I am using Ableton for live performances. I want to use the Akai APC mini mk2 to mute and unmute tracks and at the same time light up the LED on the unmuted track (the muted tracks will stay off).
I also need it to trigger some clips (by pushing buttons) and light up the LED when they trigger. And then ‘LED off’ when I toggle the same clip off again.
I understand I can use Bome Translator for this custom setups, but I cannot figure out how to do it … I would think this should be pretty straight forward, but I need some help getting started please and thank you.
I have assaigned all the buttons on the APC to do what I want in Ableton, there is just no action in the LED`s
So, I managed to get some LED`s going… couple of issues:
How do I get them to turn off when clicking same button again?
And I testet the same ‘code’ on the 1 button on the second row (from left) (See screenshot - button 9). This one did not stay on, just blinked briefly when I pushed it. I dont understand why its not doing the same as the two first buttons (?) …
Clips cannot be programmed to toggle using MIDI learn. You can learn a clip to trigger but have to use something else to stop the clip. Without MIDI scripting, Ableton does not provide appropriate feedback for this. Is there a reason you want to trigger clips with MIDI learn instead of using the Ableton Live Script?
For learned LED feedback on notes, Ableton Live sends a note off in the format of 0x8x pp qq , where x is the MIDI channel, pp is the note number and qq is the velocity. The APC-MK2 requires feedback in a different format. All feedback must be note-on format (0x9x pp qq) with velocity depending on the color you want.
See this posting for note mapping, midi channels and velocities.
I would suggest that if you want both native mode (with scripting) along with custom mapping, you set up a project with using the script and then have a mechanism to change presets and use translators for custom mapping (which may or may not have appropriate LED feedback).
You can do this by using MIDI thru paths in Live mode, and disabling them while enabling presets in custom mode.
Maybe if you describe better what you want to do I can help you more. I attached a partially completed project file to give you an idea of custom only mode.
As stated earlier, you can use matrix buttons for other functions that provide appropriate Ableton Live feedback but certainly will not get feedback from clip launch buttons.
First I need to know is if it what I want is possible to do, so I`ll try to explain as good as I can.
Two things:
1)
I want the first 24 buttons on my APC mini to be mapped to mute in tracks in Ableton (track 1 - 24). The APC have to show me what track is ‘on’ either with blinking or just a specific colour.
2)
The last 24 buttons would be mapped to trigger specific clips. And show, with blinking, or a specific colour witch clips are playing. (its no problem if I need to use a different button to stop the clips).
Is this possible?
if yes, I would gladly look into paying for some consulting services to get this up and running.
(I can of course do all the mapping in Ableton and everything works fine. However my APC mini is all ‘light out’ so its difficult to navigate quickly)
You can MIDI learn to launch clips but the LED feedback will not work correctly. The Ableton Launch LED feedback is controlled by a complex set of algorithms within Ableton Live which cannot be controlled externally. You could do it with custom scripting (in Python) or perhaps with this tool. I would also need to research further its capabilities. I don’t know if Ableton Live has a function to just stop a single currently playing clip. They are usually stopped by starting new clips or pressing a button to stop all playing clips.
You can reach out to me via email or DM for my private consulting rates if you would like.
Steve Caldwell
Bome Customer Care
Also available for paid consulting services: bome@sniz.biz
