Novation-Launchpad.md

Novation Launchpad

The following of Novation's Launchpad controllers are supported:

• Launchpad Pro
• Launchpad ProMk3
• Launchpad Mk2
• Launchpad Mini Mk3
• Launchpad X

Installation

Important:

• If you have one of the newer models which are supported by the Novation Components application, first make sure to update to the latest firmware for your device! Otherwise, you might have strange effects!
• If the virtual faders (volume, pan, send, etc.) do not work, set the Takeover mode to Immidiate.
• If (Poly-)Aftertouch is not working (on devices which support it), check the global aftertouch settings of the Launchpad (check the Launchpad manual).

If you added the controller manually, choose the following in-/output ports:

• Pro Mk3: choose the 1st port (e.g. LPProMK3 MIDI on Windows).
• Pro, Mini Mk3, X: choose the 2nd port (e.g. MIDIIN2 (Launchpad Pro) and MIDIOUT2 (Launchpad Pro) on Windows).
• Make sure the Launchpad sends on Midi Channel 1!
• To have pads blinking in sync with your song tempo activate to send MIDI clock to the device.

Differences between the Launchpad models

The Pro models have an additional left column and bottom row of buttons.

Especially, they have a Shift button to access additional functionality (see the Shift Mode below). To work around this missing button on the other models another button has to function as the Shift button. It is the last button of the top button row (MkII: Mixer, Mini Mk3: User, X: Capture Midi).

The three buttons on the top row, right to the cursor keys are named differently on the models:

• Pro Mk1: Session, Note, Device
• MkII: Session, User 1, User 2
• X: Session, Note, Custom
• Mini Mk3: Session, Drums, Keys

These differences will not be mentioned again in the following text and only the names of the Pro model will be used!

Pro Mk3

The differences on the Pro Mk3 are more drastic. It contains an additional row of buttons to select a track on the bottom. Additional functions are available in combination with the Clear button, to delete a track and the Duplicate button to duplicate a track.

Furthermore, some buttons were moved to a button which needs to be used in combination with the Shift button, e.g. for Undo press Shift+Record Arm. The implementation follows the labels on the buttons.

Transport and Editing (Left button column)

• Shift - Use in combination with other buttons for additional functionality.
• Click - Toggle the metronome.
• Shift+Click - Tap Tempo.
• Undo - Undo. Press Shift for Redo.
• Delete (Clear on the Pro Mk3) - Hold the button for additional functionality in combination with other buttons knobs, see the view explanations below.
• Shift+Delete - Toggle repeat
• Quantise - Quantises the selected clip.
• Record Quantise - Press multiple times to toggle through the record quantisation settings.
• Duplicate - Always duplicates the first selected clip on the current track if pressed with no other button.
  • To copy clips in Session mode on Pro models: Keep Duplicate button pressed; choose the source clip (it must be a clip with content, you can still select a different clip with content); select the destination clip (this must be an empty clip, which can also be on a different track); release the Duplicate button. On the non-pro models, activate duplicate mode, duplicate mode is deactivated, as soon as you select an empty clip as the destination.
  • Launchpad Pro: Keep the Duplicate button pressed and select a pad from the 1st row when a track mode is on to duplicate the track.
  • Launchpad Pro: Keep the Duplicate button pressed and select a scene to duplicate it.
• Shift+Duplicate - Double the currently selected MIDI clip incl. its' content.
• Double (Play on the Pro Mk3) - Start/Stop playback. Double click to move play cursor to start of song.
• Shift+Double (Play on the Pro Mk3) - Creates a new clip on the selected track and slot, starts play and enables overdub.
• Record - Start/Stop recording
• Shift+Record - Toggle launcher overdub. If the selected slot on the selected track is recording it stops the recording instead.
• Fixed Length (only Pro Mk3) - Executes the New function.
• Fixed Length + Track buttons (only Pro Mk3) - Create new clips of different lengths.

Cursors and Mode selection (Upper button row)

• Arrows - Navigate in the different modes (see below), holding an arrow button down will scroll through the specific View (e.g. track, scene).
• Session - Selects the Session mode to start, stop and record clips. Session can be flipped if Session button is pressed twice. Long press Session to select birds-eye-view to quickly navigate the clip grid. Press Session again to leave this mode. Temporary session mode: if any mode except session is active, hold the session button and then start a clip or scene. When the session button is released the previous mode is restored.
• Note - Pressing the Note button brings up a menu where you can select the note/sequencer mode. First row (from top) selects play modes, 3rd row drum modes and 5th row sequencer modes. On the Pro Mk3 pressing the Note button toggles through the 3 play modes.
• Device - Selects the Device mode to change the Parameters of the currently selected device. If pressed again it opens the browser for preset selection mode. If no device is selected the browser is opened to insert a device.
• Shift+Device - Opens the device browser to add a device after the currently selected one (on the Pro Mk3 this executes Tempo. Use the up/down buttons in the browser instead).
• User (only Pro, Custom on the Mk3) - Brings up the user mode.
• Chord (only Pro Mk3) - Toggles through the 3 drum sequencer modes.
• Sequencer (only Pro Mk3) - Toggles through the 3 note sequencer modes.

Note: The preferred play/sequencer mode is remembered for each track.

Shift Mode

If you press the Shift button (and keep it pressed) the grid changes to the Shift mode.

All models

• Press the Session button to enter Mix-Mode.
• The pads of the first row (from the bottom) change the length of newly created clips.
• The three green buttons in the right upper corner insert an instrument, audio or effect track.
• The yellow button in the right upper corner toggles between fixed accent/velocity for the pads in note/drum modes. The percentage value of the fixed accent can be set in the controller settings panel.
• The buttons in the center control note repeat for play modes. The blue button on top de-/activates note repeat. The two red buttons right to it de-/increase the octave range. The pads of the first two columns below change the note repeat period and the other two columns the note length.
• Up/down cursor buttons activate Tempo mode.
• Left/right cursor buttons activate Swing mode.
• The red button in the lower right corner stops the playback of all clips.

Non-pro models

• The first column (from the left) of the grid now represents the missing left column of the Pro model. The second column represents the functions of these buttons in Shift state.
• Pressing the Delete (pink) or Duplicate (purple) pads in shift mode activates the related mode. The pad starts to blink to indicate that the Delete/Duplicate mode is enabled. Press the pad again to cancel the mode. Leaving the shift mode and entering session mode allows then to delete/duplicate clips, scenes and tracks. After deleting/duplicating an item the delete/duplicate mode is automatically turned off.
• The Scene buttons represent the missing bottom row of the Pro (Volume, Pan, etc. but differently ordered). The colors of the buttons are identical. This area is empty on the Pro model.

Track Control

There are 8 modes to control different aspects of the currently selected page of tracks.

Use the Shift button in combination with one of the Scene buttons to select the according mode (Volume, Pan, etc.) or the dedicated button row on the Pro models. The modes which trigger something (stop clip, mute, solo and rec arm) send you to the Session mode. The lowest row of the session mode will now be replaced with the according track states of the select mode (e.g. you see the mute-state of the current track page):

• Record Arm (red) - The 8 buttons of the bottom row of the grid allow to toggle record arm of the currently focused 8 tracks of the track bank.
• Track Select (green) - The 8 buttons of the bottom row of the grid allow to select one of the currently focused 8 tracks of the track bank. The currently selected track is indicated on the first row (round) buttons by a brighter white. Furthermore, the front LED is also lit in the color of the current track. Selecting an already selected group track toggles its' expanded state.
• Mute (yellow) - The 8 buttons of the bottom row of the grid allow to toggle Mute of the currently focused 8 tracks of the track bank.
• Solo (blue) - The 8 buttons of the bottom row of the grid allow to toggle Solo of the currently focused 8 tracks of the track bank.
• Volume - Each column of the grid controls the Volume of the currently focused 8 tracks of the track bank. Hit buttons harder for faster change. The color of a fader is the same as the color of the track. Use the scene buttons for master volume.
• Pan - Each column of the grid controls the Panorama of the currently focused 8 tracks of the track bank. Hit buttons harder for faster change. The color of a fader is the same as the color of the track.
• Sends - Each column of the grid controls the Send of the currently focused 8 tracks of the track bank. Hit buttons harder for faster change. The color of a fader is the same as the color of the track. Use the Scene buttons to select the Sends 1 to 8.
• Stop Clip - The 8 buttons of the bottom row of the grid allow to stop the playing clip of the track of the currently focused 8 tracks of the track bank.

Shifted functions on the Pro models

• Shift+Record Arm: Undo
• Shift+Mute: Redo
• Shift+Solo: Toggle Metronome
• Shift+Sends: Tap Tempo
• Shift+Solo: Toggle Metronome
• Shift+Device: Enter tempo mode
• Shift+Stop Clip: Enter swing mode

Session Mode

Press "Session" to enter Session mode. Press again to toggle the clip orientation (vertical or horizontal). Long press to enter birds-eye-view.

• The buttons on the grid start/record the clips.
• Long press a pad to select the clip without starting it.
• The 8 scene buttons on the right start the scenes.
• The arrow keys scroll the grid.
• Hold Delete and press a clip button to delete the clip.
• Hold Delete and press a Scene button to delete the scene.

Selecting Note or Sequencer Modes

Press "Note" to choose a Note or Sequencer mode. On the Pro Mk3 use the Note, Chord and Sequencer buttons to toggle through the modes.

• The first three (red) pads represent Play modes - Scale, Piano, and Drum64.
• The second three (blue) pads represent Drum Sequencer modes - Drum, Drum4, and Drum 8
• The final three (orange) pads represent Note Sequencer modes - Sequencer, Poly, and Raindrop

Play modes

Note Mode (Playing the pads)

Press "Note" and select the first red pad to change to Scale mode.

• The key layout is the same one used with Ableton Push.
• Left/Right buttons change the scale (Major, Minor, etc.)
• Up/Down buttons transpose the note range (pitch) up/down.
• The played keys are lighting red if global or clip recording (does not work if recording clip is outside of the monitored 8x8 matrix)

Scene buttons have to following functions:

• The upper 2 scene buttons change the key layout.
• The 4th scene button (green) in the play mode activates additional controls in the first pad row. First pad toggles sustain. Second and third pad are pitch down/up and the following pads switch to different intensities of the modulation wheel. You can slide these modulation wheel pads to imitate a modulation wheel.
• The 5th scene button (amber) in the play mode activates the chords mode. This mode allows to play a chord by pressing a single pad. The base note is taken from the current scale and increases from left to right. The rows from bottom to top contain the following chords: Triads, Dyads (Powerchords), Suspended second (Sus2), Suspended fourth (Sus4), Add sixth (6), Major seventh chord (maj7), Add ninth (9), Add eleventh (11). The same octave, scale and base note settings apply as with the play mode.
• The white scene button toggles between Chromatic and Scale Only mode.
• The lower 2 scene buttons change the root note of the scale.

Piano Mode

Press "Note" twice to enter.

• Arranges the pads like a classic piano keyboard.
• The white lit pads are the white keys.
• The gray lit pads are the black keys.
• You get 4 octaves to play with

Drum 64 play mode

Press "Note" multiple times to select Drum 64.

This mode gives you 64 pads for playing a drum device. The 16 pads in the left lower area are the same as in the drum sequencer mode.

Sequencers

Sequencer Functions common to all sequencers (except Raindrop)

• Use the arrow keys to navigate in the grid.
• Note that you can scroll past the end of the clip (to the right).
• Press pads to enter/delete notes. The velocity of the pressed key is set as well.
• Change the note length or create long notes by pressing a note pad and then a pad right of it.
• To duplicate notes keep the Dulicate button pressed, select the source note, press empty destination pad(s). The note will be copied with all settings.
• Note starts and lengths are lit in different colors.
• Use the Scene buttons to change the grids resolution.
• Cursor Up+Pad: enables and increases note repeat by 1.
• Cursor Down+Pad: enables and decreases note repeat by 1.

Sequencer Mode

Press "Note" and select the first orange pad to enter the Sequencer mode:

• The pads of the top row represent the pages of the clip. Green indicates the page currently played. Blue is the page selected for editing. Press one of the pads to select it for editing. Keep one of the pads pressed and press another one to change the loop.
• The other pads display an 8x7 view of the selected clips note grid.
• The rows represent the notes of the selected scale.

Poly Sequencer

Press "Note" and select the second orange pad to change to the Poly Sequencer:

• The lower half displays the playable notes like in the Note Mode
• Play one or more notes in that area
• Create a step in the upper part by pressing a pad. The step will contain the last notes you played in the lower part.
• Arrow keys change the octaves and step pages

Raindrop sequencer

Press "Note" and select the third orange pad to change to the Raindrop Sequencer:

• The lowest row displays the playable notes
• The row above a note starts a raindrop
• If the raindrop reaches the note it sounds

Drum Sequencer Mode

Press "Note" and select the first blue pad to change to the Drum Sequencer.

• The drum sequencer works as described in the Ableton Push manual.
• Hold Delete + Drumpad to delete the midi notes of the current clip on that 'pad'.
• To make the display of mute/solo/exists states work, the primary device needs to be the drum machine (which is normally the case).
• The Drumpads use the colors set in the drum machine for each pad.
• The loop area in the drum sequencer is shortened by 4 pads. These 4 pads can be used in combination with the play area. From left to right they provide the following functions: select a drum pad without playing the sound, mute the drum pad, solo the drum pad, open the browser for the drum pad. With Reaper only selection is functional.
• If Fixed Accent is active the loop area shows 15 velocities. The selected velocity is used when enabling a note in the sequencer.

Drum 4 and Drum 8 sequencer

Press "Note" and select the second or third blue pad to change to Drum 4 or Drum 8.

These drum sequencers show 4 or 8 drum sounds for sequencing. Use the cursor buttons to move in the clip.

Device Mode

Press "Device" to enter the Device mode:

• Each column of the grid controls a parameter of the currently selected device.
• These virtual faders use the same colors as the Bitwig highlight colors.
• Hit buttons harder for faster fader change.
• Cursor up/down to the next / previous device
• Cursor left/right to the next / previous parameter bank

Browser Mode

Press "Device" twice to enter the browser mode for preset selection. It will only enter the mode if a device is currently selected. Press "Shift+Device" to open the device browser to add a device after the currently selected one.

• The first 6 columns of the grid relate to the first 6 columns of the preset browser.
• The 8th column (yellow) relates to the result (preset or device) column of the browser.
• The 1st row moves the selection up by 1.
• The 2nd row moves the selection up by 8.
• The 3rd row moves the selection down by 8.
• The 4th row moves the selection down by 1.
• The red button dismisses the new preset or device selection and closes the browser.
• The green button confirms the new preset or device selection and closes the browser.
• The purple buttons are for previewing presets of instrument devices.
• Left/Right buttons switch to the next / previous browser tab.
• Up/Down buttons switch from replacing the current device to inserting a new device before or after it.

Mix Mode

Press "Shift+Session" to activate Mix mode.

This mode contains all session modes at once. The rows from bottom to top are:

• rec arm,
• solo,
• mute,
• clip stop,
• send 2,
• send 1,
• panorama,
• volume.

The panorama and sends pad are only colored for the selected track. Press one of the pads of the upper 4 rows to select a track. Select a volume, panorama or sends pad to activate it and then change its value with the virtual fader of the scene buttons.

Tempo mode

On all models, press Shift and either the arrow up or down button. On the Pro models you can also press Shift+Device.

The grid displays the current tempo. Change the tempo with the cursor keys. Up/down change by 1 and left/right by steps of 10. You can also keep a button pressed for continuous changes. If you do not release the Shift button when entering the mode with up/down the up/down buttons change the fractions of the tempo.

Press any of the grid pads to exit this mode.

Shuffle mode

Press Shift+Stop clip on the Pro models. On all other models. Press Shift and either the arrow left or right button.

The grid displays the current shuffle value. Change the value with the cursor keys. Up/down change by 1 and left/right by steps of (about) 10. You can also keep a button pressed for continuous changes.

Press any of the grid pads to exit this mode.

User mode (only Launchpad Pro / Pro Mk3)

Press User button on Pro or Custom button on the Pro Mk3 to enter.

Allows to map up to 64 user parameters divided into 8 pages with 8 parameters as virtual sliders. Right click on any parameter in Bitwig and select Map to controller. After that touch the virtual fader to which you want to map the parameter to complete the mapping. Mappings are stored individually with each project.

IMPORTANT: Do not map any other button on the controller! This will create weird behaviour.

• Each column of the grid controls a mapped user parameter.
• Select the 8 parameter pages with scene buttons.

Project mode (only Launchpad Pro Mk3)

Press the Project button to enter.

• Top Border (from left to right):
  • Switch to previous project (if multiple projects are open)
  • Toggle Audio Engine on/off of the selected project
  • Switch to next project (if multiple projects are open)
• Left Border: Toggle the inspector pane
• Right Border: Toggle the Browser pane
• Bottom Border (from left to right):
  • Toggle Note editor pane
  • Toggle Automation editor pane
  • Toggle Devices pane
  • Toggle Mixer pane
• Center buttons: Select layouts 1-3
• Cursor keys left/right: Zoom the arranger (arranger pane needs to be active!)
• Cursor keys up/down: Toggle track height (arranger or clip pane needs to be active!)

Preferences Settings

You can set several preferences which are stored when you exit the DAW. These are global settings and not specific to projects.

Play and Sequence

• Activate Fixed Accent: If a note is played the velocity is ignored and a fixed value is used.
• Fixed Accent Value: The velocity value to use when fixed accent is active.
• Quantize Amount: The amount of quantization to use when Quantize is executed. 100% alignes all notes fully to the grid.
• Default note view: The view that should be the default when you select an instrument track for the first time (e.g. Play, Drum, Sequencer, ...).

Transport

• Behaviour on Pause: Sets the action to be executed when playback is stopped with the Play button
• Flip arranger and clip record / automation: if enabled, the functionality of the Record and Automation button when used with Shift is flipped with the function when not using Shift. Enable this if you tend to work more in the Clip Launcher than the Arranger.

Session

• Flip Session: Change the orientation of the tracks/clips horizontal or vertical
• Select clip/scene on launch: If a clip/scene is started from the controller and this setting is off the clip/scene will not be selected. Use if you edit another clip and want not to change the focus.
• Action for pressing rec armed empty clip: what should happen if you press an empty clip in the session view?

Drum Sequencer

• Auto-select drum settings: If channel is selected and a drum pad is played the display switches to the layer settings of the drum cell.
• Turn off empty drum pads: Empty drum cells are displayed in orange. If enabled they pad LEDs are off.

Workflow

• Exclude deactivated items: If active, deactivated items like tracks will not be displayed on the controller. This cleans up the displayed banks but also prevents the options to activate an deactivated item from the controller.
• Include (Group-)Mastertrack: If set to off, the group-master tracks are removed from the track bank.
• New clip length: The length of a clip created with the New function.

Workflow

• Exclude deactivated items: If active, deactivated items like tracks will not be displayed on the controller. This cleans up the displayed banks but also prevents the options to activate an deactivated item from the controller.
• Include (Group-)Mastertrack (requires restart): Includes the master tracks for all groups in the track list.
• New clip length: The length of a clip created with the New function.

Pads

• Convert Poly Aftertouch to: The pads support poly aftertouch. If the device you play does not support this option allows to change it to Channel Aftertouch or a MIDI CC command.

Document Settings

These settings are specific to each project.

Scales

• Scale: Select the scale
• Base: Select the base note of the scale
• In Key: Select Chromatic to also display notes which are not part of the scale.
• Layout: Select the layout of the scale for the Play mode. The numbers are the offsets between the rows of the grid. The arrows depict the direction from lower to higher notes: left to right or bottom to top.

Note Repeat

• Active: Enable note repeat
• Period: The repeat rate of the note repeat
• Length: The length of a repeated note
• Mode: The arpeggiator mode
• Octave: The octave range which is used by the arpeggiator

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