Novation Launchkey Series User manual

1 1

2
Trade Marks
The Novation trade mark is owned by Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd. All other brand, product and
company names and any other registered names or trade marks mentioned in this manual belong to
their respective owners.
Disclaimer
Novation has taken all possible steps to ensure that the information given here is both correct and
complete. In no event can Novation accept any liability or responsibility for any loss or damage to the
owner of the equipment, any third party, or any equipment which may result from use of this manual
or the equipment which it describes. The information provided in this document may be modified
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 MK3 is a
trademark of Focusrite Audio Engineering Plc.
2019 © Focusrite Audio Engineering Limited. All rights reserved.
Novation
A division of Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd.
Windsor House, Turnpike Road
Cressex Business Park , High Wycombe
Buckinghamshire , HP12 3FX
United Kingdom
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
e-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.novationmusic.com
Caution:
The normal operation of this product may be affected by a strong electrostatic discharge (ESD).
In the event of this happening, simply reset the unit by removing and then replugging the USB
cable. Normal operation should return.
User Guide version V1.02

2 3
Contents
1.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................................5
1.1 Key Features.............................................................................................................................5
1.2 Box Contents............................................................................................................................6
1.3 Getting Started ........................................................................................................................6
1.4 Support ....................................................................................................................................7
1.5 Model Specific Features...........................................................................................................7
1.6 Hardware Overview..................................................................................................................7
1.7 Getting Connected ................................................................................................................10
1.7.1 Connecting Launchkey with a Computer.........................................................................10
1.7.2 Connecting Launchkey with External MIDI Enabled Instruments ....................................10
2.0 Working with Ableton Live...............................................................................................11
2.0.1 Installation........................................................................................................................11
2.0.2 Setup................................................................................................................................11
2.1 Session Mode.........................................................................................................................13
2.1.1 Launching Clips ...............................................................................................................15
2.1.2 Launching Scenes ............................................................................................................16
2.1.3 Stop, Solo, Mute .............................................................................................................16
2.1.4 Record..............................................................................................................................17
2.1.5 Capture MIDI....................................................................................................................17
2.1.6 Quantise...........................................................................................................................17
2.1.7 Click..................................................................................................................................17
2.1.8 Undo.................................................................................................................................17
2.1.9 Arm/ Select (61 & 49 Key Models Only).................................................................................18
2.2 Drum Mode - Playing and Recording Drums...............................................................................18
2.3 Using Ableton Live’s Mixer ....................................................................................................19
2.3.1 Pots ..................................................................................................................................19
2.3.2 Faders (49 & 61 Key Models Only) .........................................................................................20
2.4 Device Mode - Navigating and Controlling Devices ..................................................................20
2.4.1 Device Select.......................................................................................................................21
2.4.2 Device Lock......................................................................................................................22
2.5 Transport Functions................................................................................................................23
3.0 Standalone Features .........................................................................................................24
3.1 Grid ........................................................................................................................................24
3.1.1 Drum Mode......................................................................................................................24
3.2 Chord Modes .........................................................................................................................24
3.2.1 Scale Chord Mode ...........................................................................................................24
3.2.2 User Chord Mode.............................................................................................................25
3.2.3 Fixed Chord......................................................................................................................27
3.3 Scale Mode ............................................................................................................................28

4
3.4 Custom Modes ......................................................................................................................29
3.4.1 Pads..................................................................................................................................30
3.4.2 Pots ..................................................................................................................................30
3.4.3 Faders (49 and 61 key models only) ....................................................................................... 30
3.5 Arpeggiator............................................................................................................................30
3.5.1 Arpeggiator Rotary Pots ..................................................................................................31
3.5.2 Arp Modes .......................................................................................................................31
3.5.3 Arp Rates .........................................................................................................................32
3.5.4 Arp Octaves .....................................................................................................................33
3.5.5 Arp Rhythms ....................................................................................................................33
3.5.6 Latch ................................................................................................................................34
3.5.7 Arp Control Lock .............................................................................................................34
3.6 Octave Buttons.......................................................................................................................35
3.7 Settings ..................................................................................................................................35
3.8 Pot Pickup ..............................................................................................................................36
3.9 Navigation Mode - ([...] Button) ................................................................................................... 36
4.0 Working with Other DAWs...............................................................................................37
4.1 Logic.......................................................................................................................................37
4.1.1 Setup................................................................................................................................37
4.1.2 Session Mode...................................................................................................................38
4.1.3 Pots (Knobs).............................................................................................................................. 39
4.1.3 Faders (49 & 61 Key Models Only).......................................................................................... 40
4.1.4 Arm/ Select (61 & 49 Key Models Only).................................................................................41
4.1.5 Transport Functions..........................................................................................................41
4.1.6 Navigation........................................................................................................................41
4.2 Reason....................................................................................................................................42
4.2.1 Setup................................................................................................................................42
4.2.2 Transport Control .............................................................................................................43
4.2.3 Rotary Knobs....................................................................................................................43
4.2.4 Pads Session Mode ..........................................................................................................43
4.2.5 Navigation........................................................................................................................43
4.2.6 Preset Browsing................................................................................................................43
4.3 Working with HUI (Pro Tools, Cubase, Studio One etc.) ............................................................44
4.3.1 Setup ...............................................................................................................................44
4.3.1.1 Pro Tools........................................................................................................................44
4.3.1.1 Cubase ..........................................................................................................................44
4.3.1.1 Studio One....................................................................................................................44
4.3.2 Pad Session Mode............................................................................................................44
4.3.3 Navigation .......................................................................................................................44
4.3.4 Controlling the Mixer .......................................................................................................44
4.3.5 Faders and Fader Buttons (49 & 61 Key Models Only).........................................................45
4.3.6 Transport Buttons.............................................................................................................45
5.0 Custom Modes and Components ....................................................................................46

4 5
1.0 Introduction
Launchkey [MK3] is Novation’s intuitive and fully integrated MIDI keyboard controller for making
tracks in Ableton Live, designed to give you everything you need to create and play your music. Made
for creators of all abilities, Launchkey gives you inspirational tools to expand your musical vocabulary.
Launchkey gives you unrivalled access to Ableton Live’s functions, including Capture MIDI, track
arm, quantise, click and loop controls. Not using Ableton Live? No problem, Launchkey also has full
integration with Logic and Reason, plus out of the box functionality with other DAWs including Studio
One, Cubase and Pro Tools, via HUI.
Inspirational features include Scale and Chord modes and a powerful arpeggiator, which together
extend your musical capabilities and let you create in new ways. Scale Mode transposes keys and pads
played to notes in the scale selected; chord modes let you trigger complex chords with one finger,
while the powerful arpeggiator gets melodies moving.
Launchkey also works in standalone; the full-size five-pin MIDI output works with any MIDI-compatible
device. Use Novation Components to configure Custom Modes, which map Launchkey’s knobs, faders
and pads to all things MIDI.
1.1 Key Features
• Designed for Ableton Live: immediate
access to all the controls you need.
• Additional DAW support: Full integration
with Logic and Reason, out of the box
functionality with Studio One, Cubase, Pro
Tools and more via HUI.
• Produce and perform: 25, 37, 49 or 61-note
velocity sensitive keyboard and 16 velocity
sensitive RGB backlit pads
• Shape your sound: tweak instruments and
effects to perfection using eight rotary
encoders - and 9 faders (Launchkey 49 and
61 only)
• Automatically map scales to the keys: never
hit a wrong note
• Get creative: three chord modes allow
you to trigger chords with one finger, the
powerful arpeggiator gets melodies moving
• Transport and mixer control: directly operate
playback, recording, pans, mutes and sends
• Connect to your hardware: 5-pin MIDI Out
works with any MIDI-compatible device
• Control anything MIDI: create custom
mappings for any performance or studio rig
using Novation Components
• Make music immediately: Ableton Live Lite,
virtual instruments and effects plugins and
sample packs included

6
1.2 Box Contents
• Launchkey 25, 37, 49 or 61
• USB Type-A to B cable (1.5 meters)
• Safety Instructions
1.3 Getting Started
The ‘Easy Start Tool’ provides a step-by-step guide to setting up your Launchkey. This simple online
tool will guide you through the process of registering the device and accessing the software bundle.
When connecting Launchkey to your computer, it will appear as a Mass Storage Device (MSD), just
like a USB drive. Open the drive and then 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 bundle.

6 7
1.4 Support
For additional information and support visit the Novation Help Centre.
1.5 Model Specific Features
There are 25, 37, 49 and 61 key 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
Velocity Sensitive keys 25 37 49 61
Faders - - 9 9
Fader/ Track Buttons - - 9 9
Arm/ Select Button - -  
1.6 Hardware Overview

8
1LCD Display Shows the device status, parameter values,
and lets you navigate through menus.
2Shift Button Enables access to secondary Shift functions
which are shown in grey text on the hardware.
3Settings Button Opens the settings menu on the screen. (A
reference table of Settings options can be
found in section 3.7)
4▲▼ Buttons Navigates up and down through rows of pads.
Used for clips and drum racks in Live, chords,
and more.
5Track ◄ ►Buttons Navigates through tracks in your DAW.
6… Button
(Navigation Mode)
Pressing the “...” button will put the
Launchkey into a navigation mode useful for
browsing samples and presets.
7Fixed Chord
Button
Stores a chord that can be played anywhere on
the keyboard. While holding the button, press
and release the keys that you wish to be part
of the ‘fixed’ chord.
8Arp Button Turns on and off Launchkey’s inbuilt
arpeggiator. Long press also locks the pot and
pad Arp controls to on.
9Scale Button Turns on and off Launchkey’s Scale Mode.
10 Octave - +
Buttons
Transposes the keyboard up or down across 8
octaves (C-2 to C5). Pressing both buttons sets
the transposition amount back to 0.
11 Pitch Wheel Bends the pitch of the note being played.
12 Modulation Wheel Modulates software/ hardware parameters.
1
2 3 4
5
6
8
11
10
7
9
12

8 9
19 Faders (Launchkey 49
and 61 only)
Control various parameters using 8 available modes: Device, Volume, Send A,
Send B and 4 Custom Modes. The 9th fader controls Master volume in your DAW
(excluding HUI).
20 Fader Buttons (49 & 61
key models only)
Control various parameters using 8 available modes: Device, Volume, Send A,
Send B and 4 Custom Modes.
21 Arm/ Select Button (49
& 61 Key Models Only)
Changes the functionality of the Fader Buttons in your DAW to let you select and
record arm tracks.
13 Pots Controls various parameters using 8 available modes: Device, Volume, Pan, Sends
and four Custom Modes. The first five pots also control Arp parameters as secondary
functions.
14 Pads Triggers 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 in Ableton Live using the pads.
16 Device Lock Locks the currently selected device controls to the pots in Ableton Live, even when you
navigate to a different track.
17 > Button
(Scene Launch)
Launches full rows of clips in Ableton Live.
18 Stop/ Solo/
Mute Button
Turns the bottom row of pads into track stop, solo or mute buttons.
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20 21

10
22 Capture Midi Capture any recently played MIDI notes in your
DAW (supported by Ableton Live and Logic).
23 Quantise Triggers the quantise function in Ableton Live and
Logic, to snap notes to the grid.
24 Click Toggles Logic and Live’s metronome on and off.
25 Undo Triggers Logic and Live’s undo function.
26 Play, Record, Stop, Loop Controls the playback in your DAW.
22
26
23 24 25
1.7 Getting Connected
1.7.1 Connecting Launchkey with a Computer
Your Launchkey is USB bus-powered, meaning it turns on as soon as you connect it 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.
Note: When connecting Launchkey to a Mac you may be shown the Keyboard Setup Assistant. This
is because Launchkey also functions as a computer keyboard device in order to enable the Navigate
functionality. The Keyboard Setup Assistant can simply be dismissed.
1.7.2 Connecting Launchkey with External MIDI Enabled Instruments
If you want to use the 5-pin DIN socket for MIDI output on your Launchkey without a computer, you
can power the unit with a standard USB power supply (5V DC, minimum 500mA).

10 11
2.0 Working with Ableton Live
Your Launchkey is designed to work seamlessly with Ableton Live, offering deep integration through
powerful production and performance controls right out of the box. In addition, you can modify your
Launchkey to suit your needs with Custom Modes. Launchkey’s functionality with Ableton Live is
detailed below.
2.0.1 Installation
If you already own Ableton Live 10 then all you need to do is open the program and plug in your
Launchkey. If you don’t yet own Ableton Live 10, register your Launchkey at novationmusic.com/
register to download and install your included copy of Ableton Live 10 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.
2.0.2 Setup
With Ableton Live installed, plug your Launchkey into your Mac or PC’s USB port. When you open Live
your Launchkey will be automatically detected and enter Session Mode.
If you press Shift on your Launchkey your pad lights should look like the image below. The top row of
pads (blue) select behaviour or “Mode” of the Pots above, while the lower row of pads (green) select
the behaviour or mode of the pads. If a pad is red then that mode is assigned to the faders (49 & 61
key models only).
If your pads do not resemble the image above you’ll need to configure Live’s Control Surface
Preferences. To do this, find the ‘Link/MIDI’ Preferences menu in Ableton Live:

12
Windows: Options > Preferences > Link/MIDI
Mac: Live > Preferences > Link/MIDI
In the Link/MIDI tab you’ll need to copy the settings shown above. First, select your Launchkey MK3
from the Control Surface menu. Then, under Input select “Launchkey MK3 [...] (LKMK3 DAW OUT)” or
Launchkey MK3 MIDI IN2 (Windows) for output select “Launchkey MK3 [...] (LKMK3 DAW IN)”. Finally,
match the Track, Sync and Remote settings.
If you’re having trouble getting your Launchkey working with Ableton Live, be sure to visit our Easy
Start Tool for video explanations.

12 13
2.1 Session Mode
Session mode is designed to control Ableton Live’s Session View. To access Session mode on your
Launchkey hold Shift and press the “Session” pad (bottom left pad). The Session pad should brighten
like this:
Session View is a grid that consists of clips, tracks and scenes (shown below).
Scene
Clip
Track

14
Launchkey’s Session mode provides an 8x2 grid of the clips in your Session View. Example of
Launchkey’s pads in Session mode:
Scenes are rows of clips. Launching a scene will launch all clips in that row. This means that you can
arrange clips into horizontal groups (across tracks) to form a song structure, launching scene after
scene to progress through a song.
Again, access Session mode on your Launchkey by holding Shift and pressing 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 such a rectangle (orange) extending from the left-most
track to the Master track:
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.

14 15
Any changes you make to clip position or colour within Ableton Live will be represented in the Session
mode of Launchkey. Unlit pads indicate empty clip slots.
You can navigate around Session View by pressing the ▲▼and the track ◄ ► buttons.
More specifically, you can move the currently selected grid of clips (inside Ableton Live’s coloured
rectangle) up or down. The ▲button moves the grid of clips up one row. The ▼button moves the
grid of clips down one row.
The track ◄ ► buttons will select the adjacent left or right track. This will automatically arm the track
so that it is ready to receive MIDI.
2.1.1 Launching Clips
Pressing pads will launch clips in the corresponding location in your Session View. Pads will pulse
green to indicate that a clip is playing. Pressing the pad again will relaunch the clip, and pressing an
empty pad will stop playback on that track.
How fast clips stop or relaunch is set by Ableton Live’s Global Quantization Menu, 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.

16
2.1.2 Launching Scenes
Pressing the Scene Launch button (>) launches scenes in Ableton Live. This means that all of the clips
in the top row of the pad grid will start together.
2.1.3 Stop, Solo, Mute
While in Session mode, it is possible to switch the functionality of the bottom 8 pads so that they no
longer launch clips. This is done with the Stop, Solo, Mute button.
The Stop, Solo, Mute button toggles between four different states which affect tracks in the following
ways:
Stop (Red) – In this state, pressing a pad in the bottom row will stop any clip on the corresponding
track. The red pads will glow dimly 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 dimly glow if tracks are not soloed (i.e. they are silent). Soloed tracks glow a
steady bright blue.

16 17
Mute (Yellow) – Pressing pads will Mute the corresponding tracks. The pads will dimly glow for muted
tracks, leaving pads for unmuted tracks at their original brightness and colour.
Clips (Multi)– the fourth press (after toggling through Stop, Solo and Mute) changes the function of
bottom pads back to the default Session mode, where the bottom row of pads will again represent
clips.
2.1.4 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.
2.1.5 Capture MIDI
Pressing this button triggers the Capture MIDI function. This allows you to retrospectively capture any
recently played MIDI notes in the record-armed track. This means that if you are not recording, but
you play something that sounds great, you can use Capture MIDI to send it straight into a clip.
2.1.6 Quantise
This button will quantise MIDI notes in the currently active clip on the currently selected track. This
snaps the MIDI notes to the grid, helping to keep them in time with the beat.
2.1.7 Click
Turns Ableton’s metronome on/off.
2.1.8 Undo
Triggers the undo function.

18
2.1.9 Arm/ Select (61 & 49 Key Models Only)
The “Arm/ Select” button (highlighted in red below) is used to set the functionality of the 8 “Fader
Buttons’” (highlighted below in blue) to either arm tracks, enabling recording; or to select a track.
While set to Arm the buttons light up red when a track is armed for recording and dim red when not.
Unlit buttons show that no track is associated with the fader.
When set to Select the colour of the buttons will match the tracks in Live. Pushing a Fader Button
(highlighted blue) will select that track.
2.2 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 track. When played the pads will light up green. These pads will play
whatever Drum Rack pads are visible on your computer screen. Pressing the ▲▼ buttons scrolls up/
down through a Drum Rack’s bank of 128 pads, each press moves up or down the rack in banks of 16.

18 19
When using Ableton’s Drum Racks, Drum mode will – apart from triggering sounds – select the
associated Drum Rack pad within a Drum Rack. This means that on release, the last played Drum Rack
pad lights up white and Ableton Live shows the selected Drum Rack pad on the screen.
2.3 Using Ableton Live’s Mixer
The 8 Pots and 8 Faders (49 & 61 key models only) provide hands on control over Ableton Live’s
mixer. This allows you to control the Volume, Pan, Send A and Send B levels of the tracks in your
project.
2.3.1 Pots
The 8 pots (knobs) can provide hands-on, rotary control over Ableton Live’s mixer components. To
prevent any sudden jumps in control when you start turning the pots we have implemented a “Pot
Pickup” function, this means that the pots will only start controlling the parameter once it has been
moved to the position it states within 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 in Live’s
preferences). When your Launchkey is connected to Live, the pots will automatically enter Device
Mode, to assign the pots to Live’s Mixer (Volume, Pan, Sends) hold the Shift button and press the
labelled pads in the upper row.
2.3.1.1 Volume - This mode allows you to control Track Volumes using the pots. To select this mode,
hold the Shift button and press the Volume pad.
2.3.1.2 Pan Mode - This Mode allows you to control Track Pan values using the pots. To select this
mode, hold the Shift button and press the Pan pad.

20
2.3.1.3 Sends Mode - This Mode allows you to control Track Sends values using the pots. To select
this mode, hold the Shift button and press the Sends pad. On the first press the pots will be assigned
to Send A, on the second press they will be assigned to Send B.
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 Faders, then the respective pad will appear red while Shift is held, pressing a
pad whilst in this state will not assign the Pots to that mode.
2.3.2 Faders (49 & 61 Key Models Only)
The 9 faders provide hands-on, 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 will
default to Volume Mode. In this mode the first 8 faders control Ableton Track Volumes. The 9th Fader
always controls the Master Volume no matter what mode is selected. The faders can also be set to
control the Send A, Send B levels.
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 mode.
2.4 Device Mode - Navigating and Controlling Devices
Device mode allows you to control an Ableton “Device” (Ableton or 3rd-party instruments and effects)
on a Live track. When your Launchkey is connected to Live, the pots will automatically sync to the first
device within the current Live track. Control over devices can also be assigned to the Faders (49 &
61 key models only), to do this first ensure that the pots are not already assigned to Device mode (a
mode cannot be assigned to both pots and faders at the same time) then hold the Shift button and
press the 1st Fader button. To re-assign control over devices to the Pots hold the Shift button and
press the first pad in the top row.