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Version 4.0
User Guide
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Contents
Introduction ..............................................................................................................................4
Key Features ...........................................................................................................................5
Box Contents ..........................................................................................................................5
Getting Started .......................................................................................................................6
Connecting FLkey with a Computer ...............................................................................................6
Easy Start ........................................................................................................................................6
Updating your FLkey ......................................................................................................................7
Support ...................................................................................................................................7
Hardware Overview ................................................................................................................8
Working with FL Studio ..........................................................................................................10
Installation ............................................................................................................................10
Manual Installation .......................................................................................................................10
Transport controls .................................................................................................................11
Preset Navigation .................................................................................................................12
External Connections ............................................................................................................ 12
MIDI Out with External MIDI Instruments ....................................................................................12
Sustain Input .................................................................................................................................12
Pad Modes ..............................................................................................................................13
Channel Rack .........................................................................................................................14
Instrument Pad Mode ...........................................................................................................15
FPC ...............................................................................................................................................16
Slicex ............................................................................................................................................16
Fruity Slicer ...................................................................................................................................16
Default Instrument ........................................................................................................................16
Sequencer .............................................................................................................................17
Channel Rack Graph Editor ..........................................................................................................18
Custom Pad Mode ................................................................................................................18
Pot Modes ..............................................................................................................................19
Plugin ....................................................................................................................................20
Mixer Volume ........................................................................................................................20
Mixer Pan ..............................................................................................................................21
Banking ........................................................................................................................................21
Custom .........................................................................................................................................22
View Channel Rack Selections ..............................................................................................23
Loop Record (on first boot) ................................................................................................................... 23
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Focusing FL Studio’s Windows .............................................................................................24
Note Repeat ...........................................................................................................................25
To use Note Repeat......................................................................................................................25
Change the Rate ..........................................................................................................................25
Set the Tempo ..............................................................................................................................26
Change the velocity of the notes/drum hits .................................................................................26
Standalone Features ...............................................................................................................27
Transpose .............................................................................................................................. 27
Octave Buttons .....................................................................................................................28
Scale Mode ...........................................................................................................................29
Shift Button ...........................................................................................................................31
Latching Pages .......................................................................................................................32
Control Pages ......................................................................................................................32
Transpose Controls ..............................................................................................................32
Shift Controls .......................................................................................................................32
Custom Modes and Components............................................................................................33
Custom Modes .............................................................................................................................33
Pots ............................................................................................................................................. 33
Pads ............................................................................................................................................. 33
Settings ................................................................................................................................34
Pad Velocity .................................................................................................................................34
MIDI Clock output .......................................................................................................................34
Vegas Mode .................................................................................................................................34
Easy Start .....................................................................................................................................35
Weight & Dimensions ...........................................................................................................35
Troubleshooting ....................................................................................................................35
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Introduction
FLkey is Novation’s range of MIDI keyboards for making music in FL Studio. Combining hands-on
control of the most important FL Studio features with our best keys to date, FLkey puts production in
your hands and connects you with your music.
In this user guide, you will find all the information you need to get started with your new FLkey Mini.
We’ll provide you with guides on how to set up your device with FL Studio, script features in FL
Studio, and how to make the most of FLkey Mini’s standalone features. We’ll help you to get started
with your FLkey hardware and get making music as quickly and easily as possible.
Stay in the groove and keep focused on your music with unparalleled dedicated integration with
FL Studio. FLkey Mini’s pads map to FL Studio’s step sequencer and build beats fast, and fourv Pad
modes give your rhythms a real human feel. Play straight into the Channel Rack or FPC and trigger
slices in Slicex and Fruity Slicer, or use Note Repeat to make perfect beats every single time.
FLkey Mini also brings FL Studio’s Mixer off the screen and into your hands so you can mix, create and
automate with ease, and browse presets in your Image-Line plugins to change up instruments and
sounds fast, with no mouse needed.
Make more of your music and keep the creativity flowing with inspirational musical tools like Scale
mode so you always hit the right note and immediately unlock new creative boundaries and find ideas
you never knew you had.
FLkey MIDI keyboards also come with an extensive bundle of high-quality instruments and effects,
plus membership of Novation’s Sound Collective. Throw all this content into your existing FL Studio
projects and make music however you want, wherever you want.
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Key Features
• Dedicated Integration with FL Studio: Produce music easily with essential controls at your
fingertips.
• Mixer and plugin control: Adjust volume and pan for the perfect mix, tweak Image-Line plugins
and record natural-sounding events with FLkey Mini’s eight rotary knobs.
• Step sequencer: Take control of FL Studio’s step sequencer and programme drums easily.
• Channel Rack playability: Play directly into the Channel Rack from FLkey’s pads.
• Instrument control: Trigger FPC and SliceX with the pads for more expressive beats and
melodies.
• Get creative: Never hit a wrong note with Scale Mode.
• Expression: 25 velocity-sensitive mini-keys and 16 velocity-sensitive RGB pads.
• Preset browsing: Find your favourite presets from Image-Line plugins directly from FLkey Mini.
• Custom Modes: Assign custom controls on FLkey Mini to tailor your music production workflow.
Box Contents
• FLkey Mini
• USB Type-A to B cable (1.5 meters)
• Safety Instructions
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Getting Started
Connecting FLkey with a Computer
FLkey is USB bus-powered, it turns on when you connect it to your computer with a USB cable.
Included USB Cable
Easy Start
The ‘Easy Start Tool’ supplies a step-by-step guide to setting up your FLkey. This online tool guides
you through FLkey’s registration process and accessing the software bundle.
On both Windows and Mac computers, when you connect FLkey to your computer, it appears as a
Mass Storage Device, like a USB drive. Open the drive and double click ‘FLkey - Getting Started.html’.
Click ‘Get Started’ to open the Easy Start Tool in your web browser.
After you’ve opened the Easy Start tool, please follow the instructions and step-by-step guide to
install and use your FLkey.
Alternatively, if you don’t want to use the Easy Start tool, please visit our website to register your
FLkey manually and access the software bundle.
customer.novationmusic.com/register
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Updating your FLkey
Novation Components manages updates for your FLkey. To confirm you have the latest firmware and to
update your FLkey:
1. Go to components.novationmusic.com
2. Click on FLkey Mini.
3. Click on the Updates tab at the top of the page.
4. Follow the instructions for your FLkey. If your FLkey needs to update Components will tell you how
to do this.
Support
For more information and support visit the Novation Help Centre.
Support.novationmusic.com
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Hardware Overview
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Pitch - Touch strip bends the pitch of the note
you play.
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Shift Button - Enables access to secondary Shift
functions. These functions are in grey text on the
front panel.
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Octave - + Buttons - Transposes the keyboard across ten octaves (C-2 to C7). Pressing both buttons sets
the transposition amount back to 0. See “Octave Buttons” on page 28. Shift + Octave navigates FL
Studio’s presets.
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3
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Modulation - Touch strip you can map to
parameters in FL Studio.
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Transpose - This lets you transpose your keyboard
plus or minus 11 semitones. Press Shift and
Transpose to select MIDI Channel output for the
keyboard. See “Transpose” on page 27.
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Pots - Control parameters using four available modes: Plugin, Mixer Volume, Mixer Pan and Custom.
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Pads – Access and control over Channel Rack,
Instrument, Sequencer and Custom modes.
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Scale Button - Turns on and off FLkey’s Scale
Mode. Choose the scale and root note using the
Scale button and the corresponding key below
the text above the keyboard. See “Scale Mode”
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▲▼- Navigates up and down through the Channel
Rack.
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Note Repeat Button – Enables the pads to
send continuous notes at various rates specified
using Note Repeat on the keyboard. See “Note
Repeat” on page 25.
on page 29.
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► Play button – Starts and
stops FL Studio playback.
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● Record button – Enables record arm in FL Studio, press the
Record button then the Play button to begin recording.
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- USB Type-B port
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Sustain – 6.35mm jack input for sustain pedals.
MIDI Out – MIDI Type-A 3.5mm jack connector for connecting to external MIDI hardware. See
“Connecting FLkey with a Computer” on page 6.
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Kensington Lock Port – Use a compatible Kensington lock to secure your FLkey to your workstation.
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Working with FL Studio
We’ve designed FLkey to work seamlessly with FL Studio, offering deep integration through powerful
production and performance controls. You can also change your FLkey to suit your needs with Custom
Modes.
Installation
Before using FLkey with FL Studio make sure your FLkey is up to date, for steps on how to do this
please see “Connecting FLkey with a Computer” on page 6.
To use the FLkey you need to be running FL Studio version 20.9.2 or above. After you’ve connected
the FLkey to your computer open FL Studio and the FLkey is automatically detected and set up in FL
Studio’s MIDI settings.
Manual Installation
In the MIDI Settings window (Options > Settings > MIDI) make sure it is set up like the following
screenshot. For a text guide on setting up your MIDI Settings you can also use the steps after the
screenshot.
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Manual Installation steps:
1. Select and enable the FLkey MIDI & DAW input ports in the lower ‘Input’ panel:
○ FLkey MIDI Out
○ FLkey DAW Out (named MIDIOUT2 on Windows)
2. Click on each Input and, using the red ‘Port’ tab below, set different port numbers for both.
○ Port numbers can be set to anything not already in use (except 0)
○ Choose different port numbers for the MIDI and DAW ports
3. Select each input and assign the scripts:
○ Click on the MIDI input, click the ‘controller type’ drop down and choose ‘FLkey Mini MIDI’.
○ Click on the DAW input, click the ‘controller type’ drop down and choose ‘FLkey Mini DAW’.
4. Click the output ports in the upper ‘Output’ panel and set the ‘Port’ numbers to match the inputs.
○ FLkey MIDI In.
○ FLkey DAW In (named MIDIIN2 on Windows).
○ The scripts you set in step 3 automatically link.
5. Select the DAW output (upper panel) and enable ‘send master sync’.
6. Near the bottom of the window, enable ‘Pickup (takeover mode)’.
7. Click ‘Refresh device list’ in the bottom left.
Transport controls
• The Play ▶ button starts and stops playback in FL Studio. Pressing play causes the play head to
return to the start before playing.
• The Record ● button toggles FL Studio’s recording state.
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Preset Navigation
You can use the FLkey to scroll through presets. Select an instrument or plugin and press the Shift +
[+] OR [-] buttons to select the next/previous preset. Use the keys/pads to audition the preset.
External Connections
MIDI Out with External MIDI Instruments
To use the MIDI output on your FLkey without a computer power the FLkey with a standard USB
power supply (5V DC, minimum 500mA). The MIDI Out is a 3.5mm jack using MIDI Type-A. You can
purchase MIDI adaptors separately or use direct jack to jack MIDI connections.
Sustain Input
You can connect any standard sustain pedal via the TS ¼” jack input. Not all plugins support sustain
pedal signals by default so you might need to link it to the right parameter inside the plugin.
The FLkey’s Sustain input automatically senses the pedal’s polarity. The Sustain input does not support
Sostenuto, Soft or Volume pedals.
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Pad Modes
The FLkey Mini has 16 pads to control various elements inside FL Studio depending on the pad mode.
To access pad modes:
8. Hold or double press Shift to enter shift mode. The top row of pads lights up. The orange pads
1 – 4 represent the pad modes. The text above each pad shows you the pad mode.
9. Press a pad to select the pad mode you want to use. The table below lists the FLkey’s pad
modes.
Mode
Channel Rack The Channel Rack mode lets you audition and select channels.
Instrument Instrument mode allows you to control the currently selected instrument,
Sequencer In Sequencer mode, you can create and edit steps. You can also edit the
Custom You can assign the sixteen pads to custom parameters.
Use
certain instruments have special layouts like FPC, Slicex and Fruity Slicer.
whole graph editor.
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Channel Rack
The Channel Rack pad mode lets you play up to 16 Channel Rack channels at once. Each pad
represents a single channel you can trigger using a C5 note. The pads light the channel colour for the
channel the pad is assigned to.
When you press a pad, FL Studio selects the channel and triggers audio. The pad then lights white to
show the selected channel. You can select one channel from the hardware at a time. The FLkey shows
when you have no channel selected in FL Studio.
The pad layout is left to right, bottom to top in two rows of eight.
Press Channel Rack ▼ or Channel Rack ▲ to shift the selection to the previous/next group of 8.
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Instrument Pad Mode
You can control Channel Rack plugins from your FLkey in instrument mode. To enter instrument mode,
hold shift and press the pad below ‘Instrument’ on the hardware. You can input MIDI note data via
pads, adapting special instrument layouts:
• FPC pads
• Slicex
• Fruity Slicer
• A Default Instrument layout.
By default, Instrument Pad mode displays a chromatic keyboard across the pads (shown below). When
you have Scale mode enabled in Instrument mode the MIDI data sent from the pads maps to the eight
notes in the scale you select, across two octaves.
Hold or double press Shift + [+] or [-] under the ‘Octave’ label to scroll through instrument presets.
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FPC
In Instrument mode, when you add the FPC plugin to a Channel Rack track, you can control the FPC
drum pads from FLkey. When you select a channel with the FPC plugin:
• The leftmost 4 x 2 pads control the bottom half of FPC pads.
• The rightmost 4 x 2 pads control the top half of FPC pads.
FPC is special in this: As its pads have distinct colours, the pads from the FLkey respect those colours
instead of the channel colour.
Hold or double press Shift + Channel Rack ▲ or Channel Rack ▼ to switch between Bank A and Bank
B in FPC.
Slicex
In Instrument mode, when you add the Slicex plugin to the Channel Rack, you can playback slices
using the FLkey’s pads.
You can press the page left (Shift + Channel Rack up) or page right (Shift + Channel Rack down) to
bank to the next 16 slices and trigger them with the FLkey’s pads.
Fruity Slicer
You can playback slices using the FLkey pads while in instrument mode when you select a Channel
Rack channel with this plugin.
Press the page left (Shift + Channel Rack up) or page right (Shift + Channel Rack down) to get to the
next 16 slices to be able to trigger them with the FLkey pads.
Default Instrument
This layout is available for a Channel Rack track with any other plugin without custom support.
By default, the pads show a chromatic keyboard layout with note C5 (MIDI note 84) on the bottom left
pad. You can change this using the FLkey’s Scale mode.
Pressing the page left button increases the octave, the page right button decreases the octave one
octave per row. The brighter bottom right pad is always the default pitch root note (C by default).
With Scale mode enabled, the pad layout matches the scale you select starting with the root note on
the bottom left pad.
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Sequencer
In Sequencer mode, you control the sequencer grid in the FL studio Channel Rack. You can place and
change steps inside the selected instrument and pattern. To use Sequencer mode, hold or double
press Shift + Sequencer. The upper row of pads shows steps 1-8, the lower row steps 9-16
In sequencer mode the pads display the steps for the selected Channel Rack track, active steps
appear in bright track colour, inactive steps in dim track colour. You can toggle steps by pressing the
pads.
Press Channel Rack ▲ and Channel Rack ▼ to scroll through the instruments. The pads update to
match the colour of the Channel you’re controlling.
In the following graphic and FL Studio screenshot–the ‘Kick’ channel has four active steps in the
sequence and four lit pads on the FLkey’s pads.
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The play button plays the sequencer. While the transport is playing, the currently playing step is lit in
bright white. Press the Play button again to stop the sequence. The sequencer always starts from step
one when using the FLkey Mini’s transport section. You can move the start position using the mouse,
the FLkey Mini will use that as the start point.
You can use the Channel Rack up and down buttons Shift function, page ◀ and ▶, to shift the
selection to the previous/next group of 16. A red box briefly highlights which set of steps you’ve
selected in FL Studio’s Channel Rack.
Channel Rack Graph Editor
This incorporates the pots into the pad mode. This allows you to edit properties of steps set in
sequencer mode.They map to the eight graph editor parameters from left to right (see table below
for more details).
To edit steps with additional parameters, hold the desired step on the pads and then turn the
appropriate pot. When you move a pot, the graph editor shows inside FL Studio and moves
correspondingly.
Pot/Knob Graph Function
Pot 1 Note Pitch
Pot 2 Velocity
Pot 3 Release Velocity
Pot 4 Fine Pitch
Pot 5 Panning
Pot 6 Mod X
Pot 7 Mod Y
Pot 8 Shift
Custom Pad Mode
This pad mode gives you freedom over whichever parameters you wish to control.You can edit the
messages the pads send out in Custom Mode using Novation Components.
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Pot Modes
The FLkey has eight pots to control various parameters inside FL Studio depending on the pot mode.
To access pot modes:
1. Hold or double press Shift to enter shift mode. The top row of pads lights up. The turquoise
pads 5 - 8 represent the pot modes. The text above each pad shows you the pad’s pot mode.
2. Press a pad to select the pot mode you want to use. The table below lists FLkey’s pot modes.
When you enable ‘Pickup (takeover mode)’ inside FL Studio’s MIDI settings, the pot needs to reach
the original value before the changes apply to the parameter connected to the current pot.
Mode Use
Plugin Plugin mode controls eight parameters, dependent on the plugin in focus.
Mixer Volume Mixer Volume mode maps the mixer faders in banks of eight to the pots.
Mixer Pan Mixer Pan mode maps the Mixer Pan pots in banks of eight to the pots.
Custom You can assign the eight pots to custom parameters.
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Plugin
In Plugin mode, you can use the FLkey’s pots to control eight parameters in the plugin you have in
focus. Most native FL Studio instrument plugins support FLkey’s pot mode.
Note: The parameters the FLkey maps to in FL Studio’s plugins are fixed preset mappings. For
third-party plug-ins you can use the Custom pot mode to create your own mappings.
Mixer Volume
In Mixer Volume mode, the FLkey’s eight pots map to the mixer faders in FL Studio. You can control
mixer track volumes in groups of eight.
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Mixer Pan
In Mixer Pan mode, the FLkey’s eight pots map to the pan controls in FL Studio’s mixer. You can
control the mixer track’s panning in groups of eight.
Banking
When you’re in the pot modes for the Mixer Volume and Mixer Pan you can bank in groups of eight.
Press Shift + Scale or Note Repeat to move the selection to the previous/next group of eight tracks.
The red selection in FL Studio shows you which bank the pots control.
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Custom
This pot mode gives you freedom over whichever parameters you wish to control and up to eight
at the same time.You can edit the messages the pots send out in Custom Mode using Novation
Components.
To map most parameters in FL Studio to the Pots on the FLkey:
1. Right-click a parameter in FL Studio.
2. Select one of two remote control modes (explained below).
3. Move a pot to map the parameter to the pot you moved.
Remote control modes:
• Link to controller - creates a link between one parameter’s instance and the pot, regardless of
focus. This link works ProjectWise.
• Override global link - creates a link across all projects, unless overwritten by a ‘per-project-link’.
As this depends on the focussed instance, you can control many parameters with one pot.
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View Channel Rack Selections
Hold Shift in any pad layout mode while the FL Studio Channel Rack is visible to see the current
selection. This applies to Channel Bank Selection, Channel Rack Pot Control and Channel Selection. If
you select a Mixer Pot Mode this displays the selected mixer bank.
Loop Record (on first boot)
You can’t toggle Loop Record from FLkey, it’s set to ON the first time you connect the FLkey to FL
Studio. This ensures your current pattern loops when recording, and doesn’t extend infinitely.
To disable Loop Record, to the left of FL Studio’s main clock is an icon with a keyboard and circular
arrows. If you disable Loop Record, it stays disabled– even if you disconnect and reconnect FLkey.
Loop Record OnLoop Record Off
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Focusing FL Studio’s Windows
Some interactions with FLkey affect the focussed window in FL Studio. The following actions focus the
Channel Rack:
• Pad Modes
○ Channel Rack
○ Sequencer
• Paging left or right on the Sequencer
• Selecting a channel in the Channel Rack
The following actions focus the Mixer:
• Pot modes
○ Mixer Volume
○ Mixer Pan
• Moving a Mixer Volume or Pan pot
• Banking in the mixer
The following actions focus the plugin for the selected channel:
• Moving a Parameter in Plugin Pot mode
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Note Repeat
Note Repeat applies to the pads and allows you to play notes (especially drum hits) at various Rates,
locked to a set Tempo.
When connected to FL Studio, Note Repeat always follows the DAW tempo regardless of playback
state. By default, master sync (in FL studio’s MIDI settings) is enabled making Note Repeat trigger
tightly to the grid. If you disable master sync, Note Repeat begins when you press a pad.
To use Note Repeat
Press the Note Repeat button to enable Note Repeat on the pads. FL Studio sends MIDI clock to the
FLkey by default, so it synchronises to this tempo. Hold any pad and they repeat at the set Rate and
Tempo.
In Sequencer mode, the Note Repeat function doesn’t affect the pads. In Sequencer mode, the pads
assign notes to the sequencer.
Change the Rate
To change the rate, hold the Note Repeat button (or double-tap to latch) and press a key labelled 1/4,
1/8, 1/16, 1/32, Triplet. The Triplet option applies a Triplet feel to the currently selected rate, e.g. if
the Rate was set to 1/8, enabling Triplet sets the rate to 1/8t.
With Note Repeat held or latched, you can change the Rate as you play the pads too. When you hold
or latch Note Repeat, the button pulses to show the keys are controlling the Rate and Tap Tempo.
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Set the Tempo
Hold or latch Note Repeat and tap the highest key at the desired tempo.
Change the velocity of the notes/drum hits
You can use pad pressure to control the velocity of the Note Repeat hits. The initial velocity is set as
you press the pad. As you hold it, you can increase pressure to increase velocity, or reduce pressure to
reduce velocity etc. You can disable Velocity in the Settings menu, see “Settings” on page 34.
If you reduce pressure after the initial hit, the note repeat output keeps the initial velocity constant
and only changes velocity if you increase the pressure above the initial velocity setting.
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Standalone Features
Transpose
Transpose shifts the FLkey Mini’s notes on the keys in semitone increments from 1 – 11 semitones.
This allows you to play in different keys or transpose ideas easily.
To transpose the keyboard, hold the Transpose button, or double-tap to latch, and four pads light
white. When the four central pads light white, the keyboard is at standard pitch with no transposition.
You can transpose the keys using any of these methods:
• Enable Transpose and press pads 1-11 to transpose the keyboard by 1-11 Semitones. The
number of green pads lit shows the number of semitones of transposition. In the image below
the six green pads show you’ve transposed the keyboard +6 semitones.
• Hold Transpose and press the Octave +/- buttons, when transposing downwards the pads light
red.
• Latch Transpose (double-tap the button) and press a key on the keyboard.
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Octave Buttons
Pressing the Octave buttons increments and decrements the keyboard octave by 1. The available
octaves range from C-2 to C7.
To reset the keyboard octave to 0, press the Octave +/- buttons at the same time. To reset the
keyboard transposition to 0 shift, press the Octave +/- buttons at the same time or press any of the
pads 12-16.
Hold Shift and press the Octave buttons to go to the next/previous preset on the currently selected
native FL Studio plugin.
Hold Transpose and press Octave +/- to transpose the keyboard up or down in semitones. The pads
light green to show semitones up or red to show semitones down.
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Scale Mode
Scale mode allows you to set the entire keyboard to only play notes in a scale you select. This allows
you to play the keyboard without ever hitting a wrong note! Press the “Scale” button to activate this
mode, the button lights to show the mode is active.
There are two elements to a scale, the root note, and the Scale Mode. To change the Scale’s root
note, hold the Scale button (or double-tap to latch) and press the corresponding key in the FLkey’s
lowest octave:
C# D# F# G# A#
C D E F G A B
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To change the Scale Mode, hold the Scale button (or double-tap to latch) and press the key under one
of the Modes, the four modes available are:
• Minor
• Major
• Dorian
• Phrygian
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Shift Button
The Shift button allows you to access the features printed on the FLkey’s front panel. When you hold
the shift button (Or “Latching Pages” on page 32) The following options are available:
• Channel (Transpose Button) – To change the FLkey’s MIDI channel use the Shift button and hold
Channel (or Latch). The pads light red with the brightest pad showing the current MIDI channel,
press a pad 1-16 to change the MIDI channel.
• Preset (Octave Buttons) – Hold Shift and Press the Octave up and down buttons to step up and
down FL Studio native plugin presets.The buttons’ LEDs light to show if preset navigation is
available.
• Page ◄ ► (Channel Rack Up/Down buttons) – Press these buttons to page left and right in FL
Studio.
• Mixer Track Press the Mixer track ◄ ► buttons (Scale/Note Repeat) to move left and right in your
FL Studio Mixer tracks.
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Latching Pages
You can latch control pages open and access the controls for those modes. This feature gives single-
hand access to control pages including:
• Scale, Note Repeat controls
• Transpose setting
• Note Repeat
• Shift functions - such as rotary control select and MIDI Channel.
Control Pages
Double press the Control Page button and the controls appear and remain accessible on the pads
and rotary controls. To return to normal operation and exit the Controls page, press the Control Page
button again
Transpose Controls
To latch the Transpose controls double press Transpose. The Transpose controls open and remain
accessible on the pads. The Transpose button pulses to show it is open. To return to normal
operation, or to exit the Transpose controls, press Transpose or Shift.
Shift Controls
To latch the Shift controls double press the Shift button. The Shift controls open and remain
accessible on the pads. The Shift button remains lit to show it is active. To exit the controls, press
Shift. After you’ve latched Shift controls you can latch the MIDI channel controls. To do this double
press Transpose. To exit the MIDI channel controls, press Transpose or Shift.
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Custom Modes and Components
Custom modes allow you to create unique MIDI templates for each control area. You can create
templates and send them to the FLkey from Novation Components.
To access Components, visit components.novationmusic.com using a Web MIDI-enabled browser (we
recommend Google Chrome or Opera). Alternatively, download the Components standalone version
from your Novation Account page.
Custom Modes
You can configure the FLkey’s pots and pads to send custom messages using Novation Components.
We refer to these custom message configurations as Custom Modes. To access the custom modes,
press Shift and the Custom Mode Pad buttons.
Without customising anything, the default custom pot mode already sends messages. You can use FL
Studios Multilink to Controllers function to assign the pots to parameters in FL Studio.
In standalone operation, Channel Rack, Instrument, Sequencer, Plugin, and Mixer: Volume/Pan are not
available.
Pots
FLkey has one Pot Custom Mode. To access these Custom Modes, hold Shift and press the Pot Mode
Custom button. You can set the CC number for a pot in Components.
Without customising anything, the default custom pot mode already sends messages. You can use FL
Studios Multilink to Controllers function to assign the pots to parameters in FL Studio.
Pads
FLkey has one pad Custom Mode. To access this Custom Mode, hold Shift and press the Custom pad.
You can set pads to send MIDI notes, Program Changes messages and CC (Control Change) messages
using Components.
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Settings
To access the settings page, hold the Shift button whilst powering up the FLkey Mini. Once you
have made changes in settings, you press the play ▶︎ button to the FLkey’s main controls. The FLkey
keeps any setting changes through power cycles. The settings page on FLkey Mini appears with the
following pad arrangement.
You can adjust all the LEDs on the FLkey to suit your environment, for example, you may want the
LEDs brighter in a light environment.
To change the LED brightness, in the settings page use the Octave up button to increase the
brightness and the Octave Down button to decrease the brightness.
Pad Velocity
To toggle the Pad Velocity control on or off press the orange pad (second from the left) on the
settings page. When dimly lit the pads output a consistent velocity of 127. When the pad is fully lit
the full velocity range is sent from the pads.
MIDI Clock output
You can choose to enable/disable a MIDI Clock signal from the FLkey’s MIDI output. This is useful
for removing unwanted tempo/clock signals when using the FLkey Mini as a controller keyboard for
external MIDI equipment such as drum machines, synthesisers, and sequencers.
To toggle MIDI Clock on or off press the pink pad (6th from the left). When dimly lit the physical MIDI
output doesn’t send MIDI clock signals. When fully lit the MIDI output sends MIDI Clock signals.
Vegas Mode
Vegas mode is off by default. If the FLkey is idle for five minutes, it enters Vegas mode. In this mode,
colours scroll across the pads indefinitely until you press a pad, button, or key. To turn Vegas mode on
and off, press the blue pad (7th from the left). The pad lights bright blue to show Vegas mode is on.
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Easy Start
You can toggle Easy Start mode on and off. This is on when you first use the FLkey. The Easy Start
process tells you when to switch this off. To use all the FLkey’s functions ensure this pad is dimly lit.
Weight & Dimensions
Weight 0.69kg (1.52lbs)
Height 31mm (41mm/1.61” including knob caps)
Width 330mm (12.99”)
Depth 172mm (6.77”)
Troubleshooting
For help getting started with your FLkey, please visit:
novationmusic.com/get-started
If you have any questions or need any help at any time with your FLkey, please visit our Help Centre.
Here you can also contact our support team:
Support.novationmusic.com
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Trade Marks
The Novation trade mark is owned by Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd. All other brands, products 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 steps to ensure 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 the use of this manual or the
equipment which it describes. The information provided in this document may be changed at any time
without warning. Specifications and appearance may differ from those listed and illustrated.
Copyright and Legal Notices
Novation is a registered trademark of Focusrite Audio Engineering Limited. FLkey is a trademark of
Focusrite Audio Engineering Plc. 2022 © Focusrite Audio Engineering Limited. All rights reserved.
Novation
Tel: +44 1494 462246
A division of Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd.
Fax: +44 1494 459920
Windsor House, Turnpike Road
e-mail: [email protected]
Cressex Business Park , High Wycombe
Web: www.novationmusic.com
Buckinghamshire , HP12 3FX
United Kingdom
Caution:
A strong electrostatic discharge (ESD) may affect the normal operation of this product. If this
happens, reset the unit by removing and then replugging the USB cable. Normal operation should
return.
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