Your Launchkey has a few areas of control we'll cover in the next few sections:
-
Faders and fader buttons
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Encoders
-
Pads
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Transport and workflow buttons.
Your Launchkey's encoders have eight modes. To change modes, hold the Shift button and press a pad from 1-8.
Some modes are only available while you're using a DAW. For more information, see the section relating to your DAW.
The encoder modes available are:
|
Drum Pad Number |
Mode |
Availability |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Plugin |
DAW Mode Only |
|
2 |
Mixer |
DAW Mode Only |
|
3 |
Sends |
DAW Mode Only |
|
4 |
Transport |
DAW Mode Only |
|
5 |
Custom 1 |
Always |
|
6 |
Custom 2 |
Always |
|
7 |
Custom 3 |
Always |
|
8 |
Custom 4 |
Always |
The pad for the current encoder mode lights bright pink. The other available modes light dim pink. Unavailable modes, for example, if you don't have a DAW open, are unlit.
When you enter an Encoder mode, the screen temporarily shows the control name and the mode you selected.
When you select a Custom Mode, the mode title is the name you give the Custom Mode when you create it in Novation Components. For more information, visit What is Novation Components?.
Your Launchkey has four Custom Modes. Custom Modes allow you to send customised MIDI messages from the controls. You can set up the messages each control sends in Novation Components.
When you move an encoder in a Custom Mode, the screen displays the parameter name and the value. You can set the parameter name in Components but if you've not set this the screen displays the destination of the MIDI message.
|
Default Encoder Custom Mode name. |
Encoder with a custom name. |
In each Custom Mode, there are two pages of encoder controls. To access the other page, press the Bank Next or Bank Previous buttons to the right of the encoders.
The default page is page one. On page one, only the Bank Next button lights to show you can access the second page. On page two, the Bank Previous button lights to show you can access the first page.
When you change the encoder page, the screen temporarily displays which page you're on.
Your Launchkey's pads have eight modes. To change the mode, hold the Shift button and press a pad from 9-16.
Some modes are only available while you're using a DAW. For more information, see the section relating to your DAW.
Drum mode is the default selected mode, the pad modes available are:
|
Drum Pad Number |
Mode |
Availability |
|---|---|---|
|
9 |
DAW (see Common DAW Control) |
DAW Mode Only |
|
10 |
Always |
|
|
11 |
Always |
|
|
12 |
Always |
|
|
13 |
Always |
|
|
14 |
Always |
|
|
15 |
Always |
|
|
16 |
Always |
The last pad mode you select lights bright blue. The other available modes light dim blue, unavailable modes are unlit.
When you enter a new Pad mode, the screen temporarily shows the control name and the mode you select.
|
DAW Pad mode. |
Custom Pad mode with custom name. |
When you select a Custom Mode, the mode title is the name you give the Custom Mode when you create it in Novation Components. For more information, visit Components.
When you select the Drum pad mode, the pads trigger MIDI notes. By default, the notes are arranged from C1 to D♯2 (bottom left to top right) and on MIDI channel 10.
In Drum mode, the pads light blue outside your DAW and the track colour in your DAW. The pads light when you play the pads.
User Chord mode allows you to input your own chords.
To access User Chord hold Shift and press Drum Pad 11.
When you're in User Chord mode, if you've not added any chords yet the pads are blank. In the following example we've added chords to five pads:
To play a chord, press a blue pad. The pad lights white when you're playing a chord.
Note
Chord modes on your Launchkey 88 may not be on the same MIDI channel as your keys. By Default, Chord modes send their notes out on MIDI Channel 3. To change this, go to: Settings → Press the Pad ˄ up and ˅ down buttons until you see Chords Channel → Set the channel using the pads or Encoder 1.
To assign a user chord to the pads:
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Press and hold a blank pad. The screen shows a representation of the keyboard.
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Press the notes on the keyboard you want to assign to the chord. You can either play the entire chord, or play each note independently (e.g. for chords you can't play with one hand). You can assign up to six notes– the Launchkey ignores any extra notes.
The screen shows the notes you've added to the chord and the chord name:
-
Release the pad.
In User Chord mode you can use the pad ˄ up and ˅ down buttons, to the left of the pads to transpose the entire User Chord bank.
To transpose by a single semitone, press either the pad up or pad down button. You can transpose up to 12 semitones (one octave) up or down.
To transpose by an octave (12 semitones) hold shift and press the pad up or pad down buttons. You can transpose up to three octaves, up or down.
Your Launchkey has four Custom Modes. Custom Modes allow you to send customised MIDI messages from the controls. You can set up the messages each control sends in Novation Components.
When you enable a Custom Mode, the pads output custom messages you can set up in Components.
When you press a pad in a Custom Mode, the screen displays the parameter name and the value. You can set the parameter names in Components but if you've not set this the screen displays the destination of the MIDI message, e.g. CC 21.
Your Launchkey's faders have five selectable modes. To change the mode, hold the Shift button and press one of the first five fader buttons below faders one to five.
Some modes are only available while you're using a DAW. For more information, see the section relating to your DAW.
The fader buttons follow the mode you set the faders to.
Custom Mode 1 is the default selected mode, the fader modes available are:
|
Fader Button Number |
Mode |
Availability |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Volume |
DAW Mode Only |
|
2 |
Custom 1 |
Always |
|
3 |
Custom 2 |
Always |
|
4 |
Custom 3 |
Always |
|
5 |
Custom 4 |
Always |
Your Launchkey has four Custom Modes. Custom Modes allow you to send customised MIDI messages from the controls. You can set up the messages each control sends in Novation Components.
When you enable a Custom Mode, the faders output custom messages you can set up in Components.
When you move a fader in a Custom Mode, the screen displays the parameter name and the value. You can set the parameter name in Components but if you've not set this the screen displays the destination of the MIDI message, e.g. CC 21.
|
Default Fader Custom Mode name. |
Fader with a custom name. |
The Fader Buttons follow the Fader Custom Modes. Like faders, in Custom Mode they output the messages you set up in Components.
When you press a fader button in a Custom Mode, the screen displays the parameter name and the value. You can set the parameter name in Components but if you've not set this the screen displays the destination of the MIDI message, e.g. CC 21.
If you've not set a parameter to a fader button, when you press it, the screen shows 'No Control':
|
Default Fader button Custom Mode name. |
Fader button with a custom name. |
Tip
The screen only displays 16 characters so make sure the custom names you give are useful.