I am going through the rough start of setting up my first home studio, and I have got a Novation Launchkey MK3 MIDI connected via MIDI cable to my SSL2+ interface, and thet connected to my computer.
I have set it up as instructed in several videos, and it has automatically mapped the Launchkey in Cubase.
But the problem is only the keyboard keys, and the play, record, stop, loop buttons work. The faders, the knobs, the pads are totally non resposive in Cubase. Not only does the built-in mapping not work, but I can not even use the Mapping Assistant as touching the controller has no effect in Cubase.
I am baffled - clearly the MIDI is well connected as I can play it using instruments, even the pads work with that (when i make an instrument track with Kontakt 7 I can play the sounds on the keys and pads).
And still in the mapping it is if those parts didnāt exist!
Clearly the problem must lie in Cubase. At least I think soā¦
I have the same keyboard and it works well with CB13 pro. If you look at the midi remote window in the mixer/console section at the bottom, youāll see lit areas where parameter editing exists. If you press shift and āpanā in the buttons section, for instance, you can get the pan knobs to affect tracks. If you press the track arrow keys, you can get movement in ābanksā of 8 channels across the console.
Iām not an expert in that regard (midi controlling my DAW) but Iāve learned a few tricks, as well as programming my own keys for vocal recording sessions ā like shifting the punch in to beginning of the next cycle marker, etc.
The important thing is to have the connections right and use the default mapping to get a handle on things before you go rogue. I flailed with this for a while myself. And then it all seemed to fall into place.
Why do you have the MIDI cable connected to the SSL? If itās connected over USB to the computer, thatās all you need. MIDI Remote works perfectly fine here with the same controller.
@Monotremata Thanks for the advice, but it didnāt solve it. If I connect the MIDI directly to the computer, the problem remains unchanged, and I get massive latency due to the fact I am monitoring through headphones connected to the interface. @Roland111 My issue apparently disables the function you describe - when I ckick shif and āpanā nothing happens at all. The faders, knobs and pads in the āMIDI remoteā window are lit up correctly, with colors corresponding to the tracks, but there is NO WAY to effect any movement of those - not on the keyboard and not in the MIDI-remote window.
Youāre not supposed to āconnect the MIDI directly to the computerā - however you are achieving that. You need only one cable to make it work ā a usb cable that you plug directly into your computer and the MKIII on the other end.
Do not connect to your interface or any midi device. And donāt use a MIDI cable for anything until youāve got it working this way.
Then go to MIDI remote and make sure it shows up, the way it does on my computer. I donāt use a MIDI cable unless Iām triggering another external sound module or synth. No need for it otherwise.
@Roland111 By āconnect the MIDI directly to the computerā I mean exactly what you describe - the USB cable between the computer and the Launchkey MK3. As I said, I tried it, and I get latency ( I have my headphones hooked up to the interface, and I can not get rid of that as i do my vocals through a condensor mic, so the interface has to be there to power the little bugger (I switch between doing vocals and MIDI instruments, so changing setups to headphones hooked up to the computer directly every time would be even more of a hassle than having a half-non-responsive MIDI!!).
I donāt even know if headphones hooked up to the computers jack would solve the latency issue, as I donāt have headphones with the tiny computer jack
When tracking, I set my buffer to 64 samples or 32 if I can get away with it. That way I donāt get any noticeable latency (or recording offsets that I canāt correct later with a few tweaks).
If I try to record at 1024 or so, I might as well take up another hobby cause itās impossible to play along with anything.
@Roland111 I have to have a high buffer (about 265 I think it is) because I use a lot of heavy orchestral plugins, so no choice there to keep it working
But - I found the solution! I just plug in the MIDI both ways - by USB directly to the computer aswell as by MIDI-cable into the interface. I then record choosing the interface input (which saves me from all latency) and the USB has the Launchkey fully operational! (and it wasnāt when I only did the USB!). So now all is well, even my quick controls are working
Glad to hear that all is right in the world of Cubase. The advise to record at a lower latency should have come with the suggestion to disarm or render the other tracks into a stereo file so that they do not interfere with your ability to set the buffer size.
I often open a new project with a stereo mixdown just so I can record specific tracks the way that I prefer without being constrained by my CPU power, etc.
Anyway, glad to hear it all worked out for you ā and also for the Mods who must enjoy seeing those āsolutionā notices go up.
Cubase 13 should automatically recognize my Novation Launchkey 49 mk3 when connected to USB. It does, but when I open a project, the 16 pads are not lighting, but in the screen I can read āCubaseā. After I disable the controller script for this keyboard and then enable it again, everything works okay. I also have a Novation Launchkey Mini mk3 which doesnāt have this problem. For a few days I made a Chat-session with the helpdesk of Novation for about 2 (!!) hours. They have tried many things to help me, but they couldnāt solve the problem and are still working on a solution. Everything is up-to-date (Windows 10, Cubase 13 and the firmware of my Launchkey 49). Do you have any idea what is going wrong here??
Iāve just read the script for the Launchkey MK3, here are my observations: When the device is activated in Cubase, the text āCubaseā is sent and at the same time the pads are reset, i.e. no color. It is the later actions (events) that set the colors.
Now, hereās the thing. Iāve noticed when I was writing my script for the SL MK3, that some events where occurring BEFORE the event mOnActivate of the deviceDriver. The way I solved it was to create a list to store these events, and inside the mOnActivate send the corresponding sysex messages. You can share this hint with Novation (and they can always inspect mine here), perhaps it will resolve the issue.
I donāt own anymore the Launchkey MK3 because of a problem with the midi remote management since a Cubase 12 update.
@m.c kindly tried to help me with a midi script he made but there was always an issue with the pads which are supposed to light up and take on the color of each track.
Again I donāt know what Steinberg have changed in the midi remote management but something was broken and it seems it hasnāt been resolved since this Cubase 12 update.
Iām glad someone with more scripting prowess got to answer your question. I donāt have the coding background to be able to tell you what was happening underneath the hood. But it looks like m.c. does. We should put him on speed dial for when we have to deal with these issues in Cubase/Nuendo.
The problem is I donāt have knowledge neither experiency of programming such things. Like m.c. suggested I will send his remarks to Steinberg hoping it helps them solving the problem.
Iāve never really paid attention during bootup when the Hub first opens, but once a project opens up, mine pops up Cubase on the screen and almost immediately after the pads will light up set to either SOLO/MUTE or ARM/SELECT as do the buttons underneath the fadersā¦
I have seen it not āconnectā a few times here and there, but it would do that with my 25 once in awhile as well. Still works as a generic MIDI device but for some reason does not connect with the MIDI Remote feature. This has not happened in months, probably before 13.0.30, but I usually just disconnect and reconnect and it comes back (knock on wood). Iāve had multiple entries in the Manager window before too, like maybe a firmware update changed an ID or something so Iāve got two instances of the controller in the list (that I never saw with the Launchkey 25). Again, havenāt seen that since around the last time I had it not connect properly.
This is what I suspected. I will have a look at a Mac here with my SL MK3, and see if some specific events get triggered right after the device activation (in the script). Thank you!
I flailed with this for a while myself. And then it all seemed to fall into place.
