manual/include/control-surfaces-novation-launchkey-mk4.html

<p>
	Novation Launchkey mk4 series was introduced in August 2024 and has been
	supported in Ardour since v8.7.
</p>

<p>
	There are currently 6 devices in the series:
</p>

<ul>
	<li>
		Launchkey Mini 25 and 37 have 16 pads, 8 encoders, no faders, and only
		2 transport controls.
	</li>
	<li>
		Launchkey 25 and 37 have 16 pads, 8 encoders, no faders, all transport
		controls.
	</li>
	<li>
		Launchkey 49 and 61 have 16 pads, 8 encoders, 9 faders, 9 track buttons,
		all transport controls.
	</li>
</ul>

<p>
	This documentation covers the full set of features that is only available
	in Launchkey 49 and 61. It partially applies to junior models in the series.
	Please refer to the Launchkey user manual for specifics on operating your
	controller.
</p>

<figure>
  <img
  	style="width:75%;"
	src="/images/novation-launchkey-mk4-61.svg"
	alt="Novation Launchkey mk4 61"
	class="invert-in-dark">
  <figcaption>
    Novation Launchkey mk4 61
  </figcaption>
</figure>

<h2 id="configuration">Configuration</h2>

<p>
	All configuration of the devices is expected to be done in Novation
	Components. Thus in Ardour, you can only select ports for incoming and
	outgoing MIDI messages.
</p>

<h2 id="general-behavior">General behavior</h2>

<p>
	Ardour ships with a number of hardcoded mappings between hardware controls
	and the DAW's features:
</p>

<ul>
	<li>
		<strong>Track selection</strong>: you can press left-pointing
		and right-pointing buttons to select the previous or the next
		track.
	</li>
	<li>
		<strong>Faders</strong>: 8 faders are mapped to the first 8 tracks,
		1 fader (on the right) is mapped either to the monitor (if the monitor
		section exists) or to the master bus (if there is no monitor section).
	</li>
	<li>
		<strong>Basic transport controls</strong>: rolling, stopping,
		toggling rec-mode.
	</li>
	<li>
		<strong>Workflow buttons</strong>: Undo/Redo (Shift+Undo),
		Metronome toggle. Capture MIDI is not
		a function available in Ardour, thus there is no mapping for it.
	</li>
</ul>

<h2 id="encoder-modes">Encoder modes</h2>

<p>
	Launchkey mk4 controllers come with 4 predefined encoder modes
	and 4 custom modes. To switch to a particular mode, press and hold
	the <kbd class="button">Shift</kbd> button and then press
	the corresponding pad.
</p>

<table class="dl">
  <tr>
  	<th>Plugin</th>
  	<td>
  		Encoders control plugin parameters.
  	</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
  	<th>Mixer</th>
  	<td>
  		Encoders can be used for pan, the first 2 sends, and additional
  		gain controls; pads do solo & mute.
  	</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
  	<th>Sends</th>
  	<td>
  		Encoders control 8 sends of the selected track.
  	</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
  	<th>Transport</th>
  	<td>
  		Encoders control playhead, loop points, can be used to jump between
  		markers, visual zoom.
  	</td>
  </tr>
</table>

<h2 id="pad-modes">Pad modes</h2>

<p>
	Launchkey mk4 controllers come with 4 predefined pad modes
	and 4 custom modes. To switch to a particular mode, press and hold
	the <kbd class="button">Shift</kbd> button and then press
	the corresponding pad.
</p>

<p>
	Ardour only requires predefined mappings for the DAW pad mode.
	In that case pads function to control 2 scenes/cues of 8 tracks.
	See the <a href="#cue-support">Cue support</a> section below
	for more details.
</p>

<p>
	Additional modes — Drum, User Chord, Arp Patterns — do not require
	DAW involvement. All MIDI processing happens inside the box,
	the keyboard only sends final MIDI events to the output.
</p>

<h2 id="cue-support">Cue support</h2>

<p>
	In the DAW mode, the 2 by 8 pads matrix represents 2 cues in 8 tracks.
	You can use arrow up/down buttons to scroll up and down the cues.
	Pressing pads will toggle playback of individual clips in trigger slots.
	The arrow-right button will trigger an entire cue.
</p>

<!-- Function button - enables various secondary functions based on the pad mode -->