Novation Launchkey 61 MK3
A 61-key MIDI controller. It makes no sound on its own. It sends note and control data to your computer, and your software makes the noise. If you hear nothing, the problem is almost always on the software side, not the keyboard.
Location: [rooms/pods where the Launchkey lives]
Plug in
- USB cable from the back of the keyboard to your laptop. It's a USB-B connector (the squarish one), and the keyboard is bus powered, so there's no power brick to hunt for.
- Screen lights up. That's it.
- Sustain pedal, if you have one, goes in the pedal jack on the back.
- Doing hardware instead of a computer? The 5-pin MIDI out on the back runs any MIDI synth or module. You'll still need USB power for the keyboard.
On a Mac you may get a "Keyboard Setup Assistant" popup the first time. Close it. The Launchkey pretends to be a computer keyboard for one of its browse features, and macOS gets confused.
Get sound out (Ableton Live)
Plug the keyboard in before you open Live.
- Open Live. It detects the Launchkey and the pads light up.
- Load an instrument onto a MIDI track.
- Arm the track, or just click the track name so it's selected.
- Play.
If the pads are dark and the keys do nothing, Live didn't pick it up. Fix it here:
Mac: Live > Settings > Link Tempo MIDI Windows: Options > Preferences > Link Tempo MIDI
- Control Surface:
Launchkey MK3 - Input:
Launchkey MK3 (LKMK3 DAW OUT)on Mac, orMIDIIN2 (LKMK3 MIDI)on Windows - Output:
Launchkey MK3 (LKMK3 DAW IN)on Mac, orMIDIOUT2 (LKMK3 MIDI)on Windows
In the MIDI Ports list underneath, turn on Track and Remote for the Launchkey ports.
Other DAWs
| DAW | What you need |
|---|---|
| Cubase 12 and up | Nothing. It's built in. |
| Logic Pro | Install Novation's Logic script from your Novation account (My Hardware > Launchkey MK3 > Downloads). |
| Reason | Same deal, Reason script installer. |
| Pro Tools | Setup > Peripherals > MIDI Controllers. Type: HUI. Receive from LKMK3 DAW Out, send to LKMK3 DAW In, 8 channels. |
| Studio One | Preferences > External Devices > Add > Mackie HUI. Same ports as above. |
| Anything else | Works as a plain MIDI keyboard. Keys, pads, knobs and faders all send MIDI you can map by hand. |
What the buttons do
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Shift | Hold it to reach the grey secondary labels printed on the unit. You'll use this constantly. |
| Octave - / + | Moves the keyboard up or down an octave. Press both at once to reset to zero. |
| Scale | Locks the keys to a scale so you can't play a wrong note. |
| Arp | Turns the arpeggiator on. |
| Fixed Chord | Stores a chord shape you can then play with one finger anywhere on the keyboard. |
| Track ◄ ► | Moves between tracks in your DAW. |
| ▲ ▼ | Moves the pad grid up and down. |
| Device Select / Device Lock | Picks which plugin the knobs are controlling, and pins it there. |
| Stop / Solo / Mute | Turns the bottom pad row into track stops, solos, or mutes. Press repeatedly to cycle. |
| Capture MIDI | Grabs what you just played even though you weren't recording. Worth learning. |
| Quantise / Click / Undo | Snap to grid, metronome, undo. |
| Settings | Velocity curve, brightness, MIDI channels, aftertouch. |
Transport buttons (play, stop, record, loop) do what you'd expect.
The pads
Sixteen velocity-sensitive pads with three jobs, depending on the mode.
Change pad mode: hold Shift, press a pad in the bottom row. Change knob mode: hold Shift, press a pad in the top row. Change fader mode: hold Shift, press a fader button.
Pad modes worth knowing:
- Session launches clips in Ableton's session view. Green pulse means playing.
- Drum turns the pads into drum pads for a drum rack.
- Scale Chord fills the pads with ready-made chords in your current key. Triads on top, 7ths below. Hit ▼ for 9ths and 6/9ths.
- User Chord lets you save your own chords. Hold a pad, play up to six notes, done. They survive a power cycle.
Knobs and faders
Eight knobs across the top, nine faders. Fader 9 is always master volume.
Both control the same set of things: your plugin's parameters (Device), track volume, pan, and sends. Pick which with Shift as described above.
One gotcha: a mode can't be on the knobs and the faders at the same time. If a mode pad glows red while you're holding Shift, it means the faders already have it.
Three features that make you sound better in about a minute
Scale mode. Press Scale. Every key now plays in C minor. To change it, hold Shift and press Scale, then press any key to set the root note and any bottom-row pad to pick the scale type (minor, major, dorian, mixolydian, phrygian, harmonic minor, minor pentatonic, major pentatonic). Press Scale again to exit.
Fixed Chord. Hold the Fixed Chord button, play a chord, let go. Now every single key you press plays that chord shape, transposed. Great for fast pad and stab parts.
Arpeggiator. Press Arp and hold a chord. To shape it: hold Arp and press the labelled keys at the bottom of the keyboard for pattern, rate, and octave range. Hold Shift and turn the first five knobs for tempo, swing, gate, mutate, and deviate. Hold Shift and press Arp for latch, which keeps it running after you let go.
Long-press Arp to lock the arp controls on so you don't need to hold Shift. Press Arp again to release it.
Troubleshooting
- No sound at all. Track isn't armed, or the monitor is set to Off, or you loaded an audio track instead of a MIDI track. Check the DAW first.
- Every key plays a chord. Someone left Fixed Chord on. Press the Fixed Chord button. Still doing it? Hold Fixed Chord and press one single key, which overwrites the stored chord with one note.
- Some keys are silent or play the wrong pitch. Scale mode is on. Press Scale.
- Notes keep repeating after you let go. Arp latch. Press Arp.
- Everything sounds an octave or two off. Press Octave - and Octave + at the same time to reset.
- A knob does nothing until you sweep it past a point. That's Pot Pickup, which stops values jumping. Working as intended. You can turn it off under Settings.
- Pads are running a light show. Idle animation, called Vegas Mode. Touch anything and it stops.
- Pads are lit but nothing responds in Ableton. Redo the Link Tempo MIDI setup above.
- Genuinely stuck. Unplug the USB, wait a few seconds, plug it back in. Fixes most weirdness.
When you're done
Leave it how you found it:
- Scale, Arp, and Fixed Chord off
- Octave back to 0 (press both octave buttons)
- Faders back up
- Cable coiled, not dangling off the desk
Something broken or acting up? [support contact / how members report gear issues]