Your Novation LaunchKey thoughts

[Toki]

So I’m in the market for a new MIDI controller.

Currently have an Axiom Air Mini and Maschine MK1. The Air Mini Hyper Control is seemingly broken and only the sustain key acts as a toggle, so loop and record are unassignable. As for having pitch and mod on buttons, that’s a no go for me. Meanwhile Apple silicon has essentially bricked Maschine MK1 with no fix in sight from NI.

The LaunchKey 25 looks perfect for me. Plenty of assignable controls including transport which I like to keep hidden in Reason, 16 pads and 2 octaves. I like the look of the scales and arpeggio features too. I’d love to know if anyone gets much use out of these as I’m on the verge of buying Chord Sequencer but may hold off if these features are well implemented.

The posts I found here on compatibility with Reason are mixed, but also 3-4 years old. Has compatibility improved? I’d likely go for MK4.

It looks like a great controller, hopefully the build quality is as good as it appears in the photos too. Never owned a Novation product so no idea about their gear.

[gkillmaster]

I'm very happy with my LaunchKey Mini. Smacks of quality both in design and hardware and implementation and continual improvements.

[rorystorm]

I got a launchkey 49 about five years ago which I was very happy with at the time - good amount of controls, pretty decent keyboard and good integration with Reason. Coupla downsides - no aftertouch, and if you're finger drumming, though the pads will play sounds from Kong or Redrum etc, they won't record. So that's a bummer. Recently upgraded to an Akai MPK249 with aftertouch and you can record with the drum pads, nice arpeggiator too (though with this annoyingly I can't seem to edit its remote mapping, probably something I'm doing wrong).

[Toki]

I'm very happy with my LaunchKey Mini. Smacks of quality both in design and hardware and implementation and continual improvements.

Nice!

I got a launchkey 49 about five years ago which I was very happy with at the time - good amount of controls, pretty decent keyboard and good integration with Reason. Coupla downsides - no aftertouch, and if you're finger drumming, though the pads will play sounds from Kong or Redrum etc, they won't record. So that's a bummer. Recently upgraded to an Akai MPK249 with aftertouch and you can record with the drum pads, nice arpeggiator too (though with this annoyingly I can't seem to edit its remote mapping, probably something I'm doing wrong).

I think the new one has aftertouch. As for the drum pads issue, that sounds like a MIDI mapping problem with the controller editor. Or they screwed up the Reason script. Thanks for pointing it out though, as that would be a no sale if the pads were useless.

Be great to know if anyone with an MK3/4 has the pads working, I’m sure they must have fixed this by now. I’m down for spending time in the controller editor but if it’s gonna be fruitless I’ll look at other options.

[gkillmaster]

I should mention that I've really liked Nektar controllers as well. Seem very well thought out. And the software for them is superb.

[montfrooij]

I bought the Launchkey 49 MK4 to control Ableton Live with, but it also has a decent mapping for Reason.
You have to download the codec and mapping from the Novation website, so far a lot has been pre mapped.
Not as convenient as a Panorama with the screen that shows what all the encoders do (and tons of other macro features) but at least you can browse presets and have a tiny screen that shows which parameter you are editing.
Keybed feel a bit better than the Panorama T4 I have and the overall build quality too.
I also like that it is more compact compared to the T4.
If you have specific questions, hook me up.

[Toki]

I bought the Launchkey 49 MK4 to control Ableton Live with, but it also has a decent mapping for Reason.
You have to download the codec and mapping from the Novation website, so far a lot has been pre mapped.
Not as convenient as a Panorama with the screen that shows what all the encoders do (and tons of other macro features) but at least you can browse presets and have a tiny screen that shows which parameter you are editing.
Keybed feel a bit better than the Panorama T4 I have and the overall build quality too.
I also like that it is more compact compared to the T4.
If you have specific questions, hook me up.

Nice! Thanks for the info guys. They all have their pros and cons I guess.

The missus just grabbed the MK4 49 as a Christmas gift so it’s nice to hear it plays well with Reason. I’m sure I’ll have a few more questions once I’ve had a play, so I appreciate that.

@montfrooij Did you have any issues with the pads not triggering or recording?I

[tomusurp]

Can anyone confirm if the rotary knobs on the Novation products are velocity sensitive? Meaning if you turn it at a faster speed or make a farther rotation, does it correlate and respond well? I believe Korg Nanocontrol2 knobs are velocity sensitive but products like Arturia Beatstep and Behringer Xtouch Mini seem to have knobs that produce a very slow increase or decrease in the DAW paramater no matter how far or fast you turn the knob

[Rompla]

Hi looking at the launch key mk4 (49) for reason how have you found it ?
Have a launchpad pro mk3 so know I like the novation feel
Just wanted to see how it integrates with reason as want to come away from Live 12 and concentrate purely on reason but want a decent hardware controller and the codec you mentioned made it quite plug and play ?
Thanks
Mike

I bought the Launchkey 49 MK4 to control Ableton Live with, but it also has a decent mapping for Reason.
You have to download the codec and mapping from the Novation website, so far a lot has been pre mapped.
Not as convenient as a Panorama with the screen that shows what all the encoders do (and tons of other macro features) but at least you can browse presets and have a tiny screen that shows which parameter you are editing.
Keybed feel a bit better than the Panorama T4 I have and the overall build quality too.
I also like that it is more compact compared to the T4.
If you have specific questions, hook me up.

[Toki]

Hi looking at the launch key mk4 (49) for reason how have you found it ?
Have a launchpad pro mk3 so know I like the novation feel
Just wanted to see how it integrates with reason as want to come away from Live 12 and concentrate purely on reason but want a decent hardware controller and the codec you mentioned made it quite plug and play ?
Thanks
Mike

I bought the Launchkey 49 MK4 to control Ableton Live with, but it also has a decent mapping for Reason.
You have to download the codec and mapping from the Novation website, so far a lot has been pre mapped.
Not as convenient as a Panorama with the screen that shows what all the encoders do (and tons of other macro features) but at least you can browse presets and have a tiny screen that shows which parameter you are editing.
Keybed feel a bit better than the Panorama T4 I have and the overall build quality too.
I also like that it is more compact compared to the T4.
If you have specific questions, hook me up.

I now have it and my only real issue is using the faders on the LaunchKey with the main mixer. Other than that it’s a beautiful bit of kit, great quality feel, the controller software is very easy to use and so far it’s integrating with Reason pretty well on all other counts.

Setup was a breeze. Other than downloading the Components software and a quick firmware update you literally plug it in and select it as a controller in Reason preferences.

Check out my other post about the faders here:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7535906

Long story short, Novation say they are talking to ReasonStudios, but other users say Novation typically doesn’t have a great history of working super well with Reason or resolving problems. As I said, other than the mixer / fader issue, it’s sweet.

I will add to that, I’m no power user but I’ve tested most of the basic functions and pads, encoders, faders (with various racks and parameters), basic transport controls, chords, scales, arp and custom button assignments all work great.

[Rompla]

Will take a gamble
At £220
All midi devices I have ( push 2 launch kontrol Xl and maschine 2 all have there little limitations)
Thanks again

[jbp]

OP - Did you get anywhere with the master mixer/faders issue? It's really odd as the faders work fine if used for synth parameter etc.

[Toki]

OP - Did you get anywhere with the master mixer/faders issue? It's really odd as the faders work fine if used for synth parameter etc.

Unfortunately not. Novation were pretty on it for a few weeks sending me regular updates. I sent them a ton of info including MIDI monitor data and various other tests I’d run. Finally, they said it’s an RS issue, they know about it and may or may not be working on a solution.

The MK4 works perfectly on the mixer in R12, so it may well be an RS issue. I highly doubt we’ll see a fix for a specific controller from RS though unless it’s something affecting other devices. I’ve tried all sorts to get around it with no joy. The best you can do is just not go to any extremes, which is not a workaround, it’s crap, but often it’s enough for me. That or you have to rag around the fader to un-jam it, and I’m not a fan of that.