MIDIKEY2KEY

Hi guys,

I have a Novation launch control XL. And have it working in MK2K (inputs). But I also want to control the LED lights on it, but I can't get it working.
There is a programming reference manual avaiable, but I am too unexperienced with MIDI to get it working:
https://resource.novationmusic.com/site ... -guide.pdf

Any toughts how to get it working?

Thanks

I do not know the Launch Control XL and I do not have one.

First - and most important - You must know if Your device is enabled to listen to MIDI and an which channel this is!.
Check Your manual for this.

Enabling the launchpads is not easy, and in my case it was not enabled out-of-the-box. I had to hold 4 buttons while powering on...

When this is clarified, You can choose a MIDI-channel, or know on which channel the Launch Control XL is listening.

In this programmer's guide unfortunatley there is no scheme, which button lights have which NoteOn-number.
There are 16 buttons on the lower side and 5 buttons on the right. Do they all have lights?

So You have to try all MIDI notes uintil something happens.
I guess, You cannot try this with a MIDI-keyboard unlless You match the exactly required velocity values.

There is a table with velo eyamples:
Hex Decimal Colour Brightness
0Ch 12 Off Off
0Dh 13 Red Low
0Fh 15 Red Full
1Dh 29 Amber Low
3Fh 63 Amber Full
3Eh 62 Yellow Full
1Ch 28 Green Low
3Ch 60 Green Full

We only need the HEX values. So 0C for 'Off' and 0F for 'Red full'. 0B would be flashing red (from the next chapter of the booklet).
You have to send allways three bytes.

Read the section
Launchpad Protocol:
Note On — Set button LEDs
Hex version 9nh, Note, Velocity
Dec version 144+n, Note, Velocity

A note-on message changes the state of all buttons in the currently selected template whose
note/CC value matches that of the incoming Note value and whose zero-indexed MIDI channel
matches the MIDI channel n of the incoming message. Velocity is used to set the LED colour

We need to send [9n + Note-Number + Velocity] (all in Hex). n is the MIDI channel - but "zero-indexed". That means, it starts with 0. So Channel 1 is 0.
The first byte will be '90' for NoteOn on Ch.1 (NoteOn on Ch 10 would be '99' , NoteOn on Ch16 would be 9F).
The next byte is the note-number. We have to find them, by trying.
There are 127 possible note-numbers. Start with 00 and count up in hex.
That means: 00 01 02 ... 0A 0B ...0F 10 11 12 13 ...1A ... ... 9F ... A0 A1 ... ... FF (FF is the highest)
The velo for 'Red full' is 0F.
So create a new MIDI-send action , put in some lines of test-commands and use the "TEst"-butten.
Try:
90000F 90010F 90020F 90030F 90000F 90040F 90050F ...

There should light up some LEDs at some moment.
Do they?

There are more possible useful commands like "Reset Launch Control XL", or "Turn on all LEDs". Try check them!

To learn the meaning of ALL MIDI commands (don't worry - there are not so many), read "Midi Documentation by Juan P Bello [pdf]" On the MidiKey2Key homepage - download section. This explains everything!