Novation Launchpad Mini [MK3] User Manual Download Page 3

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Contents

Introduction ..............................................................................................................................4

Using the Launchkey Mini [MK3] ............................................................................................10

Working with Ableton Live 10 ................................................................................................10

Arp ..........................................................................................................................................21

Fixed Chord ............................................................................................................................26

Custom Modes and Components............................................................................................27

Setting up Custom Modes ...........................................................................................................27

Working with Logic Pro X .......................................................................................................28

Working with Reason 10 .........................................................................................................32

Working with HUI (Pro Tools, Cubase) ....................................................................................34

Vegas Mode ............................................................................................................................37

Summary of Contents for Launchpad Mini [MK3]

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Page 2: ...dified 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 Mini is a trade mark of Focusrite Audio Engineering Plc 2019 Focusrite Audio Engineering Limited All rights reserved Novation A division of Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd...

Page 3: ...leton Live 10 10 Installation 10 Setup 10 Session Mode 11 Launching Clips 15 Launching Scenes 15 Stop Solo Mute 16 Record Capture MIDI 17 Playing and Recording Drums 18 Using Ableton Live Devices 19 Using Ableton Live s Mixer 20 Arp 21 Arpeggiator Rotary Knobs 21 Arp Modes 22 Arp Rates 23 Arp Octaves 23 Arp Rhythms 24 Latch 24 Arp pads 25 Fixed Chord 26 Custom Modes and Components 27 Setting up Cu...

Page 4: ...n make Launchkey Mini the perfect controller for your studio or on the go with Custom modes where you can customise knobs and pads using Novation Components The Launchkey Mini also features a standard TRS MIDI Out 3 5mm jack for connecting to your hardware synths and drum machines This means you can use many of the Launchkey Mini s functions without a computer If you need any support please contac...

Page 5: ...by step guide on getting set up that is tailored to your needs We ll give you exactly what you need whether you ve never made music before or if you just want to download your included software When connecting Launchkey Mini to your computer it will appear as a Mass Storage Device just like a USB drive Open this up and click the link Click Here to Get Started url Easy Start Tool Welcome Page This ...

Page 6: ...everything you need to start making tracks Alternatively you can also register your Launchkey Mini by going to customer novationmusic com register pictured below You ll then need to make an account and enter the serial of your Launchkey which will give you access to the bundled software Launchkey Mini Registration Page ...

Page 7: ... minimum 500mA Note that the Launchkey Mini is only compatible with Circuit using TRS MIDI Type A adapters Many other Novation products such as Launchpad Pro will also require a Type B adapter to properly communicate with the Launchkey Mini via its Type A adapter Connecting to Mobile Devices Android To operate the Launchkey Mini with an Android device we recommend a USB OTG to USB adapter iOS To o...

Page 8: ...eton Live s Session View and playing drums Holding Shift lights up the top row of pads with the current pad mode lit the brightest You can then switch between the 3 pad modes Session For triggering clips and navigating Live s Session View Drum For playing drums with the velocity sensitive pads Custom For playing a custom selection of notes with personalised colours Edit custom modes on components ...

Page 9: ...9 Rear View Top Panel ...

Page 10: ...If you ve never used Ableton Live before we recommend visiting our Easy Start Tool see Getting Started with your Launchkey Mini MK3 There you ll find videos covering installation the software s basic features and how to get started making music with your Launchkey Mini Setup With Ableton Live installed get your Launchkey Mini up and running by plugging it into your Mac or PC s USB port When you op...

Page 11: ...aunchkey Mini Launchkey Mini InControl or Launchkey Mini MIDI IN2 Windows Finally match the Track Sync and Remote settings If you re having trouble getting your Launchkey Mini working with Ableton Live be sure to visit our Easy Start Tool for video explanations Session Mode To access Session mode on the Launchkey Mini hold Shift and press the Session pad the top left pad ...

Page 12: ...mode provides an 8x2 view of the clips in your Session View Example of Launchkey Mini s pads in Session mode 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 Scene Clip Track Ableton Live s Session View ...

Page 13: ... 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 such a rectangle yellow extending from the left most track to the Master track Any changes you make to clip position or colour within Ableton Live will be represented in the Session mode of Launchkey Mini Unlit dark pads indicate empty clip slots You can na...

Page 14: ... Shift and pressing the following buttons Shift Scene Launch This moves the grid of clips up one row Shift Stop Solo Mute This moves the grid of clips down one row Holding Shift and pressing Arp left or Fixed Chord right will select the adjacent left or right track This will automatically arm the track so it is ready to receive MIDI ...

Page 15: ... fast clips stop or relaunch is set by Ableton Live s Global Quantisation chooser located at the top of the Live screen By default this is set to 1 bar but can go as fast as 1 32 notes or as slow as 8 bars It can also be set to None so clips react immediately Launching Scenes Pressing the Scene Launch button launches scenes in Ableton Live This means that all of the clips in a row can either start...

Page 16: ...four different states which affect tracks in the following ways Stop Red In this state pressing pads will stop any clip on the corresponding track The red pads will dimly glow 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 will dimly glow if tracks are not soloed ie they are silent and if soloed they ...

Page 17: ...ere the bottom row of pads will again represent clips Record Capture MIDI Pressing this button triggers Session Record This will allow you to record what you re playing to new clips as well as overdub existing ones Holding Shift and pressing Record triggers the Capture MIDI function This allows you to retrospectively capture any recently played MIDI notes in the record armed track This means that ...

Page 18: ...olour of the track These pads will play whatever Drum Rack pads are visible on your computer screen turning green when played and red if the track is recording Hold Shift and press either the or Stop Solo Mute buttons to scroll up down a Drum Rack s bank of 128 pads When using Ableton s Drum Racks Drum mode will apart from triggering sounds select the associated Drum Rack pad within a Drum Rack Th...

Page 19: ...t to use this mode In this mode knobs control the first 8 parameters of the selected device This is especially useful for controlling Live s 8 macro knobs available on Instrument and Effect Racks The above picture shows an Impulse preset called Percussion 1 Here the Launchkey Mini s knobs control sample volumes sample start and stretch as well as delay and reverb amounts Macro controls for an Able...

Page 20: ...to pan the 8 selected tracks currently inside Live s coloured rectangle Holding the Shift button and pressing the Pan pad the 3rd from the top right selects this mode Sends This mode allows you to control the send levels of tracks in Ableton Live Hold Shift and press the Sends pad 2nd from the top right to enter this mode When in Sends mode two purple pads on the bottom row will switch between Sen...

Page 21: ...elayed resulting in a swung rhythm To change the Arpeggiator s Swing press and hold the Arp button and then turn the knob labelled Swing By default centre position swing will be set to 50 meaning no swing with extremes of 80 very swung and 20 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...

Page 22: ...otes in ascending order Then after reaching the highest note the notes descend towards there lowest note which plays once before the arpeggio rises again and stop before reaching the lowest note This means that when the pattern repeats the lowest note only plays only Played Here notes are kept repeated in whatever order they were played Random In this Mode the order of the chord notes is randomise...

Page 23: ...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 clicking the key below Triplet This turns your arpeggio notes into quarter eighth sixteenth and thirty second note triplets 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 ...

Page 24: ...t 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 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 t...

Page 25: ...f pads select the Arp groups Arp Modes Arp Rates Arp Octaves Arp Rhythms and Latch On Off The bottom row of pads select the different options within the selected group from the top row as follows Mode Selected Mode Mode Mode Up 1 4 1 O Rate Rate Selected Rate Rate Down 1 8 2 OXO Selected Octave Octave Octave Selected Octave Up Down Selected 1 16 Selected 3 OXXO Rhythm Rhythm Rhythm Rhythm Selected...

Page 26: ...an the first one like in the example below These steps illustrate how to use Fixed Chord 1 Press and hold the Fixed Chord button 2 Press and release C then E and finally G a C Major chord The unit stores this as the fixed chord 3 Release the Fixed Chord button 4 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 ...

Page 27: ...created and edited using Novation Components our online hub for all Novation products You may back up any Custom Modes you create here We also have several Custom Mode templates for you to download and explore on Components To access Components visit components novationmusic com using a WebMIDI enabled browser we recommend Google Chrome or Opera Alternatively download the standalone version of Com...

Page 28: ...ce for the Logic Pro X there are some intricacies that need describing Setup After running the Launchkey Mini s installer for Logic Pro X and then connecting the device to your computer via USB Logic should automatically detect the Launchkey Mini If this does not happen you will need to manually choose the Launchkey Mini as a Control Surface via the following path Logic Pro X Control Surfaces Setu...

Page 29: ...ow of pads red toggle track arm becoming brightly lit when armed The bottom row of pads blue toggle track mute likewise becoming brightly lit when a track is muted Press the Stop Solo Mute button to switch the bottom row of pads to solo yellow In this state pressing pads will toggle track solo and pads will brighten Press the Record button to start Logic s transport and record onto an armed track ...

Page 30: ...cted track Drum Mode Hold Shift and press the Drum pad 2nd from top left to enter Drum mode This allows you to use the Launchkey Mini s velocity sensitive pads for Logic s drum instruments Using Logic s Devices Device mode allows you to control the selected track s Smart Controls with Launchkey Mini s knobs Hold the Shift button and press the Device pad top right to use this mode ...

Page 31: ...r Volume and Pan control over the 8 selected tracks Holding the Shift button and pressing the Volume or Pan pads the 5th and 6th pads from the top left changes between the two modes Sends This mode allows you to control the send levels of Logic s tracks Hold Shift and press the Sends pad 2nd from the top right to enter this mode When in Sends mode two blue pads on the bottom row will switch betwee...

Page 32: ...faces Reason should then find the Launchkey Mini MK3 Select it and make sure Use with Reason is checked Rotary Knobs With a Reason instrument selected the Launchkey Mini s 8 knobs automatically control useful parameters Of course which parameters the knobs control varies by instrument With the Kong Drum Designer for example the Launchkey Mini s knobs from left to right map to Pitch Decay Bus FX Au...

Page 33: ... the current track respectively Doing so will also automatically arm the newly selected Reason track Preset Browsing Press the and Stop Solo Mute buttons to scroll through presets on Reason instruments Shift and moves to the next preset while pressing Shift Stop Solo Mute moves to the previous one ...

Page 34: ...pects of Launchkey Mini will work according to the Hardware Overview seen earlier in this guide Likewise the behaviour described in the Arp and Fixed Chord sections remains applicable for HUI supported DAWs The following pages will describe some of the less obvious functionality when Launchkey Mini acts as a control surface via HUI Pro Tools Setup Setting up the Launchkey Mini in Pro Tools is done...

Page 35: ...sends A and B with the Launchkey Mini s 8 knobs in the red box When in Sends mode two blue pads on the bottom row will switch between Send A and Send B The left blue pad chooses Send A while the right blue pad selects Send Cubase Setup To set up the Launchkey Mini in Cubase navigate to Studio Studio Setup Next find the MIDI port setup option ...

Page 36: ... for MIDI Input and MIDI Output Finally hit Apply to start using the controller with Cubase Cubase Navigation While in Cubase s Mixconsole hold Shift and press Arp or Fixed Chord to select the track left or right of the current track respectively Doing so will also automatically arm the newly selected track ...

Page 37: ...hooses Send A while the right blue pad selects Send Vegas Mode If the Launchkey Mini is idle for 5 minutes it will enter Vegas mode In this mode colours will scroll across the pads indefinitely until a pad button or key is pressed To turn Vegas mode on and off hold Shift while turning the unit on ie connecting a USB cable If the blue pad is brightly lit Vegas mode is on Press this pad to toggle be...

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