Novation Launchkey 25 User Manual Download Page 1

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Version 6

User Guide

Summary of Contents for Launchkey 25

Page 1: ...1 Version 6 User Guide ...

Page 2: ...xternal MIDI Enabled Instruments 10 Working with Ableton Live 11 Installation 11 Setup 11 Session Mode 13 Launching Clips 15 Launching Scenes 16 Stop Solo Mute 16 Record 17 Capture MIDI 17 Quantise 17 Click 17 Undo 17 Arm Select Launchkey 49 61 and 88 only 18 Drum Mode Playing and Recording Drums 18 Using Ableton Live s Mixer 19 Pots 19 Faders Launchkey 49 61 and 88 only 20 Device Mode Navigating ...

Page 3: ...ntrols 27 Track Buttons 27 Pad Scene Launch 27 Standalone Features 28 Grid 28 Drum Mode 28 Scale Chord Mode 28 User Chord Mode 30 Fixed Chord 31 Scale Mode 33 Custom Modes 34 Pads 34 Pots 35 Faders Launchkey 49 61 and 88 only 35 Arpeggiator 35 Arpeggiator Pot Controls 36 Arp Modes 37 Arp Rates 38 Arp Rhythms 39 Latch 39 Arp Control Lock 40 Octave Buttons 40 Settings 41 Pot Pickup 41 Navigation Mod...

Page 4: ...set Browsing 51 Working with HUI Pro Tools Studio One etc 52 Setup 52 Pro Tools 52 Studio One 52 Pad Session Mode 52 Navigation 52 Controlling the Mixer 52 Faders and Fader Buttons Launchkey 49 61 and 88 only 53 The faders always control track volumes for the selected bank of tracks 53 Transport Buttons 53 The transport buttons listed below will function as described when used with HUI 53 Physical...

Page 5: ...ize five pin MIDI output works with any MIDI compatible 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 Key Features Designed for Ableton Live immediate access to all the controls you need Additional DAW support Full integration with Cubase Logic and Reason out of the box f...

Page 6: ... tool guides you through the process of registering your Launchkey and accessing the software bundle When connecting Launchkey to your computer it will appear as a Mass Storage Device MSD like a USB drive Open the drive and open Click Here to Get Started url This will open the Easy Start tool in your web browser Alternatively visit our website to register your Launchkey and access the software bun...

Page 7: ... 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 Launchkey 88 Velocity Sensitive keys 25 37 49 61 88 Faders 9 9 9 Fader Track Buttons 9 9 9 Arm Select Button Semi Weighted Keybed Semi Weighted Keybed Launchkey 88 only The Launchkey 88 model features a s...

Page 8: ...will put the Launchkey into Navigation Mode useful for browsing samples and presets See Navigation Mode Button on page 42 7 Fixed Chord Button Stores a chord that can be played with oe finger anywhere on the keyboard See Fixed Chord on page 31 8 Arp Button Turns on and off Launchkey s inbuilt arpeggiator Long press also locks the pot and pad Arp controls to on 9 Scale Button Turns on and off Launc...

Page 9: ...using eight available modes Device Volume Pan Sends and four Custom Modes The first five pots also control Arp parameters as secondary functions 14 Pads Trigger 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 i...

Page 10: ... 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 Power and MIDI via USB USB Cable Note When connecting Launchkey to a Mac you may see the Keyboard Setup Assistant This is because Launchkey functions as a computer keyboard device in Navigate Mode Ple...

Page 11: ...py of Ableton Live Lite If you have never used Ableton Live before we recommend visiting our Easy Start Tool see Getting Started There you ll find videos covering installation the software s basic features and how to get started making music with your Launchkey Setup With Ableton Live installed plug your Launchkey into your Mac or PC s USB port When you open Live your Launchkey will be automatical...

Page 12: ...the same In the Link Tempo MIDI tab you need to copy the settings shown above Select Launchkey MK3 from the Control Surface menu Under Input and Output select Input Launchkey MK3 LKMK3 DAW OUT on Mac or MIDIIN2 LKMK3 MIDI on Windows Output Launchkey MK3 LKMK3 DAW IN on Mac or MIDIOUT2 LKMK3 MIDI on Windows Match the Track Sync and Remote settings in the screenshot above MPE is not used for the Lau...

Page 13: ...leton Live s Session View To access Session mode on your Launchkey hold Shift and press the Session pad bottom left pad The Session pad will brighten Session View is a grid that consists of clips tracks and scenes shown below Scene Clip Track ...

Page 14: ...ough a song Again to access Session mode on your Launchkey by hold Shift and press the Session pad the bottom left pad In Session mode the pads represent the grid of clips found inside the coloured rectangle in Ableton Live s Session View The image below shows the rectangle orange extending from the left most track to the Master track Clips are typically loops that contain MIDI notes or audio Trac...

Page 15: ...ack buttons will select the adjacent left or right track This will automatically arm the track to receive MIDI Launching Clips Pressing pads will launch clips in the corresponding location in your Session View Pads will pulse green to show a clip is playing Pressing the pad again will relaunch the clip and pressing an empty pad below above stops playback on that track How fast clips stop or relaun...

Page 16: ...ttom eight pads so they no longer launch clips The Stop Solo Mute pad toggles between four different states which affect tracks in different ways Stop Red Press a pad in the bottom row to stop any clip on the corresponding track The red pads dim if tracks are not playing Solo Blue Press a pad in the bottom row to solo corresponding tracks you ll only hear tracks with Solo on The pads dim if tracks...

Page 17: ...Session Mode This will allow you to record what you re playing to new clips as well as overdub existing clips Capture MIDI Pressing this button triggers the Capture MIDI function It retrospectively captures recently played MIDI notes in the record armed track If you are not recording but you play something that sounds great you can use Capture MIDI to send it straight into a clip Quantise This but...

Page 18: ... Live Pushing a Fader Button highlighted blue will select that track 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 Launchkey s pads into velocity sensitive 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 tr...

Page 19: ... Live s mixer components To prevent any sudden jumps in control when you start turning the pots we have implemented a Pot Pickup function The pots will only start controlling the parameter once it has been moved to the position shown in 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 i...

Page 20: ...ders Launchkey 49 61 and 88 only The nine faders provide linear control over a range of Ableton Live s 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 default to Volume Mode In this mode the first eight faders control Ableton Track Volumes...

Page 21: ...press the first Fader button To re assign control over devices to the Pots hold the Shift button and press the first pad in the top row If the Track contains an Effect or Instrument Rack the assigned faders or pots sync to the first rack s eight Macro Controls The image below shows an Instrument Rack preset called Percussion 1 In this example your Launchkey s eight pots control a variety of import...

Page 22: ... 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 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...

Page 23: ...th Ableton Live Play Pressing this button starts playback Stop Pressing this button stops playback Record Pressing this button triggers Session Record while in Session Mode This will allow you to record what you re playing to new clips as well as overdub existing clips Loop Triggers Ableton s Loop Switch ...

Page 24: ...key defaults to the following modes Pad Mode Session Mode Pots Volume Launchkey 25 37 or Pan Launchkey 49 61 88 Faders Launchkey 49 61 88 Volume For quick access to the modes and information for the Launchkey you have connected click on Studio Studio Setup MIDI Remote Open MIDI Remote in Lower Zone You will see the following where you can see what each control on the Launchkey is mapped to ...

Page 25: ...o assign the faders to Cubase s Track Quick Controls hold Shift and press the Device button below fader one Volume mode Volume mode links the Launchkey s pots or faders to control the volumes for the track bank you select Pans Mode Pans Mode links the Launchkey s pots to the pans for the bank of tracks you select You cannot assign Faders to Cubase s Pan controls Sends Sends A and B Pressing the Se...

Page 26: ...rmed tracks light bright red On Page 2 the top row controls Mute and the bottom row controls Solo If the function is active the pad is brightly lit These pad colours match Cubase for Solo red and Mute yellow Fader Buttons Launchkey 49 61 and 88 only The Arm Select button toggles the Fader Buttons between the Arm and Select modes Unlit fader Buttons show no track is associated with that fader chann...

Page 27: ...ord function Quantise Triggers Cubase s Quantise function Click Toggles Cubase s metronome on off Undo Triggers Cubase s Undo function Shift Undo Hold Shift and press Undo to trigger Cubase s Redo function Track Buttons Press the Track buttons pads pots faders to bank the pad pot and fader controls by eight tracks This doesn t select a new track until you press a pad on the top row Holding Shift a...

Page 28: ... pad second from bottom left to enter Drum Mode Whilst in this mode the velocity sensitive pads output MIDI notes from C1 to D 2 and will be lit blue Chord Modes Scale Chord Mode Scale Chord Mode provides you with banks of predefined chords To access these banks 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 de...

Page 29: ...e 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 6 9ths and the pads will light up in pink When you press a pad it lights up green and returns to its original colour when released To change the octave of the chords hold Shift and press the buttons these provide access to a ...

Page 30: ... and hold the pad and press the notes you want to assign from the keyboard You can assign up to six notes to each pad You can input notes with individual key pushes meaning you do not need to hold down all the notes at once so long as the pad is being held When you assign a chord to a pad it lights up blue When you press a pad it plays the chord and lights up green If no chord is assigned the pad ...

Page 31: ...hord button Then while still holding the button press and release the keys you wish to be part of your chord The chord is now stored The Launchkey considers the first note you input into the chord as the root note even if you add notes lower than the first one like in the example below Press and hold the Fixed Chord button then press and release C then E and finally G a C Major chord The unit stor...

Page 32: ...32 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 ...

Page 33: ...how you are in scale settings To change the root note press the corresponding key all the black keys represent sharps The pads change the Scale type In scale setting mode they look like this The bottom row of pads light so you can select a scale the screen shows the selected scale From left to right the pads select the following scales 1 Minor 2 Major 3 Dorian 4 Mixolydian 5 Phrygian 6 Harmonic Mi...

Page 34: ...wnload the standalone version of Components from your Novation Account page Pads Launchkey has four pad Custom Modes To access these Custom Modes hold Shift and then press any of the four Pad Mode Custom buttons Pads can send MIDI notes Program Changes messages and CC messages using Components Your Launchkey comes with four default custom pad modes From left to right the default pad modes offer th...

Page 35: ...d Shift and then press any of the four Fader Mode Custom buttons Faders can send custom CC numbers using Components Arpeggiator Pressing the Arp button on the left of Launchkey enables the Arpeggiator which takes your chords and creates an arpeggio i e 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...

Page 36: ...ve swing Negative swing means every other note is rushed instead of delayed Gate Adjusting this pot creates longer or shorter MIDI notes resulting in either a more staccato arpeggio or a more fluid legato one This pot goes from 0 to 200 of the space between notes For notes have swing applied both notes retain the same gate length Mutate After you select Mutate as the Arp Mode hold the Shift button...

Page 37: ...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 when the pattern repeats the lowest note only plays once Played Notes are repeated in the order you pleayed them Random In this Mode the order of the chord notes is randomised indefinitely Chord All notes play back on every ...

Page 38: ...ess the key below 1 4 1 8 1 16 or 1 32 Additionally you can toggle triplet rhythms on off 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 Arp Octaves These four keys specify how many octaves your arpeggio spans To change hold the Arp button and then press the key below 1 2 3 or 4 Cho...

Page 39: ...sts for random lengths Each step has a 50 chance of being either a note or a rest If it is a rest the note isn t skipped but shifts to the next step Deviate This is the most unique Arp Rhythm and makes many variations of notes It uses the Deviate rotary pot where every turn creates a different rest pattern Latch Latch lets you use the Arpeggiator without holding down keys Any notes you press and r...

Page 40: ...trol Lock The symbols are reserved for functionality coming to the Launchkey in the future See Strum Mode on page 42 Keep an eye out for upcoming Firmware updates that unlock further functionality Octave Buttons Pressing the Octave buttons will increment and decrement the keyboard octave by 1 The available octaves range from C 2 to C8 Shift pressing the Octave buttons will transpose the keyboard b...

Page 41: ...ertouch 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 Pick up Turn pot pickup on off Off On Off MIDI Clock Out Turn MIDI clock out on off Off On On Brightness Adjust the brightness of the pads and the screen 1 16 9 Vegas Mode Turns on off Vegas Mode Off On On Vegas Mode is the light show that is shown on...

Page 42: ...g 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 ...

Page 43: ... will let you increase the duration or ring out time of the strum s individual notes will give the longest note duration with 1 32 giving the shortest duration You can add further fine control of the note s 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 Mod Wheel ...

Page 44: ... the same in Logic Pro X In addition you can modify your Launchkey to suit your needs with Custom Modes The functionality of the Launchkey dedicated to Logic Pro X is detailed below Setup To set up Launchkey with for use with Logic Pro X you will need to download the necessary drivers to do this follow the following steps Follow the link to the Novation Customer Portal on novationmusic com Registe...

Page 45: ... Control Surfaces 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 Session Mode To access session mode hold Shift and press the Session Mode pad as shown below This mode allows you to enable record or mute and solo Logic tracks ...

Page 46: ... a brighter red When you mute a track the corresponding pad becomes 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 You can toggle between the two Record Solo modes by pressing Stop Solo Mute button Please note when using Launchkey w...

Page 47: ...ol of a project s tracks including send tracks busses When you move a pot the changed device parameter and its current value is displayed on the screen for a moment Pan Mode Links pots to control the pans for the relevant tracks including send busses When you move a pot the changed device parameter and its current value is displayed on the screen for a moment Sends Mode Links the pots to control t...

Page 48: ... control the sends When you move a fader the changed device parameter and its current value is displayed on the screen for a moment 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...

Page 49: ...his will trigger the undo function Record pressing this will trigger the record function Play and Stop these buttons control playback of the track Loop toggles the transport loop Cycle Mode Navigation The and track buttons allow you to navigate between which track is selected When in Session Mode the pad for the selected track will be lit a brighter red than the non selected tracks and the smart c...

Page 50: ...load and run the Reason Script Installer With Reason and the script installed plug your Launchkey into your Mac or PC s USB port Launchkey will be automatically detected and the Keyboards and Control Surfaces window will appear if it does not you can open it by going to Reason Preferences Control surfaces Make sure Use with Reason is checked for the Novation Launchkey MK3 device Close the window N...

Page 51: ... 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 Navigation The and arrow buttons allow you to...

Page 52: ...eferences 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 Pad Session Mode To enter Session Mode hold Shift and press the Session pad bottom left the Launchkey s 16 pads now 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...

Page 53: ...te and in arm mode red When a track is selected and active the Fader button will be lit brightly 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...

Page 54: ...g pots 789mm 31 06 258mm 10 16 Launchkey 61 3 5kg 7 72lbs 77mm 3 03 62mm excluding pots 952mm 37 48 258mm 10 16 Launchkey 88 8 3kg 18 08lbs 87mm 3 43 72mm excluding pots 1270mm 50 00 258mm 10 16 Custom Modes and Components Custom modes allow you to create unique MIDI templates for each control area You can create and send these templates to the Launchkey from Novation Components In addition you ca...

Page 55: ...cument may be modified at any time without prior warning Specifications and appearance may differ from those listed and shown 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 2022 Focusrite Audio Engineering Limited All rights reserved Novation A division of Focusrite Audio Enginee...

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