For me this is listed as “Launchkey Mini (Port 2)” in Ableton, and as “MIDIOUT2 (Launchkey Mini) 2” in other software such as Python ( mido) and Hairless. To control the LEDs, you need to connect to this second port. This is how Ableton sends commands to the device without disrupting the main MIDI stream. The second endpoint is what Novation refers to as the “InControl” port. The first endpoint is the MIDI port for the control surface data this is what you connect to for reading the keyboard, drum pads, and potentiometers. The Launchkey Mini presents itself as a generic USB-MIDI device with two I/O endpoints. But before controlling the LEDs, you have to be connected to the right MIDI port and have the device configured for InControl mode. The Launchkey Mini is a class compliant MIDI device, meaning that it’s possible to talk to it just by sending standardized MIDI messages without needing a custom driver. It required a bit of reverse engineering and the result isn’t quite as pretty, but I’ve figured out how to do it. There is some information available in a “ programmer’s reference” manual for the Launchkey II ( not the “Mini” version), but sadly the LED components don’t function the same way. Novation’s user guide for the Launchkey Mini has no mention of how to control the LEDs. There’s surprisingly little information about this. That got me thinking: is it possible to control the LEDs on a Launchkey Mini like you can on a Launchpad? I picked up a Novation Launchkey Mini II controller last year when I was working with those musical floppy drives, and recently I fell down the rabbit hole of Launchpad LED performance videos.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |