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.
</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, right now i don't recall how
  		to navigate between plugins
  	</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 individul cues. The arrow-up
	button will trigger an entire cue.
</p>

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