Novation Launchpad Mini MK3 User manual

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Launchpad Mini [MK3] User Guide

Introduction

Hardware Overview

Modes

Settings

Default MIDI mappings

……...…..…….……..…………….……………….……………….………….3

Key Features…………………….……………….……………….…………......3

In the Box…………….………………….……………….………...…….…...…3

Getting up and running……..……….……………….………..…….…….......4

Launchpad Intro…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….6 Ableton Live…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….………….…...7 Using with other software…….…….…….…….…….…….………….………7

….…….……….……………….……………….……………….…….8

………….….…..………….………….……….……………………………….……..9

Session mode…………………………..……………………………………….10

Keys mode…………....………………….……....………………….………….13

Drum mode………..…………………….……………………….……………..13 User mode…………….…………….…...….………….……………….………14

Custom modes……….……………..………………….……………….………14

Setting up a Custom Mode……………………………………………………15

………………………….…………….….………………………………...………17

Settings Menu………….….……………………………………...……………17 Bootloader Menu………………………………………………………………19

Table of Contents

……….…………….….………………………………...……….21

Introduction

Launchpad Mini is our most compact and portable grid controller for Ableton Live.

Launchpad Mini makes launching clips in Ableton Live a fast and tactile experience by bringing your Session View from the screen to your fingertips in full RGB colour. Take music making further and build tracks with Launchpad Mini, using keys and drum modes to lay down beats and melodies.

This manual will help you to understand every feature of your new grid controller and will teach you how to take your production and performance to the next level with Launchpad Mini.

Launchpad Mini Key Features:

• An 8x8 grid of 64

• Perform with Ableton Live by launching clips and scenes

• Plug and Play & USB bus-powered

• Compact and lightweight

• Four modes

• Lightning fast access to performance controls with

• Powerful music production software - Ableton Live 10 Lite included, as

• Endless possibilities for controlling your software with

In the box:

• Launchpad Mini

• USB-C to USB-A cable

: Session, Drums, Keys and User

well as a range of high-quality instruments & effects

RGB LED

backlit pads

Stop Solo Mute

Custom Modes

button

Getting Up and Running

We’ve made getting up and running with Launchpad Mini as easy as possible, whether you’re a brand new beatmaker or a seasoned producer. Our Easy Start Tool provides a step-by-step guide on getting set up that is tailored to your needs, whether you’ve never made music before or you just want to download your included software as fast as possible.

To access the Easy Start Tool,

If you’re on a Mac:

1. On your Desktop find and open the folder “LAUNCHPAD”.

2. Inside the folder, click the link: “Click Here to Get Started.html”

3. You’ll be taken to the Easy Start Tool where we’ll get you set up.

Alternatively, if you have Google Chrome open upon plugging in Launchpad Mini, a pop-up will appear that will take you straight to the easy start tool.

If you’re on Windows:

1. Press the Start button and type “This PC”, then press enter.

2. In This PC, find the drive: “Launchpad Mini”, and double click.

3. Inside the drive, click the link: “Click Here to Get Started.html”

4. You’ll be taken to the Easy Start Tool where we’ll get you set up.

first plug in your Launchpad Mini

Double click the “Launchpad Mini” drive

Double click the “Click Here To Get Started” link

Launchpad Intro

If you’re new to Launchpads,

Launchpad Intro

is a great place to start. Choose from a variety of curated packs from Ampify Music and start performing immediately. Your Launchpad Mini will match the on-screen grid - press pads to launch loops and one-shots to build up your track.

To get there, plug your Launchpad Mini into your computer and visit

https://intro.novationmusic.com/. Your Launchpad Mini will be automatically

detected, and you’ll immediately be able to play beats with Launchpad Mini.

Warning: To access Launchpad Intro, you must use a WebMIDI enabled browser. We recommend Google Chrome or Opera.

Ableton Live

software for music creation. Ableton Live 10 Lite is provided with your Launchpad Mini, which gives you all the tools you’ll need to get started with making your own music.

If you’ve never used Ableton Live before, we recommend visiting our Easy Start Tool (see and installing Ableton Live 10 Lite. You’ll also find videos covering the software’s basic features so you can get started making music in Ableton Live with Launchpad Mini.

With Ableton Live installed, get your Launchpad Mini up and running by plugging it into your Mac or PC’s USB port. When you open Live your Launchpad Mini will be automatically detected and it will enter Session Mode.

More resources on using Ableton Live’s many functions may be found on Ableton’s site at: https://www.ableton.com/en/live/learn-live/.

You may register your Launchpad Mini and obtain your Ableton Live 10 Lite license at: https://customer.novationmusic.com/register.

Using with other software

Launchpad Mini is made for Ableton Live, but it may also be used as a controller for other software. If you’re using other music production software, visit

support.novationmusic.com for more information on how to set up your Launchpad

Mini.

Having trouble?

In case you’re having any trouble getting setup, don’t hesitate to contact our support team! You can find more information and answers to Frequently Asked Questions at the Novation Help Centre: support.novationmusic.com.

(often referred to only as Live) is a unique and powerful piece of

Getting Up and Running

). Here you’ll be guided through downloading

Hardware Overview

Navigational buttons

Session Mode

Scene Launch Buttons

Stop/Solo/Mute Custom Modes (Drum, Keys and User)

8x8 Grid

USB-C Socket

Kensington MiniSaver™ Socket

Front panel

Back panel

Modes

Modes are the core of the Launchpad Mini interface. They allow you to switch between views, offering different functionality in each.

There are four different modes available –

Simply press a mode button to enter the respective mode. The currently active mode will be lit green. Currently available modes will be lit white.

Drums, Keys and User are all editor, you are able to edit the 8x8 grid of these three modes and customise them to your own needs (see p.12).

Custom

Session, Drum, Keys

modes. Using the Novation Components

and

User

Session mode

A row on the grid

“9”.

The yellow

Rhodes”.

Clips

on the

Session View grid

Session mode is designed to control

Session view is a grid that consists of Session mode provides an 8x8 view of your clips in Session view on Launchpad Mini’s pads.

Clips

Tracks

will play back on the instrument that is assigned to that track.

Scenes

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.

column shows a

track

, titled “1

Ableton Live’s Session view

Getting Up and Running

). Here you’ll be guided through downloading

clips, tracks

(columns) and

are typically loops that contain MIDI notes or audio.

represent virtual instrument or audio tracks. MIDI clips on instrument tracks

are rows of clips. Launching a scene will launch all clips in that row. This

, seen below.

scenes

(rows).

represents a highlighted is scene

scene

The ▲▼◄ ► buttons let you navigate Session view. The red outline in the Session View grid shows the area currently visible on Launchpad Mini. ▲ & ▼ will move the outline across scenes, while ◄ & ► will move the outline across tracks.

Note: This outline may appear in any colour - this won’t affect its function.

• Press a pad to play the corresponding clip in Ableton. The colour will match between the screen and Launchpad Mini’s pads.

• When a pad is pressed it will flash green, indicating that the clip is queued and will soon begin to play. When a clip is playing, the pad will pulse green.

• Only one clip may play at a time per track. Pressing an empty clip will stop the current one on that track.

• An entire horizontal line of clips is called a

Scene

. Scenes can be launched

using the > (scene launch) buttons on the right-hand side of Launchpad Mini.

When a track is armed for recording in Live, empty clip slots will appear in dim red. Press one of these slots to start recording to the pressed clip.

The bottom row of pads can provide

White = Clips

Red = Stop

Blue = Solo

Yellow = Mute

1st press

2nd press

3rd press

4th press

a specific track),

Solo

(solo a specific track) or

track

controls:

three functions are cycled between using the

Mute

Stop Solo Mute

Stop

(stop clip from playing on

(mute a specific track). These

button:

When the device is powered on, the bottom row will at first represent clips in the same way as the rest of the 8x8 grid. After cycling past Mute, the bottom row will return to showing clips. The Stop Solo Mute button will be lit white when in this state.

(default)

• In currently playing on that track and may be stopped. Dimly lit pads indicate that no clip is currently playing on that track.

• In currently soloed. Dimly lit pads indicate that the track is not soloed.

• In currently unmuted (audible). Dimly lit pads indicate that the track is muted, and so will not be heard.

Stop:

Brightly lit red pads on the bottom row indicate that clips are

Solo:

Mute:

Brightly lit blue pads on the bottom row indicate that the track is

Brightly lit yellow pads on the bottom row indicate that the track is

Keys mode

Monitor is set to Auto.

Red arm button indicates that track is record armed.

Keys mode allows you to play your Launchpad Mini’s grid as a chromatic keyboard. The layout presents 4 octaves of notes in a piano layout, with the octaves stacked vertically. The lowest pitch is at the bottom, with the highest at the top. The range of notes is C2-C6.

In Ableton Live, load an instrument (such as Simpler) into a MIDI track and you will be able to play it in Keys mode. Do this by double clicking an instrument or preset from the browser (on the left-hand side of Ableton Live), or drag it to a chosen track. If you cannot hear anything, ensure that the track is record armed, and that monitor is set to auto (see diagram below).

Drum mode

Drum mode lets you play Ableton Live’s Drum Rack on Launchpad Mini’s grid. Each section of a drum rack consists of 16 slots, arranged into a group of 4x4 pads. There are 4 of these groups for a total of 64 drum rack slots.

In Ableton Live, load a drum kit into a MIDI track from the browser and you will be able to play it in Drum mode. If you cannot hear anything, ensure that the track is record armed, and monitor is set to auto.

User Mode & Lighting Pads (Advanced)

User Mode has the same layout as Drum Mode, however no pads on the 8x8 grid are lit. MIDI Note messages sent to Launchpad Mini will light pads according to note number and velocity. The note sent will determine which pad lights up, and the note’s velocity will determine the colour. This is useful for creating light displays using the 64 RGB pads.

The RGB LEDs are capable of outputting 127 colours, the index of which can be found in the Programmer’s Reference Guide.

Additionally, all pads and buttons can be lit in

For detailed information on lighting pads, see the Programmers Reference Guide which can be downloaded at

https://customer.novationmusic.com/support/downloads.

Programmer Mode

Custom Modes

User Mode, Drum Mode and Keys Mode are all deeply customisable 8x8 grid.

Custom Modes can be created & edited using hub for all Novation products. You may also back up any Custom Modes you create here. We have several Custom Mode templates for you to download and explore on Components.

To access Components, visit WebMIDI enabled browser (we recommend Google Chrome or Opera). Alternatively, download the page on the Novation site.

Custom modes are compatible between Launchpad Mini [MK3] and Launchpad X.

https://components.novationmusic.com/

standalone version

Custom Modes

Novation Components

of Components from your Account

that provide a

– our online

using a

Setting up a Custom Mode

Custom Modes are created and edited on Novation Components. When Components is loaded on your computer, Launchpad Mini will connect automatically.

If the product name next to the home icon (in the top right-hand corner) is not Launchpad Mini, press the home icon and select Launchpad Mini from the list of products.

Within a Custom Mode, each pad within the 8x8 grid may act as a

(control change)

, or a

Program Change

message.

Note

MIDI CC

, a

The pads may behave either as

toggles, triggers or momentary

switches. Momentary behaviour will turn on a note when the pad is pressed and release the note when un-pressed. Triggers will always send a specified CC value or program change message.

Full rows and columns of pads may also act as

faders

. Faders can be assigned CC values and may be unipolar or bipolar. Faders may be positioned horizontally or vertically.

Pads within a Custom Mode may be assigned an “on” and “off” colour for when pads within the 8x8 grid are pressed/toggled (e.g. when a note is being played or a temporary CC change is toggled). There may only be one “on” colour per Custom Mode, but each pad may have a unique “off” colour.

Custom Modes may have any combination of notes, CCs, program changes and faders – you can set up your own personalised control surface for your studio.

For more hands-on information on how to create your own Custom Modes, visit Novation Components for an interactive tutorial – it’s easier to get started than it may sound!

Ghost Mode

around the edge of Launchpad Mini when in a custom mode.

To enter Ghost Mode, press Session followed quickly by either Drums, Keys or User. Following this action, only the 8x8 grid will be lit. To re-enable the outer button LEDs, press any button outside the 8x8 grid.

is a sub-mode of custom views that will un-light all function buttons

Settings

Settings menu

Launchpad Mini’s settings menu allows you to change LED brightness, LED feedback, enter LED sleep, and switch between Live and Programmer Mode.

To enter the settings menu, press and hold Session briefly. The top 4 rows will display the characters LED, indicating the topic of the menu.

LED brightness level slider

The

has 8 levels, from minimum to maximum brightness.

The brightly lit white pad indicates which level is currently selected.

LED feedback (internal)

toggles whether pads on the 8x8 grid light up when pressed in Custom Modes. Bright green indicates that LED feedback (internal) is enabled, whereas dim red indicates that it is disabled. The setting is enabled by default.

LED feedback (external)

toggles whether pads on the 8x8 grid light up when MIDI is received externally in Custom Modes and Programmer Mode. Bright green indicates that LED feedback (external) is enabled, whereas dim red indicates that it is disabled. The setting is enabled by default.

LED sleep

may be pressed to turn off all LEDs on Launchpad Mini. Press any button or pad to wake up the device. This is useful for when you are not using Launchpad Mini but you do not want to disconnect it from your computer.

Live Mode and Programmer Mode

are the two states that Launchpad Mini can be used in. In Live mode you may access Session Mode and Custom Modes and the device will function as normal. In Programmer mode Launchpad Mini loses access to Session Mode and Custom Modes and the entire surface (pads and buttons) becomes a clean slate. Each pad and button will send out a specified MIDI message when pressed. The pads and buttons may be lit up by sending their corresponding MIDI messages to Launchpad Mini. For more information see the Programmer’s Reference Guide, which can be downloaded at

https://customer.novationmusic.com/support/downloads.

To switch between Live Mode and Programmer Mode, enter the settings menu by pressing and holding Session briefly. Press the green Scene Launch button to enter Live Mode, or the orange Scene Launch button to enter Programmer Mode (See above image).

Launchpad Mini will always power on into Live Mode.

Bootloader Menu

Launchpad Mini’s bootloader menu allows you to change LED brightness, LED feedback, mass storage device availability, and device ID.

To enter the bootloader menu, hold User when plugging in Launchpad Mini.

LED brightness level slider

The

has 8 levels, from minimum to maximum brightness.

The brightly lit white pad indicates which level is currently selected.

Bootloader Version

will inform which version of the Bootloader is on Launchpad

Mini.

Application Version

will inform which version of the Application is on Launchpad

Mini.

Pressing the

Boot-up

button will start Launchpad Mini normally, exiting the

bootloader menu.

MSD Mode

toggles the mass storage device behaviour of Launchpad Mini on or off. MSD Mode is enabled by default. This is why Launchpad Mini appears as a mass storage device when plugged in to your computer. Inside the LAUNCHPAD folder is a link to our Easy Start Tool, which will help to get you set up with your Launchpad Mini (see

Getting Up and Running

). Once you’re set up with Launchpad Mini you may no longer want it to appear as a mass storage device. Use this toggle to disable the behaviour completely. When the pad is brightly lit MSD mode is enabled, and it is dimly lit when disabled.

Device ID

allows you to use multiple Launchpad Minis with Ableton Live at once. When different ID is selected on each Launchpad Mini, they will each have their own Session Ring (grid outline) and can navigate the Live session independently. On Windows, the latest Novation USB driver should be installed to correctly utilise this functionality.

Default MIDI mappings

Shown below are the Note numbers for each of the default Custom Modes & Programmer Mode. Note 36 is Middle C.

Drums Mode (Custom):

8x8 grid, Momentary, Note On

Keys Mode (Custom):

8x8 grid, Momentary, Note On

User Mode (Custom):

8x8 grid, Momentary, Note On

Programmer Mode:

Includes buttons and pads (full 9x9), logo LED may be

addressed, Momentary, Note On

Novation Launchpad Mini MK3 User manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual