note velocity sensitive keyboard and 16 velocity sensitive RGB backlit pads Shape your sound tweak instruments and effects to perfection using eight rotary encoders and 9 faders Launchkey 49 and 61 only Automatically map scales to the keys never hit a wrong note Get creative three chord modes allow you to trigger chords with one finger the powerful arpeggiator gets melodies moving Transport and mixer control directly operate playback recording pans mutes and sends Connect to your hardware 5pin MIDI Out works with any MIDIcompatible device Control anything MIDI create custom mappings for any performance or studio rig using Novation Components Make music immediately Ableton Live Lite virtual instruments and effects plugins and sample packs included
• Page 6 - English - : 12 Box Contents Launchkey 25 37 49 or 61 USB TypeA to B cable 15 meters Safety Instructions 13 Getting Started The Easy Start Tool provides a stepbystep guide to setting up your Launchkey This simple online tool will guide you through the process of registering the device and accessing the software bundle When connecting Launchkey to your computer it will appear as a Mass Storage Device MSD just like a USB drive Open the drive and then open Click Here to Get Startedurl This will open the Easy Start Tool in your web browser Alternatively visit our website to register your Launchkey and access the software bundle
• Page 7 - English - : 14 Support For additional information and support visit the Novation Help Centre 15 Model Specific Features There are 25 37 49 and 61 key versions of Launchkey The differences between the devices are outlined below and model specific features are noted throughout this guide Model Launchkey 25 Launchkey 37 Launchkey 49 Launchkey 61 Velocity Sensitive keys 25 37 49 61 Faders 9 9 Fader Track Buttons 9 9 Arm Select Button 16 Hardware Overview
• Page 8 - English - : 1 LCD Display Shows the device status parameter values and lets you navigate through menus 2 Shift Button Enables access to secondary Shift functions which are shown in grey text on the hardware 3 Settings Button Opens the settings menu on the screen A reference table of Settings options can be found in section 37 4 Buttons Navigates up and down through rows of pads Used for clips and drum racks in Live chords and more 5 Track Buttons Navigates through tracks in your DAW 6 Button Navigation Mode Pressing the button will put the Launchkey into a navigation mode useful for browsing samples and presets 7 Fixed Chord Button Stores a chord that can be played anywhere on the keyboard While holding the button press and release the keys that you wish to be part of the fixed chord 8 Arp Button Turns on and off Launchkeys inbuilt arpeggiator Long press also locks the pot and pad Arp controls to on 9 Scale Button Turns on and off Launchkeys Scale Mode 10 Octave Buttons Transposes the keyboard up or down across 8 octaves C2 to C5 Pressing both buttons sets the transposition amount back to 0 11 Pitch Wheel Bends the pitch of the note being played 12 Modulation Wheel Modulates software hardware parameters 2 3
• Page 9 - English - : 19 Faders Launchkey 49 and 61 only Control various parameters using 8 available modes Device Volume Send A Send B and 4 Custom Modes The 9th fader controls Master volume in your DAW excluding HUI 20 Fader Buttons 49 amp 61 key models only Control various parameters using 8 available modes Device Volume Send A Send B and 4 Custom Modes 21 Arm Select Button 49 amp 61 Key Models Only Changes the functionality of the Fader Buttons in your DAW to let you select and record arm tracks 13 Pots Controls various parameters using 8 available modes Device Volume Pan Sends and four Custom Modes The first five pots also control Arp parameters as secondary functions 14 Pads Triggers clips and play drum racks in Ableton Live using Session and Drum Modes Send custom MIDI messages using four available Custom Modes Trigger chords in Scale Chord and User Chord Modes 15 Device Select Selects the device you want to control in Ableton Live using the pads 16 Device Lock Locks the currently selected device controls to the pots in Ableton Live even when you navigate to a different track 17 gt Button Scene Launch Launches full rows of clips in Ableton Live 18 Stop Solo Mute Button Turns the bottom row of pads into track stop solo or mute buttons 20 21
• Page 10 - English - : 22 Capture Midi Capture any recently played MIDI notes in your DAW supported by Ableton Live and Logic 23 Quantise Triggers the quantise function in Ableton Live and Logic to snap notes to the grid 24 Click Toggles Logic and Lives metronome on and off 25 Undo Triggers Logic and Lives undo function 26 Play Record Stop Loop Controls the playback in your DAW 23 24 25 17 Getting Connected 171 Connecting Launchkey with a Computer Your Launchkey is USB buspowered meaning it turns on as soon as you connect it to your computer with a USB cable When connecting Launchkey for the first time visit Components to make sure you have the latest firmware This will make sure you have all the latest features enabled Note When connecting Launchkey to a Mac you may be shown the Keyboard Setup Assistant This is because Launchkey also functions as a computer keyboard device in order to enable the Navigate functionality The Keyboard Setup Assistant can simply be dismissed 172 Connecting Launchkey with External MIDI Enabled Instruments If you want to use the 5pin DIN socket for MIDI output on your Launchkey without a computer you can power the unit with a standard USB power supply 5V DC minimum 500mA
• Page 11 - English - : 20 Working with Ableton Live Your Launchkey is designed to work seamlessly with Ableton Live offering deep integration through powerful production and performance controls right out of the box In addition you can modify your Launchkey to suit your needs with Custom Modes Launchkeys functionality with Ableton Live is detailed below 201 Installation If you already own Ableton Live 10 then all you need to do is open the program and plug in your Launchkey If you dont yet own Ableton Live 10 register your Launchkey at novationmusiccom register to download and install your included copy of Ableton Live 10 Lite If you have never used Ableton Live before we recommend visiting our Easy Start Tool see Getting Started There youll find videos covering installation the softwares basic features and how to get started making music with your Launchkey 202 Setup With Ableton Live installed plug your Launchkey into your Mac or PCs USB port When you open Live your Launchkey will be automatically detected and enter Session Mode If you press Shift on your Launchkey your pad lights should look like the image below The top row of pads blue select behaviour or Mode of the Pots above while the lower row of pads green select the behaviour or mode of the pads If a pad is red then that mode is assigned to the faders 49 amp 61 key models only If your pads do not resemble the image above youll need to configure Lives Control Surface Preferences To do this find the LinkMIDI Preferences menu in Ableton Live
• Page 12 - English - : Windows Options gt Preferences gt LinkMIDI Mac Live gt Preferences gt LinkMIDI In the LinkMIDI tab youll need to copy the settings shown above First select your Launchkey MK3 from the Control Surface menu Then under Input select Launchkey MK3 LKMK3 DAW OUT or Launchkey MK3 MIDI IN2 Windows for output select Launchkey MK3 LKMK3 DAW IN Finally match the Track Sync and Remote settings If youre having trouble getting your Launchkey working with Ableton Live be sure to visit our Easy Start Tool for video explanations
• Page 13 - English - : 21 Session Mode Session mode is designed to control Ableton Lives Session View To access Session mode on your Launchkey hold Shift and press the Session pad bottom left pad The Session pad should brighten like this Session View is a grid that consists of clips tracks and scenes shown below Scene Clip Track
• Page 14 - English - : Launchkeys Session mode provides an 8x2 grid of the clips in your Session View Example of Launchkeys pads in Session mode Scenes are rows of clips Launching a scene will launch all clips in that row This means that you can arrange clips into horizontal groups across tracks to form a song structure launching scene after scene to progress through a song Again access Session mode on your Launchkey by holding Shift and pressing the Session pad the bottom left pad In Session mode the pads represent the grid of clips found inside the coloured rectangle in Ableton Lives Session View The image below shows such a rectangle orange extending from the leftmost track to the Master track Clips are typically loops that contain MIDI notes or audio Tracks represent virtual instruments or audio tracks MIDI clips placed on instrument tracks will play back on the instrument that is assigned to that track
• Page 15 - English - : Any changes you make to clip position or colour within Ableton Live will be represented in the Session mode of Launchkey Unlit pads indicate empty clip slots You can navigate around Session View by pressing the and the track buttons More specifically you can move the currently selected grid of clips inside Ableton Lives coloured rectangle up or down The button moves the grid of clips up one row The button moves the grid of clips down one row The track buttons will select the adjacent left or right track This will automatically arm the track so that it is ready to receive MIDI 211 Launching Clips Pressing pads will launch clips in the corresponding location in your Session View Pads will pulse green to indicate that a clip is playing Pressing the pad again will relaunch the clip and pressing an empty pad will stop playback on that track How fast clips stop or relaunch is set by Ableton Lives Global Quantization Menu located at the top of the Live screen By default this is set to 1 bar but can go as fast as 132 notes or as slow as 8 bars It can also be set to None so clips react immediately
• Page 16 - English - : 212 Launching Scenes Pressing the Scene Launch button gt launches scenes in Ableton Live This means that all of the clips in the top row of the pad grid will start together 213 Stop Solo Mute While in Session mode it is possible to switch the functionality of the bottom 8 pads so that they no longer launch clips This is done with the Stop Solo Mute button The Stop Solo Mute button toggles between four different states which affect tracks in the following ways Stop Red In this state pressing a pad in the bottom row will stop any clip on the corresponding track The red pads will glow dimly if tracks are not playing Solo Blue Pressing the pads will solo the corresponding tracks meaning only tracks with Solo on will be heard The pads dimly glow if tracks are not soloed ie they are silent Soloed tracks glow a steady bright blue
• Page 17 - English - : Mute Yellow Pressing pads will Mute the corresponding tracks The pads will dimly glow for muted tracks leaving pads for unmuted tracks at their original brightness and colour Clips Multi the fourth press after toggling through Stop Solo and Mute changes the function of bottom pads back to the default Session mode where the bottom row of pads will again represent clips 214 Record Pressing this button triggers Session Record while in Session Mode This will allow you to record what youre playing to new clips as well as overdub existing clips 215 Capture MIDI Pressing this button triggers the Capture MIDI function This allows you to retrospectively capture any recently played MIDI notes in the recordarmed track This means that if you are not recording but you play something that sounds great you can use Capture MIDI to send it straight into a clip 216 Quantise This button will quantise MIDI notes in the currently active clip on the currently selected track This snaps the MIDI notes to the grid helping to keep them in time with the beat 217 Click Turns Abletons metronome onoff 218 Undo Triggers the undo function
• Page 18 - English - : 219 Arm Select 61 amp 49 Key Models Only The Arm Select button highlighted in red below is used to set the functionality of the 8 Fader Buttons highlighted below in blue to either arm tracks enabling recording or to select a track While set to Arm the buttons light up red when a track is armed for recording and dim red when not Unlit buttons show that no track is associated with the fader When set to Select the colour of the buttons will match the tracks in Live Pushing a Fader Button highlighted blue will select that track 22 Drum Mode Playing and Recording Drums To enter Drum Mode hold the Shift button and press the Drum pad 2nd from the bottom left Drum mode transforms your Launchkeys pads into velocitysensitive drum pads If a Drum Rack is loaded onto the selected Live track and your Launchkey is in Drum mode the pads light up the colour of the track When played the pads will light up green These pads will play whatever Drum Rack pads are visible on your computer screen Pressing the buttons scrolls up down through a Drum Racks bank of 128 pads each press moves up or down the rack in banks of 16
• Page 19 - English - : When using Abletons Drum Racks Drum mode will apart from triggering sounds select the associated Drum Rack pad within a Drum Rack This means that on release the last played Drum Rack pad lights up white and Ableton Live shows the selected Drum Rack pad on the screen 23 Using Ableton Lives Mixer The 8 Pots and 8 Faders 49 amp 61 key models only provide hands on control over Ableton Lives mixer This allows you to control the Volume Pan Send A and Send B levels of the tracks in your project 231 Pots The 8 pots knobs can provide handson rotary control over Ableton Lives mixer components To prevent any sudden jumps in control when you start turning the pots we have implemented a Pot Pickup function this means that the pots will only start controlling the parameter once it has been moved to the position it states within Live For example if a parameter is set to 0 in Live you will need to turn the pot all the way to the leftmost limit for it to be picked up this can be turned off in Lives preferences When your Launchkey is connected to Live the pots will automatically enter Device Mode to assign the pots to Lives Mixer Volume Pan Sends hold the Shift button and press the labelled pads in the upper row 2311 Volume This mode allows you to control Track Volumes using the pots To select this mode hold the Shift button and press the Volume pad 2312 Pan Mode This Mode allows you to control Track Pan values using the pots To select this mode hold the Shift button and press the Pan pad
• Page 20 - English - : 2313 Sends Mode This Mode allows you to control Track Sends values using the pots To select this mode hold the Shift button and press the Sends pad On the first press the pots will be assigned to Send A on the second press they will be assigned to Send B Note a mode cannot be assigned to both the pots and the faders at the same time If a mode is already mapped to the Faders then the respective pad will appear red while Shift is held pressing a pad whilst in this state will not assign the Pots to that mode 232 Faders 49 amp 61 Key Models Only The 9 faders provide handson linear control over a range of Ableton Lives mixer parameters To select one of these modes hold the Shift button highlighted in red below and press the respective Fader button highlighted in blue below When your Launchkey is connected to Live the faders will default to Volume Mode In this mode the first 8 faders control Ableton Track Volumes The 9th Fader always controls the Master Volume no matter what mode is selected The faders can also be set to control the Send A Send B levels Note a Mode cannot be assigned to both the pots and the faders at the same time If a mode is already mapped to the pots then the respective Fader button will appear red while Shift is held pressing a Fader button whilst in this state will not assign the faders to that mode 24 Device Mode Navigating and Controlling Devices Device mode allows you to control an Ableton Device Ableton or 3rdparty instruments and effects on a Live track When your Launchkey is connected to Live the pots will automatically sync to the first device within the current Live track Control over devices can also be assigned to the Faders 49 amp 61 key models only to do this first ensure that the pots are not already assigned to Device mode a mode cannot be assigned to both pots and faders at the same time then hold the Shift button and press the 1st Fader button To reassign control over devices to the Pots hold the Shift button and press the first pad in the top row
• Page 21 - English - : If the Track contains an Effect or Instrument Rack then the assigned faders or pots will sync to the first racks 8 Macro Controls The image below shows an Instrument Rack preset called Percussion 1 In this example your Launchkeys 8 pots control a variety of important parameters including sample volumes stretch and start times as well as the DryWet values of Delay and Reverb effects If the Track does not contain a Rack then Device Mode will sync to a selection of 8 curated parameters of the first device To navigate between devices on a track containing multiple see Device Select Lock 241 Device Select The Device Select button allows you to navigate through devices on a track Press and hold this button to access this function The drum pads and arrow buttons will light up purple
• Page 22 - English - : The arrow buttons can be used to navigate through the devices The button going left and button moving to the right The pads allow you to choose which page of controls the area is controlling The screen displays which device is selected and the parameter being controlled 242 Device Lock The Device Lock button keeps the currently selected device and control bank locked to the controls even if you change the selected track The button is lit when this feature is active To turn device lock off press the Device Lock button again Selecting a new device whilst the Device Lock button is on will lock the control to the newly selected device
• Page 23 - English - : 25 Transport Functions The MIDI Buttons shown below provide key functionality for performing and recording with Ableton Live 251 Play Pressing this button will initiate playback of the track 252 Stop Pressing this button will stop playback of the track 253 Record Pressing this button triggers Session Record while in Session Mode This will allow you to record what youre playing to new clips as well as overdub existing clips 254 Loop Triggers Abletons Loop Switch
• Page 24 - English - : 30 Standalone Features 31 Grid The Grid is made up of the 2x8 velocity sensitive pads The standalone functions of the pads when Launchkey are detailed below 311 Drum Mode Hold Shift and press the Drum Mode pad second from bottom left to enter Drum Mode Whilst in this mode the velocity sensitive pads output MIDI notes from C1 to D2 and will be lit blue 32 Chord Modes 321 Scale Chord Mode Scale Chord Mode provides you with banks of predefined chords To access these banks simply press the Scale Chord pad while holding the Shift button Each row of pads will now contain a bank of chords The root key is C minor by default to change this see Scale Mode
• Page 25 - English - : The first and last pad of each row light up more brightly than the middle pads to indicate root chord position To navigate between pages of chords use the navigation buttons On the first page the top row of pads are lit blue and contain triads the bottom row of pads contains 7ths and is lit a darker blue Pressing the button will reveal a row of 9ths with the pads lit up in purple below this are 69ths and the pads will light up in pink When a pad is pressed it will light up green and return to its original colour when released To change the octave of the chords simply hold Shift and press the buttons these provide access to a range of 3 to 3 octaves 322 User Chord Mode In User Chord Mode up to 6 note chords can be assigned to each pad These chords will be saved to the Launchkeys internal memory and accessible between power cycles meaning that any assignments you make will still be available even after Launchkey is turned off and on again To enter User Chord Mode hold the Shift button and press the User Chord pad bottom row fourth from the left
• Page 26 - English - : To assign a chord to a pad simply press and hold the pad and press the notes that you want to assign from the keyboard Up to 6 notes can be assigned to each pad and can be input with individual pushes of the keys meaning you do not need to hold down all the notes at once so long as the pad is being held When a chord is assigned the pad will light up blue When the pad is pressed it will play the chord and light up green If no chord is assigned the pad will not be lit To delete a chord assignment from a pad simply hold the stopsolomute button the pads with assigned chords will turn red pressing a red pad will delete the assigned chord once deleted the pad will no longer be lit
• Page 27 - English - : The buttons can be used to transpose the chord bank in semitones between 12 and 12 any changes will be displayed on the screen 323 Fixed Chord Fixed Chord lets you play a chord shape and then transpose it by pressing other keys To set a chord press and hold the Fixed Chord button Then while still holding the button press and release the keys that you wish to be part of your chord The chord is now stored Keep in mind that the first note that you input into the chord is considered the root note of the chord even if you then add notes lower than the first one like in the example below illustrating how to use the feature
• Page 28 - English - : Press and hold the Fixed Chord button then press and release C then E and finally G a C Major chord The unit stores this as the fixed chord Release the Fixed Chord button Major chords will now sound on whatever key you press For example you can now press F to hear an F Major chord shown below or Ab to hear an Ab Major chord etc 33 Scale Mode Scale mode allows you to set the entire keyboard to only play notes in a scale that you select This allows you to play the keyboard without ever hitting a wrong note Press the Scale button to activate this mode the button will be lit indicating that the mode is active The screen will display a message to indicate the currently active scale C minor by default
• Page 29 - English - : To change the scale you will need to access the scale settings do this by holding the Shift button and pressing the Scale button The Scale button will be flashing at this point to indicate that you are in scale settings To change the root note simply press the corresponding key note all the black keys will be represented as sharps Changing the scale type is done using the pads when in the scale setting they will look like this The bottom row of pads will be lit and can be used to select a scale the selected scale is then shown on the screen From left to right the pads can be used to select the following scales Minor Major Dorian Mixolydian Phrygian Harmonic Minor Minor Pentatonic and Major Pentatonic To exit the scales setting mode press the scale button or any of the function buttons The settings mode will also timeout after 10 seconds of inactivity with the keyboard returning to its previous state 34 Custom Modes The Launchkey knobs pads and faders 49 and 61 key models only can be configured to send custom messages using Novation Components These custom message configurations are referred to as Custom Modes To access the custom modes press Shift and the Custom Mode PadsFader buttons Note that in standalone operation Device Volume Pan Sends and Session modes are not available
• Page 30 - English - : To access Components visit componentsnovationmusiccom using a WebMIDIenabled browser we recommend Google Chrome or Opera Alternatively download the standalone version of Components from your Novation Account page 341 Pads Launchkey has 4 pad Custom Modes To access these Custom Modes just hold Shift and then press any of the four Pad Mode Custom buttons Pads can be configured to send MIDI notes Program Changes messages and CC messages using Components Your Launchkey comes with 4 default custom pad modes that demonstrate the possibilities of this feature From left to right the default pad modes offer the following functionality Minor Scale Each pad is a note in the C minor scale across 2 octaves Alt Drums An alternative to the Drum Mode layout of notes for drum playing CC switches A section of CC switches for MIDI mapping with a row of momentary and a row of toggle Programs 015 First 16 programs changes for selecting your presets 342 Pots Launchkey has 4 pot Custom Modes To access these Custom Modes just hold Shift and then press any of the four Pot Mode Custom buttons Pots can be configured with custom CC numbers using Components 343 Faders 49 and 61 key models only Launchkey has 4 fader Custom Modes To access these Custom Modes just hold Shift and then press any of the 4 Fader Mode Custom buttons Faders can be allocated custom CC numbers using Components 35 Arpeggiator Pressing the Arp button on the left of Launchkey enables the Arpeggiator which takes your chords and creates an arpeggio ie it plays each note of the chord one after another The Arpeggiator will run as long as keys are held at the rhythmic value specified by the Arp Rate Launchkeys Arp is a great way to come up with interesting melodies and progressions with ease
• Page 31 - English - : 351 Arpeggiator Rotary Pots When you hold the Shift button the rotary pots can transform your arpeggios Tempo This knob speeds up or slows down your arpeggio relative to the Arp Rate When Launchkey is used as a standalone controller this knob ranges from 60 BPM to 187 BPM However when synced with Ableton Live this knob will have no effect Swing This knob sets the amount that every other note is delayed resulting in a swung rhythm To change the Arpeggiators Swing press and hold the Arp button and then turn the knob labelled Swing By default centre position swing will be set to 0 meaning no swing with extremes of 80 very swung and 80 negative swing Negative swing means every other note is rushed instead of delayed Gate Adjusting this knob will create longer or shorter MIDI notes resulting in either a more staccato arpeggio or a more fluid legato one This knob goes from 0 to 200 of the space between notes For notes that have swing applied both notes retain the same gate length Mutate After you select Mutate as the Arp Mode hold the Shift button and turn this knob to add variation to your arpeggio A new mutation occurs with each turn of the knob When you stop turning the knob notes are set and will repeat indefinitely Deviate After selecting Deviate as your Arp Rhythm turn this knob to make rhythmic variations With every turn of this knob youll create a different pattern of rests Note the pots will also control arp functions with Arp Control Lock active 352 Arp Modes After turning on the Arp youll be in 1 of 7 Arpeggiator types each resulting in arpeggios of different note orders To change the Arp Type press and hold the Shift button and then press the key corresponding to your desired mode
• Page 32 - English - : Up Here notes are played in ascending order ie rising in pitch If notes are added the number of notes in the sequence will grow but remain in ascending order For example you may start by holding down a first note E3 then quickly add two more notes C3 and G3 The resulting arpeggio will be C3 E3 and G3 Down This Mode is similar to Up Mode but notes play in descending order eg G3 E3 C3 UpDown This arpeggio Mode starts by playing notes in ascending order Then after reaching the highest note the notes descend towards the lowest note which plays once before the arpeggio rises again and stops before reaching the lowest note This means that when the pattern repeats the lowest note only plays once Played Here notes are kept repeated in whatever order they were played Random In this Mode the order of the chord notes is randomised indefinitely Chord All notes are played back on every rhythmic step see Arp Rate This makes playing fast chords very easy Mutate This mode creates its own notes and adds them to the arpeggio by turning the knob under the label Mutation Just turn this knob to alter your arpeggio in unexpected ways The pot itself goes from gentle left to crazy right ie 25 left will add subtle variation to your arpeggio while 99 right will give you very unexpected results When youre happy with what you hear stop turning the knob The notes are then set and will repeat indefinitely 353 Arp Rates These options specify the speed of the arpeggiated notes Since each note is played immediately after the end of the previous one a shorter rate eg 132 will play an arpeggio faster than longer one eg 14 Rate options are common musical note values quarter 14 eighth 18 sixteenth 116 and thirty second 132 notes To change the Arp Rate press and hold the Arp button and then press the key
• Page 33 - English - : below 14 18 116 or 132 Additionally you can toggle triplet rhythms onoff for each of the above musical values by pressing the key below Triplet This turns your arpeggio notes into quarter eighth sixteenth and thirty second note triplets 354 Arp Octaves These 4 keys specify across how many octaves your arpeggio will repeat To change press and hold the Arp button and then press the key below 1 2 3 or 4 Choosing an octave higher than 1 will repeat the arpeggio at higher octaves For example an arpeggio that was C3 E3 and G3 at 1 octave will become C3 E3 G3 C4 E4 and G4 when set to 2 octaves 355 Arp Rhythms Arp Rhythms add musical rests silent steps to your arpeggios pattern allowing for greater variations in your arpeggios Hold Arp then press one of the following keys Dots These three options are rhythmic patterns O The normal Arpeggiator setting this places a note on every division of the selected Arp rate OXO note rest note This rhythm adds a rest between every pair of notes OXXO note rest rest note This pattern adds two rests between every pair of notes Random This option creates random rests for random lengths Each step has a 50 chance of being either a note or a rest In the case that it is a rest the note is shifted to the next step and is not skipped Deviate This is the most unique Arp Rhythm and makes many variations of notes It uses the Deviate rotary knob where every turn creates a different rest pattern
• Page 34 - English - : 356 Latch Latch lets you use the Arpeggiator without holding down keys Any notes you press and release concurrently will form a new arpeggio pattern which the arpeggiator latches onto The arpeggiator then continues to play as if you never released the keys When you press a new key the previous arpeggio erases and a new one forms To turn on Latch press and hold the Shift button and then press the Arp button 357 Arp Control Lock Long pressing the Arp button turns on Arp Control Lock and you will be notified on the screen When Arp Control Lock mode is on the Arp controls on the pots and pads are accessible directly without requiring a Shift press This is useful for when you want to jam with the arp using only one hand The Arp button LED will pulse while Arp Control Lock is turned on Press the Arp button again to turn off Arp Control Lock Note The symbols pictured below are reserved for functionality coming to the Launchkey in the future Keep an eye out for an upcoming Firmware update that will unlock this functionality
• Page 35 - English - : Setting Description Value Range Default Keys MIDI Channel Sets the MIDI channel for the Keys 1 16 1 Chords MIDI Channel Sets the MIDI channel for the Scale Chord and User Chord 1 16 2 Drums MIDI Channel Sets the MIDI channel for the Drum Mode 1 16 10 Velocity Curve Keys Select a velocity curve for the keys Soft Normal Hard Off Normal Velocity Curve Pads Select a velocity curve for the pads Soft Normal Hard Off Normal Pad Aftertouch Set the Aftertouch type Off Channel Poly Poly Pad AT Threshold Set the threshold in which the aftertouch kicks in Low Medium High Normal Pot Pickup Turn pot pickup onoff Off On Off MIDI Clock Out Turn MIDI clock out onoff Off On On Brightness Adjust the brightness of the pads and the screen 116 9 Vegas Mode Turns onoff Vegas Mode Off On On Vegas Mode is the light show that is shown on the pads and fader buttons after a period of inactivity 36 Octave Buttons Pressing the Octave buttons will increment and decrement the keyboard octave by 1 The available octaves range from C2 to C8 Shift pressing the Octave buttons will transpose the keyboard by up or down by 1 semitone To reset the keyboard octave to 0 press the Octave buttons at the same time To reset the keyboard transposition to 0 Shift press the Octave buttons at the same time 37 Settings Pressing the Settings button brings up the settings menu on the screen You can scroll through the list of settings using the scene buttons To adjust the values of the settings either use the pads or the track buttons The available settings are shown below
• Page 36 - English - : 38 Pot Pickup Pot Pickup can be turned on from the settings menu When Pot Pickup is turned on your Launchkey will save the states of the various pages for the Pots and Faders The control will only output MIDI when the control has been moved to the position of the saved state This is to prevent any sudden jumps in the control value When the control is being moved and not picked up the screen will display the saved value until it has been moved to the pick up point 39 Navigation Mode Button Pressing the button will put the Launchkey into a navigation mode useful for browsing samples and presets You will see the pads light up as illustrated below The 4 blue pads form a left right up and down keypad which replicates the cursor control keys on your computer keyboard The green pad replicates the enter key on your computer keyboard The pads can be used to browse and select presets and samples in your DAW or a software plugin as well as any other function of a keyboards cursor keys and enter button 310 Strum Mode From Launchkey Firmware update 11 Strum mode has been added to the arpeggiator controls Strum mode is inspired by playing stringed instruments such as guitar harp and also the popular Omnichord style control It uses the modulation wheel for a controlled performable strum of your arpeggio You can think of Strum mode as the Modulation wheel being virtual strings you can strum To enter Strum mode while in the Arp Controls page press the sixth pad on the top This pad toggles Strum mode on or off When on the pad is lit green when off the pad is dimly lit red You can also access Strum mode by holding the Shift button and pressing the key labelled Ø on the keyboard
• Page 37 - English - : Once Strum mode is engaged you can then hold notes on the keyboard and use the Modulation wheel to play the virtual strings on your arpeggiated chords In Strum mode you can still access much of the arpeggiators behaviour the only exception to this is the Rhythm page which will become inactive while Strum mode is engaged 3101 Arp Controls in Strum Mode Mode This will let you set the direction or order of notes on the touch strip Up raising the Mod Wheel will play the notes in an ascending order Down raising the Mod Wheel will play the notes in a descending order UpDown raising the Mod Wheel will play the notes in an ascending then descending order Played raising the Mod Wheel will play the notes in the order they have been played into the arpeggiator Random raising the Mod Wheel will play the notes in a random order Chord raising the Mod Wheel will play full chords and apply up to four inversions on the chord shape Mutate raising the Mod Wheel will follow the Arps Mutate rotary control setting Rate This will let you increase the duration or ring out time of the strums individual notes ¼ will give the longest note duration with 132 giving the shortest duration You can add further fine control of the notes duration with the Gate rotary control Octave You can add extra octaves to the Strum mode in effect giving a much wider range of notes or virtual strings accessible from the Mod Wheel When set to one octave the Mod Wheel places the virtual strings within a range of one octave When set higher the amount of virtual strings will increase and the range of notes will also increase within the Mod Wheel area Latch This will let you latch on the arpeggiator in the normal way so notes on the keyboard do not need to be held down Note When the Arp latch is on in Strum mode you will not hear any notes played on the keyboard until you use the Mod Wheel to strum through the arpeggio
• Page 38 - English - : 40 Working with Other DAWs Launchkey can act as a generalpurpose MIDI controller for Logic Reason as well as a range of other DAWs using HUI human user interface In addition to the Note OnNote Off messages sent from the keys each of the pots faders and pads transmit a MIDI message that can be customised using Novation Components This allows you to configure your device to use these messages as you wish 41 Logic Your Launchkey can serve as a controller for many tasks in Apple Logic Pro X The behaviour described in the Standalone Features section remains the same in Logic Pro X In addition you can modify your Launchkey to suit your needs with Custom Modes There is also some functionality of the Launchkey that is dedicated to Logic Pro this is detailed below 411 Setup To set up Launchkey with for use with Logic Pro you will need to download the necessary drivers to do this follow the following steps Follow the link to the Novation Customer Portal on novationmusiccom Register Launchkey MK3 Go to My Hardware gt Launchkey MK3 gt Drivers Download and run the Logic Script Installer With Logic Pro and the script installed plug your Launchkey into your Mac or PCs USB port When you open Logic your Launchkey should be automatically detected Now if you hold the Shift button on the Launchkey the pads should look similar to this
• Page 39 - English - : If this does not happen you will need to manually choose your Launchkey as a Control Surface via the following path Logic Pro X gt Control Surfaces gt Setup Once in the Setup window choose Install from the New menu This in turn will open the Install window Scroll to the Novation Launchkey and click Add 412 Session Mode Session mode is accessed by pressing the Session Mode pad while holding the Shift key as shown below This mode allows you to enable record or mute and solo Logic tracks Record Mute mode the top row of pads toggles the record arm on the relevant track and will be lit red the bottom row toggles the track mute and will be lit yellow The tracks represented by the pads include any sends tracks the top row of pads will not be lit for sends buses
• Page 40 - English - : Pressing a red pad will arm that track for recording and it will glow a brighter red When a track is muted the corresponding pad will become brighter Record Solo mode As above the top row of pads toggles the record arm on the relevant track the bottom row of pads will be lit blue and toggles the track solo When soloed the pad will become a brighter blue The two modes above are toggled by pressing the StopSoloMute button Please note that when using Launchkey with Logic Pro the StopSoloMute button will only toggle between Solo and Mute modes there is no Stop mode Stopping the track is done with the Stop transport button 413 Pots Knobs Device Mode Links the pots to the parameters or smart controls of the device on the selected track For instrument tracks this is the parameter array of the instrument To assign the pots to Device Mode press the Device Pad upper left with the Shift button held Now when any knob is moved the changed device parameter and its current value is displayed on the screen for a moment The image below shows a track containing a Classic Electric Piano In this example your Launchkeys 8 pots control a variety of important parameters including Bell Volume Treble Drive etc
• Page 41 - English - : Volume Mode Links the pots to the volume control of a projects tracks including send tracks buses When any pot is moved the changed parameter and its current value is displayed on the screen Pan Mode Links pots to control the pans for the relevant tracks including send buses When any pot is moved the changed parameter and its current value is displayed on the screen Sends Mode Links the pots to control the sends When any pot is moved the changed parameter and its current value is displayed on the screen Note 49 amp 61 key models only a mode cannot be assigned to both the pots and the faders at the same time If a mode is already mapped to the pots then the respective Fader Button will appear red while Shift is held pressing a Fader Button whilst in this state will not assign the faders to that mode 413 Faders 49 amp 61 Key Models Only Device Mode Links the faders to the parameters or smart controls of the device on the selected track see navigation For instrument tracks this is the parameter array of the instrument To assign the faders to Device Mode press the Device Fader button left most with the Shift button held Now when any fader is moved the changed device parameter and its current value is displayed on the screen Volume Mode Links the faders to the volume control of a projects tracks including sends Bus tracks When any fader is moved the changed parameter and its current value is displayed on the screen Sends Modes Links the faders to control the sends When any fader is moved the changed parameter and its current value is displayed on the screen Note a mode cannot be assigned to both the pots and the faders at the same time If a mode is already mapped to the pots then the respective Fader Button will appear red while Shift is held pressing a Fader Button whilst in this state will not assign the faders to that mode
• Page 42 - English - : 414 Arm Select 61 amp 49 Key Models Only The Arm Select button is used to set the functionality of the 8 Track Buttons to either arm tracks enabling recording or to select a track While set to Arm the buttons light up red when a track is armed for recording and dim red when not Unlit buttons show that no track is associated with the fader When set to Select the buttons will be lit white with selected tracks being bright and unselected tracks dim Pushing a fader button will select that track 415 Transport Functions The MIDI Buttons shown below provide key functionality for performing and recording with Logic Pro Capture Midi pressing this will trigger the Capture as Recording function in Logic Click toggles the metronome click Undo pressing this will trigger the undo function Record pressing this will trigger the record function Play amp Stop these buttons control playback of the track Loop toggles the transport loop Cycle Mode 416 Navigation The and track buttons allow you to navigate between which track is currently selected When in Session Mode the pad for the currently selected track will be lit a brighter red than the nonselected tracks and you will notice the smart controls will change with the selected track when in Device Mode
• Page 43 - English - : 42 Reason Your Launchkey can serve as a controller for many tasks in Propellerhead Reason The behaviour described in the Standalone Features section remains the same in Reason In addition you can modify your Launchkey to suit your needs with Custom Modes There is also some functionality of the Launchkey that is dedicated to Reason this is detailed below 421 Setup To set up Launchkey for use with Reason you will need to download the necessary script to do this follow the following steps Follow the link to the Novation Customer Portal on novationmusiccom Register Launchkey MK3 Go to My Hardware gt Launchkey MK3 gt Drivers and Download and run the Reason Script Installer With Reason and the script installed plug your Launchkey into your Mac or PCs USB port Launchkey should be automatically detected and the Keyboards and Control Surfaces window should appear if it does not you can open it by going to Reason gt Preferences gt Control surfaces Make sure Use with Reason is checked for the Novation Launchkey MK3 device Close the window Now if you hold the Shift button on the Launchkey the pads should look like this
• Page 44 - English - : 422 Transport Control Quantise Toggles quantise OnOff quantising incoming MIDI Click toggles the metronome click Undo pressing this will trigger the undo function Play amp Stop pressing these buttons will initiate playback of the track Record pressing this will trigger the record function Loop toggles the transport loop cycle mode 423 Rotary Knobs With a Reason instrument selected the Launchkeys 8 knobs automatically control useful parameters Of course which parameters the knobs control varies by instrument With the Kong Drum Designer for example the Launchkeys knobs from left to right map to Pitch Decay Bus FX Aux 1 Aux 2 Tone Pan and Level 424 Pads Session Mode With a Reason instrument selected and the pads set to Session Mode hold Shift and press the Session pad the Launchkeys 16 pads automatically control useful device settings For the Grain Sample Manipulator for example the pads from left to right map to Effects On Phaser On Distortion On EQ On Delay On Reverb On Compression On Key Mode setting toggles between Poly Retrig Legato Porta toggles between Off On and Auto Motion Grain Type Select Oscillator On Off Sample to Filter and Osc to Filter 425 Navigation The and arrow buttons allow you to navigate between tracks pressing the button will select the track above and the button will select the track below the current Doing so will also automatically arm the newlyselected Reason track 426 Preset Browsing Press the and buttons to scroll through presets on Reason instruments
• Page 45 - English - : 43 Working with HUI Pro Tools Cubase Studio One etc HUI Human User Interface Protocol allows the Launchkey to act like a Mackie HUI device and therefore work with DAWs that provide HUI support DAWs that support HUI include Steinberg Cubase Avid Pro Tools PreSonus Studio One among others The behaviour described in the Standalone Features sections remains applicable for HUIsupported DAWs The following pages will describe the functionality when Launchkey acts as a control surface via HUI 431 Setup 4311 Pro Tools To set up Launchkey in Pro Tools navigate to Setup gt Peripherals From there select the MIDI controllers tab set Type to HUI Receive From to Launchkey MK3 LKMK3 DAW Out Send To to Launchkey MK3 LKMK3 DAW In and Chs to 8 4311 Cubase To set up the Launchkey in Cubase navigate to Studio gt Studio Setup Next find the Remote option and select Mackie HUI Choose Launchkey MK3 LKMK3 DAW Out for MIDI Input and Launchkey MK3 LKMK3 DAW In for MIDI Output Finally hit Apply to start using the controller with Cubase 4311 Studio One To set up the Launchkey in Studio one navigate to Preferences gt External Devices and click Add Then choose Mackie HUI from the list set Receive From to Launchkey MK3 LKMK3 DAW Out and Send To to Launchkey MK3 LKMK3 DAW In 432 Pad Session Mode To enter Session Mode hold Shift and press the Session pad bottom left the Launchkeys 16 pads can now be used to mute and solo tracks The upper row will be lit blue and the bottom row will be lit yellow The pads will be lit dimly if solo or mute is not active and brightly when active 433 Navigation The and track buttons move between selected tracks To bank through 8 tracks at a time hold the Shift button and press the or track button 434 Controlling the Mixer The pots and faders 49 amp61 key models only can provide mixer control over the bank of tracks Hold Shift then press either the Volume Pan or Sends pan or Fader buttons to control track volume panning and Send AB with your Launchkeys 8 pots or faders Pressing the Sends pad with shift held multiple times toggles between Send A and B
• Page 46 - English - : 435 Faders and Fader Buttons 49 amp 61 Key Models Only The faders always control track volumes for the selected bank of tracks The ArmSelect button toggles between arming tracks default and selecting tracks When in select mode the Fader buttons are lit dim white and in arm mode red When a track is selected and active the Fader button will be lit brightly 436 Transport Buttons The transport buttons listed below will function as described when used with HUI Play Pressing this button will initiate playback of the track Stop Pressing this button will stop playback of the track Undo pressing this will trigger the undo function Rec pressing this will trigger the record arm function Loop toggles the transport loop cycle mode
• Page 47 - English - : 50 Custom Modes and Components Custom modes allow you to create unique MIDI templates for each control area These templates can be created and sent to the Launchkey from Novation Components