Caution: The normal operation of this product may be affected by a strong electrostatic discharge (ESD). In the event of this happening, simply reset the unit by removing and then replugging the USB cable. Normal operation should return. Trade Marks The Novation trade mark is owned by Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd. All other brand, product and company names and any other registered names or trade marks mentioned in this manual belong to their respective owners.
Contents Introduction...............................................................................................................................4 Launchpad Mini Key Features.........................................................................................................4 In the Box........................................................................................................................................4 Getting Up and Running..........................................................
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.
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, first plug in your Launchpad Mini. If you’re on a Mac: 1.
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.
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 intro.novationmusic.com/. Your Launchpad Mini will be automatically detected, and you’ll immediately be able to play beats with Launchpad Mini.
Ableton Live Ableton Live (often referred to only as Live) is a unique and powerful piece of 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 Getting Up and Running). Here you’ll be guided through downloading and installing Ableton Live 10 Lite.
Hardware Overview 1 4 Navigational Buttons Scene Launch Buttons 2 5 Session Mode 3 Stop/ Solo/ Mute Custom Modes (Drum, Keys and User) 6 8x8 Grid 2 1 3 4 6 5 7 USB-C Socket 7 8 Kensingston MiniSaverTM Socket 8 9
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 – Session, Drum, Keys and User. 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 Custom modes .
Scenes are rows of clips. Launching a scene will launch all clips in that row. This 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.
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.
• In Stop: Brightly lit red pads on the bottom row indicate that clips are currently playing on that track and may be stopped. Dimly lit pads indicate that no clip is currently playing on that track. • In Solo: Brightly lit blue pads on the bottom row indicate that the track is currently soloed. Dimly lit pads indicate that the track is not soloed. • In Mute: Brightly lit yellow pads on the bottom row indicate that the track is currently unmuted (audible).
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.
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 Note, a MIDI CC (control change), or a Program Change message.
Ghost Mode Ghost Mode is a sub-mode of custom views that will un-light all function buttons 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.
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. The LED brightness level slider has 8 levels, from minimum to maximum brightness. The brightly lit white pad indicates which level is currently selected.
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.
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. The LED brightness level slider 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.
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.
User Mode (Custom): 8x8 grid, Programmer Mode: Includes buttons Momentary Note On messages (note and pads (full 9x9 grid), logo LED may numbers below) be addressed, Momentary Note On messages on 8x8 grid (note numbers below), CC messages sent from top row and right-hand column For more detailed information regarding the MIDI implementation of Launchpad Mini, please see the programmer’s reference guide at: customer.novationmusic.com/support/downloads.
