Novation Launchkey Functionality + Pyramid workflow

Hey all! I am about to get a Novation Launchkey Mk3 and one of the big selling points of that controller is that it integrates with Ableton Live really well. It is touted to be pretty much as useful to other PC sequencing software too. What I’m wondering is if I’ll be able to use it with my Pyramid in fantastic ways such as one would with a PC software sequencer. Would it require some kind of definition files or the need to set parameters or something of the sort? It would be great to learn how to exploit the synergy of these 2 great devices to their fullest in a performance environment.

I’m hoping that any users of both these machines can chime in on their experiences here.

Thanks

I do not know what kind of integration you are expecting,
the pyramids midi implementation (for things like switching sequencers) is covered in this document

pyraMIDI implementation chart

these messages cannot be re-configured.

some additional thoughts can be found in this topic

A lot of useful integration can be determined with how “rational” the midi implementation is… and whether you can remap pads or buttons to be specific notes or CCs… On the other hand… much can be done with a good midi message translator if the implementation is bad…

I would suggest perhaps pondering what you would like to do with the midi controller and then doing research to determine if that is easily accomplished or more work than is worthwhile…

I’m absolutely certain that I will be able to use my OG novation launchpad to control the sequences and mute states on the pyramid. The caveat being that I will need to purchase a Bomebox (or something similar) to accomplish this task…

Hopefully Novation has improved its products since I have used them so that you can simply remap some of the pads on the controller to be whatever you like…

A definition file wouldn’t be needed for something like this… I would imagine you would just use the keyboard portion of it as is… and then remap the pads to be specific things. It looks like it has 16 multicolor pads… You could use them as sequence launchers, mutes, or (easily) FX on/off switches.

Study up on the Pyramidi portion of the manual for suggestions on how to do this sort of fun stuff.

Thanks for the tips and guidance here. I admittedly did not have a plan or aim in mind when I wrote the initial post. I was hoping to see if there was possibly something like a “Pyramid settings file” for the Launchkey floating around somewhere that had interesting functionality to discover.
I will have a little dig through that thread and the manuals and see what might be possible to do.

Thank you both for your time. I really appreciate it.

I use a launchkey 37 with my pyramid. The functionality you speak of is not available. It requires being connected to a supporting daw for those functions to even appear. It’s fully integrated with ableton, and some of the features work with logic. I suggest downloading the launchkey manual and reviewing the section on stand alone hardware mode to see how it will work.One feature that I have not yet been able to make work with the pyramid is the transport controls.

Having said that, it works well with the pyramid. You can create and store 4 sets of custom maps for the pads and pots separately. It’s also really easy to temporarily map scales and keyboards to the pads on the fly as well, and the pads have aftertouch (the keys don’t).

It sounds like Novation is still married to the idea of the AutoMap software… that’s unfortunate… It’s one of the details that frustrated me with production using DAWs.

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