I know this an old post but I got a novation launchkey 49 over the festive season and will just add some notes here on how I got most of the functionality up and running.
A little about my setup for reference:.
- MSI Apache GE72VR GRF Apache Pro Laptop 16GB Ram, 250GB SSD, 1TB HDD
- Windows 10(Why MS why?)
- Cubase 8 Elements (Got a copy with my Yamaha MX49).
I followed some of the guides on how to setup the LaunchKey with the various DAW’s. The Cubase one was helpful but there was some differences which I had to discover by reading some other docs and footnotes.
The easiest one to follow was this one http://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/articles/setting-up-your-novation-launchkey-with-your-favorite-daw/.
Also watch the following youtube video:
Basic setup is to launch cubase then go to device setup and add a Mackie HUI to the layout tree. In the tree layout section of the device edit form choose the newly added Mackie Hui and then for input and output you need to select the Novation LaunchKey items. Right at this point you might run into the following issue which can cause you some headaches.
In most of the guides and videos around this setup the following two ports are listed as possible choices:
- Launchkey InControl Note that this varies slightly the main thing is that it should have the InControl Part so the following are valid LaunchKey 49 LaunchKey InControl , Launch 25 LaunchKey InControl.
- Launchkey MIDI the main part here is that it does not have the InControl Part listed.
When installing mine the LaunchKey InControl did not appear on the list and for the first 24 hours I was not pleased with the product. When I looked at the available ports under Mackie HUI I only had LaunchKey MIDI and MIDIIN2(LaunchKey MIDI) and LaunchKey MIDI and MIDIOUT2(LaunchKey MIDI).
After some more reading I found out that the LaunchKey has two sections which add two MIDI ports essentially via USB. The InControl Part and the normal MIDI part. The I found this little article on Novation which explained the whole problemhttps://support.novationmusic.com/hc/en-gb/articles/207561455-I-cannot-see-the-LaunchKey-InControl-port-when-setting-up-the-LaunchKey-in-my-DAW-.
In essence Windows can and will rename the ports as it sees fit(why MS why?, I love Linux if it does not work change the source). Thus in my situation it renamed LaunchKey InControl to MIDIIN2(LaunchKey MIDI) , MIDIOUT2(LaunchKey MIDI) as noted above.
In a nutshell this means that MIDIOUT2(LaunchKey MIDI) , MIDIIN2(LaunchKey MIDI) is the LaunchKey InControl referred to in the setup guides and videos. The LaunchKey MIDI is the normal MIDI.
So I did the following changes to get it to work pretty smoothly:
- Mackie HUI uses LaunchKey MIDI (not the MIDI2 options) for input and output.
- Under Midi Port setup under the MIDI In section make sure you set MIDIIN2 (Launch Key MIDI) to Inactive. The reason for this is that the launchkey port sends all sorts of funky midi messages and this can make some interesting sounds on a VST if you are into random noise, however it is not what you want. DISABLE THIS AS AN INPUT.
Ok so at this point everything is working more or less but the damned launchkey pads are fixed to MIDI notes C1 upwards and cannot be changed. Most of the drum VST instruments have different mapping thus rendering the Novation pads as useful as boat with leaks. However a little creative mapping can help here.
Do the following.
- Add your drum VST instrument to the VST instrument list and then choose a drum mapping for the channel. In my case I was using DrumTROOP and it only accepts notes from C3.
- Create a new drum map.
- In the new drum map look for the C1 key in the list and under the MIDI in and out notes changes the midi out note from C1 to C3.
- Repeat for all other notes from C#3 to B3. Thus C#1 → C#3 , D1->D3 etc.
Viola I can play on the drum pads and record live performances straight into Cubase.
Most of the functions are working now and I can actually use it in Cubase 8 which is really nice. Hope this helps.