Launchkey 25 hardware overview

Updated
The Launchkey 25 with callouts running left to right along the top and bottom. Go to the text descriptions for more information on layout.

  1. Pitch and Modulation wheels.

    • Pitch Wheel - bend the pitch of the note(s) you're playing and send pitch bend messages.

    • Modulation Wheel - an assignable wheel to control any hardware or software parameter.

  2. Octave + and Octave - buttons - transpose the keyboard in octaves. Press both buttons to reset to the default octave.

  3. Screen, Shift, and Settings buttons - the screen and the two buttons directly below.

    • Screen - shows important information and gives visual feedback from controls and DAWs.

    • Shift button - access secondary controls assigned to buttons, visible in text on the front panel.

    • Settings button - access the settings menu.

    • To enter Standby mode, hold the Shift and Settings buttons for two seconds. To exit press the Shift button again.

  4. The six buttons below the screen:

    • Track buttons - move through tracks in your DAW.

    • Scale button - enable and control Scale mode.

    • Chord Map button - enable and control Chord Map mode.

    • Arp button - enable and control arp mode.

      Latch button - Hold Shift and press the Arp button to access the Latch button.

    • Fixed Chord button - enable and control Fixed Chord Mode.

  5. Encoders - assignable encoder controls.

  6. Encoder bank buttons - move ˄ up and ˅ down through banks of encoder controls.

  7. Workflow buttons - A set of four buttons.

    • Capture MIDI button - recover recently played MIDI notes in supported DAWs.

    • Undo (Redo) button - triggers your DAW's undo function. Hold Shift and press Undo to trigger the Redo function.

    • Quantise button - trigger the quantise function in supported DAWs to snap notes to the grid.

    • Metronome button - enable the metronome in supported DAWs.

  8. Pad bank ˄ up and ˅ down buttons - two buttons to the left of the pads to move up and down the pads, e.g. moving clips in Live, accessing different chords etc.

  9. Pads - 16 velocity-sensitive, aftertouch-enabled, pads that change functionality depending on the pad mode.

  10. To the right of the pads are the:

    • > Button - Scene Launch button.

    • Function button - enables various secondary functions based on the pad mode.

  11. Transport buttons - Clockwise starting top left: Stop, Loop, Play, and Record.

The back panel of the Launchkey MK4 25, with numbered left to right 1 to 4: USB, 5-pin DIN MIDI, 6.35mm Sustain jack, Kensington Lock.

  1. USB Port - a type-C USB port. Sends and receives data, and powers your Launchkey.

  2. MIDI Out port (5-pin DIN) - sends MIDI from your Launchkey to external MIDI hardware.

  3. Sustain input - connect a sustain pedal (expression, soft, and sostenuto pedals are not supported).

  4. The Kensington lock icon. - Kensington Lock, use a lock to secure your Launchkey and deter theft.

Drum pad Terminology

Throughout this user guide, we'll refer to the drum pads in the following way:

  • The two buttons to the left of the pads are the Pad Bank up and down buttons.

  • The pads are numbered left to right: the top row 1 to 8 and the bottom row 9 to 16.

  • The two buttons to the right of the pads are the > Scene launch and function buttons.

A top-down view of the pads showing how we've numbered the pads throughout this user guide left to right, top row: 1 to 8, bottom row: 9 to 16.

Shift button

The Launchkey's Shift button allows access to secondary functions on many buttons. To access the secondary functions, hold Shift and press any of the buttons with a secondary shift function. This is a list of buttons with secondary, shift functions. Some functions vary by DAW.

Shift lets you preview controls. Hold Shift and move a control; the screen shows you the value without changing it.

Note

When you hold the Shift button, any other buttons with an available shift function light up.

Table 1. Buttons Shift Functions

Combination

Function

Shift + Octave +

Transpose + 

Shift + Octave -

Transpose - 

Shift + < Track button

< Track left 

Shift + > Track button

Track > right 

Shift + Arp

Latch 

Shift + Undo

Redo 

Table 2. Pad Shift Functions

Combination

Function

Shift + Pad 1

Encoder Mode: Plugin 

Shift + Pad 2

Encoder Mode: Mixer 

Shift + Pad 3

Encoder Mode: Sends 

Shift + Pad 4

Encoder Mode: Transport 

Shift + Pad 5

Encoder Mode: Custom 1 

Shift + Pad 6

Encoder Mode: Custom 2 

Shift + Pad 7

Encoder Mode: Custom 3 

Shift + Pad 8

Encoder Mode: Custom 4 

Shift + Pad 9

Pad Mode: DAW

Shift + Pad 10

Pad Mode: Drum 

Shift + Pad 11

Pad Mode: User Chord 

Shift + Pad 12

Pad Mode: Arp Pattern 

Shift + Pad 13

Pad Mode: Custom 1 

Shift + Pad 14

Pad Mode: Custom 2 

Shift + Pad 15

Pad Mode: Custom 3 

Shift + Pad 16

Pad Mode: Custom 4 

Standby mode

Your Launchkey's Shift button also allows you to put your Launchkey into Standby mode. In Standby mode, you can leave your Launchkey connected to power or your computer, but turn off all the lights.

To get in, and out, of Standby mode:

  1. Hold the Shift button.

  2. Hold the Settings button for two seconds.

    All the lights on your Launchkey switch off, and you're now in Standby mode.

  3. Press either the Shift or Settings button again to exit Standby mode.

    The Launchkey switches back on.

Tip

Standby mode just turns off the lights, so your Launchkey's controls still send MIDI data.

Latching Modifier Buttons

Some Launchkey functions need you to press a button combination starting with a 'modifier' button, for example, Shift + a button. You can 'latch' modifier buttons to make these functions easier. To latch a modifier button, double press the modifier button.

This applies to the following buttons:

  • Shift

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