Applies to:
- Launch Control XL 3
- Launch Control 3
with Ableton Live on macOS or Windows.
Update needed
Before proceeding, make sure your Launch Control's firmware is up-to-date using Novation Components.
components.novationmusic.com
Redeeming Ableton Live Lite
When you register Launch Control XL 3 or Launch Control 3 you will be given access to Ableton Live Lite. Once registered, steps to redeem the included copy can be found on this page in your account.
If you need assistance installing and activating Ableton Live Lite, please see this article: Installing and activating Ableton Live Lite.
Ableton Live Setup
Launch Control XL 3 and Launch Control 3 will be automatically detected by Ableton Live 12. Just make sure the firmware is up to date (Updating Launch Control XL 3 Firmware / Updating Launch Control 3 Firmware), and Live is up to date (Updating Live – Ableton).
If you're using Windows, install the latest Novation USB Driver from your Launch Control downloads page: Novation Downloads.
If you need to manually set up your Launch Control, follow the steps below for your operating system and version of Live.
Windows
Live 12
To set up Launch Control in Ableton Live 12 on Windows, first you need to install the latest Novation USB Driver from the Launch Control downloads page:
Once the driver has been installed successfully, connect Launch Control to your computer, ensure the firmware is up to date (Updating Launch Control XL 3 Firmware / Updating Launch Control 3 Firmware), and open Live.
Then, go to Live's MIDI preferences.
Options → Settings… → Link, Tempo & MIDI
Under Control Surface in the MIDI section, select Launch Control XL 3 or Launch Control 3, depending on your product (below shown for a Launch Control XL 3).
Under Input and Output, select the DAW ports. These will appear either as (Port 2) for both, or MIDIIN2 and MIDIOUT2.
In the Input and Output Ports section, the checkboxes should match this configuration:
For Launch Control XL 3 these are:
Input Ports
LCXL3 1 MIDI — Track On, Sync Off, Remote On, MPE Off
Launch_Control_XL_3 Input (LCXL3 1 MIDI (Port 2)) — Track On, Sync Off, Remote Off, MPE Off
Output Ports
LCXL3 1 MIDI — Track On, Sync Off, Remote On
Launch_Control_XL_3 Output (LCXL3 1 MIDI (Port 2)) — All off
For Launch Control 3 these are:
Input Ports
LC3 1 MIDI — Track On, Sync Off, Remote On, MPE Off
Launch_Control_3 Input (LC3 1 MIDI (Port 2)) — Track On, Sync Off, Remote Off, MPE Off
Output Ports
LC3 1 MIDI — Track On, Sync Off, Remote On
Launch_Control_3 Output (LC3 1 MIDI (Port 2)) — All off
If you've completed the setup correctly, the Launch Control should indicate the currently controlled bank of tracks, and show the name of the selected track. Also, depending on your product, the Page, Track, Record, Play, Solo / Arm, and Mute / Select buttons will light up along with encoders and fader buttons for any tracks in the current Live set — how Page, Track, the encoders, and fader buttons light up depends on the number of tracks and sends in the set.
Additionally, when you press Mode to enter mode selection on Launch Control XL 3, Solo / Arm (DAW Control) and Mute / Select (DAW Mixer) should light up, indicating that the DAW modes are available. They will be lit dimly if another mode is selected, or brightly if a DAW mode is selected.
On Launch Control 3, Function should light up, indicating that the DAW modes are available.
Live 11 or earlier
The Ableton Live script and features for Launch Control XL 3 and Launch Control 3 aren't available Live 11 or earlier. However, you can still use them as a generic MIDI controller by following the steps below. Alternatively, you can install the included copy of Ableton Live 12 Lite for free for more advanced control: Installing and activating Ableton Live Lite.
To set up Launch Control as a generic MIDI controller in Ableton Live on Windows, first you need to install the latest Novation USB Driver from the Launch Control downloads page:
Once the driver has been installed successfully, connect Launch Control to your computer, ensure the firmware is up to date (Updating Launch Control XL 3 Firmware / Updating Launch Control 3 Firmware), and open Live.
Then, go to Live's MIDI preferences.
Options → Preferences… → Link/Tempo/MIDI
Match the MIDI settings below:
For Launch Control XL 3:
Input: LCXL3 1 MIDI — Track On, Sync Off, Remote On, MPE* Off
Input: Launch_Control_XL_3 Input (LCXL3 1 MIDI (Port 2)) — Track On, Sync Off, Remote On, MPE* Off
Output: LCXL3 1 MIDI — Track On, Sync Off, Remote On
Output: Launch_Control_XL_3 Input (LCXL3 1 MIDI (Port 2)) — Track On, Sync Off, Remote On
For Launch Control 3:
Input: LC3 1 MIDI — Track On, Sync Off, Remote On, MPE* Off
Input: Launch_Control_3 Input (LC3 1 MIDI (Port 2)) — Track On, Sync Off, Remote On, MPE* Off
Output: LCXL 1 MIDI — Track On, Sync Off, Remote On
Output: Launch_Control_3 Input (LC3 1 MIDI (Port 2)) — Track On, Sync Off, Remote On
*MPE won't appear in Live 10 or earlier.
You can then manually assign the controls from the Custom Modes on Launch Control to controls in Ableton (e.g., mapping the faders on Launch Control to the faders in Ableton's mixer). To learn more about how to create custom mappings in Ableton, see this Ableton Support article: Making custom MIDI Mappings – Ableton.
On Launch Control XL 3, Mode 16 has a predefined set of MIDI CC (control change) assignments; these can be mapped easily to Ableton's controls using the steps in the Ableton support article above.
On Launch Control 3, Mode 8 has a predefined set of MIDI CC (control change) assignments; these can be mapped easily to Ableton's controls using the steps in the Ableton support article above.
Mac
Both Launch Control XL 3 and Launch Control 3 use the macOS Core MIDI driver, so you do not need to download or install a driver to use Launch Control with a Mac.
Live 12
To set up Launch Control XL 3 or Launch Control 3 in Ableton Live 12, connect it to your Mac, ensure the firmware is up to date (Updating Launch Control XL 3 Firmware / Updating Launch Control 3 Firmware), and open Live.
Then, go to Live's MIDI preferences.
Live → Settings… → Link, Tempo & MIDI
Under Control Surface in the MIDI section, select Launch Control XL 3 or Launch Control 3, depending on your product.
Under Input and Output, select the DAW ports.
In the Input and Output Ports section, the checkboxes should match this configuration:
For Launch Control XL 3 these are:
Input Ports
LCXL3 1 (MIDI Out) — Track On, Sync Off, Remote On, MPE Off
Launch_Control_XL_3 Input (LCXL3 1 (DAW Out)) — Track On, Sync Off, Remote Off, MPE Off
Output Ports
LCXL3 1 (MIDI In) — Track On, Sync Off, Remote On
Launch_Control_XL_3 Output (LCXL3 1 (DAW In)) — All off
For Launch Control 3 these are:
Input Ports
LC3 1 (MIDI Out) — Track On, Sync Off, Remote On, MPE Off
Launch_Control_3 Input (LCXL3 1 (DAW Out)) — Track On, Sync Off, Remote Off, MPE Off
Output Ports
LC3 1 (MIDI In) — Track On, Sync Off, Remote On
Launch_Control_3 Output (LC3 1 (DAW In)) — All off
If you've completed the setup correctly, the Launch Control screen should indicate the currently controlled bank of tracks, and show the name of the selected track. Also, the Page, Track, Record, Play, Solo / Arm, and Mute / Select buttons will light up along with encoders and fader buttons for any tracks in the current Live set — how Page, Track, the encoders, and fader buttons light up depends on the number of tracks and sends in the set.
Additionally, when you press Mode to enter mode selection on Launch Control XL 3, Solo / Arm (DAW Control) and Mute / Select (DAW Mixer) should light up, indicating that the DAW modes are available. They will be lit dimly if another mode is selected, or brightly if a DAW mode is selected.
On Launch Control 3, Function should light up, indicating that the DAW modes are available.
Live 11 or earlier
The Ableton Live script and features for Launch Control XL 3 and Launch Control 3 aren't available Live 11 or earlier. However, you can still use it as a generic MIDI controller by following the steps below. Alternatively, you can install the included copy of Ableton Live 12 Lite for free for more advanced control: Installing and activating Ableton Live Lite.
To set up Launch Control XL 3 or Launch Control 3 as a generic MIDI controller in Ableton Live, connect it to your Mac, ensure the firmware is up to date (Updating Launch Control XL 3 Firmware / Updating Launch Control 3 Firmware), and open Live.
Then, go to Live's MIDI preferences.
Live → Settings… → Link/Tempo/MIDI
Match the MIDI settings below:
For Launch Control XL 3:
Input: LCXL3 1 (MIDI Out) — Track On, Sync Off, Remote On, MPE* Off
Input: Launch_Control_XL Input (LCXL3 1 (DAW Out)) — Track On, Sync Off, Remote On, MPE* Off
Output: LCXL3 1 (MIDI In) — Track On, Sync Off, Remote On
Output: Launch_Control_XL Input (LCXL3 1 (DAW In)) — Track On, Sync Off, Remote On
For Launch Control 3:
Input: LC3 1 (MIDI Out) — Track On, Sync Off, Remote On, MPE* Off
Input: Launch_Control_3 Input (LC3 1 (DAW Out)) — Track On, Sync Off, Remote On, MPE* Off
Output: LC3 1 (MIDI In) — Track On, Sync Off, Remote On
Output: Launch_Control_3 Input (LC3 1 (DAW In)) — Track On, Sync Off, Remote On
*MPE won't appear in Live 10 or earlier.
You can then manually assign the controls from the Custom Modes on your Launch Control to controls in Ableton (e.g. mapping the faders or the encoders on Launch Control to the faders in Ableton's mixer). To learn more about how to create custom mappings in Ableton, see this Ableton Support article: Making custom MIDI Mappings – Ableton.
On Launch Control XL 3, Mode 16 has a predefined set of MIDI CC (control change) assignments; these can be mapped easily to Ableton's controls using the steps in the Ableton support article above.
On Launch Control 3, Mode 8 has a predefined set of MIDI CC (control change) assignments; these can be mapped easily to Ableton's controls using the steps in the Ableton support article above.
Using Launch Control in Ableton Live
A video describing the functionality of Launch Control in Ableton Live can be found here:
Launch Control 3's DAW Modes and Function Button in Ableton Live
Once you've configured Launch Control 3 as described above, Launch Control 3 will default to DAW Mixer mode when you open Ableton. Press the Function button to switch between the four Button Functions: Arm, Mute, Solo, and Track Select (the default mode).
If you want to switch between DAW Mixer and DAW Control modes, press Mode, then press the Function button. Press Mode again to exit mode selection.
Full details of these modes, and the functions and controls available when using Launch Control XL 3 or Launch Control 3 with Live 12 can be found in the user guide.
Controlling Ableton Live | Launch Control XL 3 User Guide
Controlling Ableton Live | Launch Control 3 User Guide
You can find additional guides for your Launch Control here:
If this article hasn't helped you, please feel free to search again at the top of this page or, to contact support, please click here.