How to use a MIDI Keyboard with Tracker Mini?

Hi all!

I am having some issues getting any notes to trigger on my Tracker Mini while using a Novation Launchkey Mini.

So far I have:

  • Connected them via a 3.5mm jack lead and have set the Tracker mini to ‘notes in channel ALL’.
  • Selected an Instrument 'PWM pluck.
  • Gone onto pattern mode.
  • Tried multiple 3.5mm Jack leads

Yet nothing plays when I press a note on the keyboard.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAWQzO6NBgA&t=156s - This is the video I watched for reference.

Is that a Launchkey Mini MK3 ?
Or is a previous version?

Older versions used TRS-B while the newer models use TRS-A.

Which means you may need a TRS A ↔ B Converter between the two devices.

Thanks for responding so quickly.

Yeah, its a MK3

Yep, then you need a TRS B to TRS A adapter/converter.

For example:

In a pinch you could also use something like RCA ↔ Minijack cables and cross the RCA connection.

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Looks like I’ll need to order a new cable :upside_down_face:

Thanks for the help!

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So,

I just spent a bit of time cutting one of my 3.5mm male to male cables and swapped the L and R on it but it still didn’t work. Any ideas?

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Hm… i’m not sure this will work properly or something just went wrong when you did that.
Here’s a link to the pinout between TRS-A and TRS-B:

https://minimidi.world/#types

Let us know how it goes or if it works once you get a new cable.
Your setting however are absolutely correct and it definitely a TRS-A / TRS-B issue here.

Strange, I did what the diagram shows and tested the cable with audio also.

I have used a old MIDI Keyboard ‘M audio Oxygen 8’ and that worked fine so I wonder if I have issues with the Novation mini MK3…

Thanks for your response, I wonder if I should try to just buy a new lead to see how that works out but I can’t imagine the wiring on that would be any different to the cable I made myself

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