This chapter describes the means to interact with the Launchpad X by DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) or DAW like software. This mostly involves interacting with the Session layout to realise surfaces through which the DAW may provide its user interface.
Launchpad X must be switched into DAW mode before software may interact with it. When DAW mode is enabled, the Session button will light and become available to press.
When the DAW/software exits, it should send SysEx to revert the device to Standalone mode. Doing this ensures that all the state is cleared, and the device remains useful as a standalone device once the DAW is done using it (without power cycling to restore it).
When entering DAW mode, all DAW states start cleared.
The SysEx message is as follows:
Host → Launchpad X:
Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Ch 10h <mode> F7h
Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 12 16 <mode> 247
Host → Launchpad X:
Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Dh 10h <mode> F7h
Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 13 16 <mode> 247
Where <mode> is 0 for Standalone, 1 for DAW (Session / DAW Fader layouts enabled).
Readback variant is available by the following SysEx message:
Host → Launchpad X:
Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Ch 10h F7h
Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 12 16 247
Host → Launchpad X:
Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Dh 10h F7h
Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 13 16 247
The DAW should interact with the Launchpad X through the USB DAW In/Out interface. MIDI events sent on this interface control the DAW state within the Launchpad X as follows:
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Channel 1, Notes: 90h (144), Control Changes: B0h (176): Static colour on Session layout.
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Channel 2, Notes: 91h (145), Control Changes: B1h (177): Flashing colour on Session layout.
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Channel 3, Notes: 92h (146), Control Changes: B2h (178): Pulsing colour on Session layout.
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Channel 5, Control Changes: B5h (181): DAW Fader colour sets.
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Channel 6, Control Changes: B4h (180): DAW Fader position sets.
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Channel 9, Notes: 98h (152): Static colour on DAW Drum Rack layout.
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Channel 10, Notes: 99h (153): Flashing colour on DAW Drum Rack layout.
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Channel 11, Notes: 9Ah (154): Pulsing colour on DAW Drum Rack layout.
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Channel 16, Notes: 9Fh (159): External note injection on all External MIDI channels.
The Launchpad X sends button and pad events to the DAW as follows:
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Channel 1, Notes: 90h (144), Control Changes: B0h (176): Session layout activities.
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Channel 5, Control Changes: B4h (180): DAW fader activities.
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Channel 9, Notes: 98h (152): DAW Drum Rack layout activities.
For the available colours, see the colour palettes in the Controlling the Surface chapter.
Note that Aftertouch (either as key aftertouch or channel pressure depending on configuration) is also sent on the appropriate channels (Channel 1 for Session, Channel 9 for Drum Rack).
These interactions are all available regardless of which layout is selected on the Launchpad X, and the state set up by the MIDI events is preserved even when it is not visible (the Launchpad X is not on the corresponding layout).
Text scrolling can also be used in DAW mode as desired to display information, the text scroll overlaying on top of the surface without affecting it.
This message can be used as a shortcut to clear DAW state, instead of sending out all the corresponding MIDI events with a data value of zero:
Host → Launchpad X:
Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Ch 12h <session> <drumrack> <controlchanges> F7h
Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 12 18 <session> <drumrack> <controlchanges> 247
Host → Launchpad X:
Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Dh 12h <session> 00h <controlchanges> F7h
Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 13 18 <session> 0 <controlchanges> 247
Each of <session>, <drumrack> and <controlchange> can be either 0 to keep the corresponding state intact or 1 to clear it. Clearing is equivalent to sending 128 MIDI events with value of zero as follows:
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<session>: 90h (144) (Session layout Note states)
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<drumrack>: 98h (152) (DAW Drum Rack layout states)
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<controlchange>: B0h (176) (Control Change states)
Example:
Host → Launchpad X:
Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Ch 12h 01h 00h 00h F7h
Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 12 18 1 0 0 247
Host → Launchpad X:
Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Dh 12h 01h 00h 00h F7h
Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 13 18 1 0 0 247
This message clears the Session layout Note states without affecting the DAW Drum Rack or Control Change states.
Session mode is selectable by the Session button, it is the surface on which most interactions should take place. Its layout is as follows:
The top row’s Session, Note and Custom buttons are not available for control by the DAW, however they still send the corresponding CC messages on interaction, allowing the DAW to catch relevant events as the user interacts with the device (layout changes). All the other pads and buttons (as well as the logo) are available, and reflect the state set up by the corresponding MIDI events.
The DAW can use the DAW Fader layout to set up banks of faders. There are up to 8 faders on a fader bank, which all share orientation (either horizontal or vertical), however each may be configured individually to be either unipolar or bipolar.
The DAW Fader bank can be set up using the following SysEx message:
Host → Launchpad X:
Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Ch 01h 00h <orientation> <fader> [<fader> […]] F7h
Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 12 1 0 <orientation> <fader> [<fader> […]] 247
Host → Launchpad X:
Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Dh 01h 00h <orientation> <fader> [<fader> […]] F7h
Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 13 1 0 <orientation> <fader> [<fader> […]] 247
The <orientation> byte can be 0 for Vertical faders or 1 for Horizontal faders.
The <fader> entry specifies the configuration of one fader as follows:
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Fader index (1 byte), 0 – 7, left to right (vertical) or top to bottom (horizontal).
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Fader type (1 byte), 0: Unipolar, 1: Bipolar.
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Control Change associated (1 byte).
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Fader’s colour (1 byte), a palette entry.
The fader’s colour can be set to 0, this may be used to disable the fader (as it will not show on the surface then).
The message may contain up to 8 <fader> entries to set up the entire DAW Fader bank.
Readback variant is available by the following SysEx message:
Host → Launchpad X:
Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Ch 01h F7h
Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 12 1 247
Host → Launchpad X:
Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Dh 01h F7h
Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 13 1 247
Example:
Host → Launchpad X: Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Ch 01h 00h 00h 00h 00h 07h 25h 01h 01h 08h 15h F7h Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 12 1 0 0 0 0 7 37 1 1 8 21 247
Host → Launchpad X: Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Dh 01h 00h 00h 00h 00h 07h 25h 01h 01h 08h 15h F7h Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 13 1 0 0 0 0 7 37 1 1 8 21 247
Host → Launchpad X:
Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Ch 00h 0Dh F7h
Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 12 0 13 247
Host → Launchpad X:
Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Dh 00h 0Dh F7h
Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 13 0 13 247
The first message populates a DAW Fader bank with:
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Vertical orientation
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A turquoise unipolar fader on the leftmost column set to CC 7
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A green bipolar fader in the next column along set to CC 8
The second message switches to the fader layout (blank by default). DAW Mode must be enabled for these messages to work. Keep in mind that the state of the fader layout persists even when switching away from it. Therefore, it is recommended to set up the faders first and switch to the layout afterwards when a new fader layout is to be set up. This is to prevent the previous state momentarily showing up when switching from a different layout.
The DAW can request the Note Mode to show a Drum Rack instead of the regular Note Mode layout. This layout is designed for Ableton Live’s Drum Rack, normally set up according to the available drum samples using the MIDI events described in the DAW In/Out interface chapter. The layout of this Drum Rack is as follows:
This message can be used to select the DAW Drum Rack mode. It is only available in DAW mode. Changing the mode does not change the currently active layout on the Launchpad X. if Note mode is selected, the change is immediately visible, otherwise the change will be seen when Note Mode is next selected.
Host → Launchpad X:
Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Ch 0Fh <mode> F7h
Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 12 15 <mode> 247
Where the <mode> byte can be one of the followings:
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0: Note mode.
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1: Simple Drum Rack.
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2: Intelligent Drum Rack.
Readback variant is available by the following SysEx message:
Host → Launchpad X:
Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Ch 0Fh F7h
Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 12 15 247
In this mode, the layout is fixed, while the DAW may control the four directional buttons on the upper right (with the same Control Change messages like available on Session layout).
In this mode, the layout is scrollable by the four directional buttons, which the Launchpad X operates on its own (colouring them yellow if the control is available, blank if not), allowing to pan the view over the 128 possible drum samples.
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Up/Down moves one 4×4 grid up/down.
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Left/Right moves an 1×4 row down/up.
This message can be used to set or retrieve the Intelligent Drum Rack’s position, so the DAW could retain its position or control it by itself:
Host → Launchpad X:
Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Ch 13h <position> F7h
Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 12 19 <position> 247
Where <position> is the lower left pad’s index, which may range between 0 and 64.
Readback variant is available by the following SysEx message:
Host → Launchpad X:
Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Ch 13h F7h
Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 12 19 247
This message can be used to change the active and inactive colours of the Session button:
Host → Launchpad X:
Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Ch 14h <active> <inactive> F7h
Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 12 20 <active> <inactive> 247
Host → Launchpad X:
Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Dh 14h <active> <inactive> F7h
Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 13 20 <active> <inactive> 247
Each of <active> and <inactive> is a palette entry. Setting <active> to zero reverts to the default colours. When entering DAW mode, the Session button always has the default colouring.
Readback variant is available by the following SysEx message:
Host → Launchpad X:
Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Ch 14h F7h
Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 12 20 247
Host → Launchpad X:
Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Dh 14h F7h
Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 13 20 247
This message can be used to change the active colour of Note mode (which is normally green):
Host → Launchpad X:
Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Ch 17h <colour> F7h
Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 12 23 <colour> 247
The <colour> is a palette entry. Setting it to zero reverts to the default (green) colour.
Readback variant is available by the following SysEx message:
Host → Launchpad X:
Hex: F0h 00h 20h 29h 02h 0Ch 17h F7h
Dec: 240 0 32 41 2 12 23 247