General > Control Surfaces/ACT

How to fix some compatibility with Launchkey 37?

(1/2) > >>

virtualpaul:
I just bought a Novation Launchkey 37 midi controller and I am trying to use it with CakeWalk by Bandlab.

After many hours of googling and youtubing I was able to do this setup: 
I added a control surface 'Mackie Control' in the edit->preferences->Midi->Control surfaces' and chose the 'MIDI2 (LKMK3 MIDI)' for both input and output. 
Then in Utilities->'Mackie Control - 1', I switched to 'HUI (beta)' option.

With this, I can play notes and the pitch bend, modulation wheel and some of the keys like record/stop/playback work.

My problem is some of the other keys don't work like 'prev track', 'next track', etc...  Since I am a newbie, perhaps many other features are not working but I don't know yet.

I am wondering if there are easy way(s) to fix this and which way would be easiest or best?  Is it better to install azslow?

azslow3:
I guess you are asking about Launchkey 37.

HUI(beta) is "virtually" implemented feature of Mackie plug-in, from what I remember developer has never tried it with HUI. So some functions can be broken.
You can ask on Cakewalk forum, may be Mackie plug-in can deal with Lunchkey correctly (or can be modified to do so).

Notes/Pitch bend/Modulation are independent from surface functions.

AZ Controller can be configured to work with any device. But that is definitively not an "easy way". It is the "hardest way"  ;) You can find  user attempt for Launchkey MK2, but I guess it will not work for your device, at least not out of the box.

Are you using primary Ableton or Reason? If not, I would recommend send the controller back (if you can). This controller is specially designed for Ableton. It can work with other DAWs, but it was not designed for them. There are more flexible general controllers and specialized for particular plug-ins controllers. There is no "designed for Cakewalk" controllers, except long time unsupported Roland keyboards.

PS. I think the best keyboard controllers for Cakewalk at the moment are M32 (with mini keys) or  A25/A49/A61 (with full size keys) from Native Instruments. I have created M32 preset for AZ Controller (should work with A controllers the same way), with deepest possible integration into Cakewalk. And you get ready to use control over NI and many other NKS compatible soft synths.

PSPS. I am no longer creating presets for controllers I don't have. Too complicated and without direct tests the result can't be perfect.

virtualpaul:
Thanks for your fast response.

It took me a while to choose this controller so I will probably keep it. It fits nicely on my sofa table!

I'll try on the cakewalk forum as you suggested.

When you mean 'hardest', I am wondering if there is a way to export the current setup that almost work into a format that might be imported (after editing perhaps) into AZ controller?

Otherwise how would someone start from anything but scratch, to save time.   ;D

azslow3:
Mackie plug-in is completely different from AZ Controller. You can't import from one to another.
Also in AZ Controller I almost always start from scratch. But it take a while, even for me, till reasonable, complex and logical layout is constructed.

In practice, it is unlikely you will really use Launchkey as a DAW controller. I mean apart from transport. It has finite knobs and pads are not perfect buttons.
Good to control an instrument (without changing the instrument), not good to continuously switch between parameters you control.

I mean if performance section and transport buttons work, just return to making music  ;)

virtualpaul:
Thanks again for helping out.

I am not sure I understand what you mean though about the Launchkey not good for controlling a DAW. 

I thought it was specifically created to control DAWs.  In the manual, they talk about many different DAWs (Ableton, Cubase, ...) and how to.  Just not CakeWalk sadly.  Perhaps I will understand what you mean when I progress further.  I am still unsure on how I would use it...

But since it is MIDI, I originally thought that it could work with CakeWalk by configuring CakeWalk (seems not?) or worst case intercepting MIDI events to remap them to what CakeWalk is expecting.

Can perhaps AZ be used only for certain MIDI event messages and act as a passthrough for the rest?  Or maybe the whole thing need to know the state of the DAW so it would not be possible to just replace events then.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page