Ableton live 8 & Akai MPK Midi

[davidjetson]

First post ever on the Ableton forums and I think it will be a good one

I have been trying to figure out how to get the MPK Mini to Instant Map to device controls and have found a solution.... couple hours of Googling and messing with settings got me up and running, so I figured I'd post and save others the time.

Anyway, there is a feature in Ableton that allows macro mapping for, as it seems, any MIDI device. It involves editing the user configuration text file.

Please note I think this is only available for and after Live 6.

On a Mac (not sure about Windows) go to:
Macintosh HD>Users>[yourusername]>Library>Preferences>Ableton>[yourversion]>User Remote Scripts

When you get to this folder you will see a text file called UserConfiguration.txt

Create a new folder inside User Remote Scripts, I called mine MPK Mini. Inside this folder, copy and paste the UserConfiguration.txt
Probably a good idea to keep a fresh, unedited copy of the UserConfiguration.txt file, in the User Remote Scripts folder.

You should have:
Macintosh HD>Users>[yourusername]>Library>Preferences>Ableton>[yourversion]>User Remote Scripts>MPK Mini>UserConfiguration.txt

Open the new UserConfiguration.txt file in your MPK Mini folder and edit the following:

GlobalChannel: 9
InputName: MPK mini
OutputName: MPK mini
Encoder1: 1
Encoder2: 2
Encoder3: 3
Encoder4: 4
Encoder5: 5
Encoder6: 6
Encoder7: 7
Encoder8: 8

The "-1" means that the program is defaulting, so when you change these to another number you are telling Ableton what channel your device (MPK mini) is located at, and further what the CC#'s for each of the knobs are.

Save the file.

Open Ableton, go to Preferences (again, not sure how this works on Windows) and then to the Midi / Sync Tab.

In the control surface drop down you should now see MPK Mini at the very bottom (or whatever you named your folder under User Remote Scripts). Add this for control surface, as well as for input and output.

Open the MPK mini editor software that came with the MPK Mini. The MPK mini has two separate channels, seems like it is two MIDI devices in one. I have the following configuration:

"PAD MIDI CH" set to 1
"Key + Knobs MIDI CH" set to 10

Knobs:
K1: CC set to 1
K2: CC set to 2
K3: CC set to 3
K4: CC set to 4
K5: CC set to 5
K6: CC set to 6
K7: CC set to 7
K8: CC set to 8

Don't forget to hit "Upload" to send the configuration to the MIDI device.

Please note that while the CC# for the knobs should match the settings in the MPK Mini Editor software, the globalchannel in UserConfiguration.txt is going to be one digit less. This is because the globalchannel in the text file starts at 0. I have set the globalchannel to 9 and entered 10 into the MPK Mini Editor for "Key + Knobs". I didn't use 1 through 8, as there was interference with the CC# to "Encoder" number. Not sure why this happens.

Here is a link that was really helpful:

http://createdigitalmusic.com/2009/07/a ... s-control/

[stefski]

Looks good! I'll give this a run in the next couple of days. Thanks for sharing.

[bafonso]

A bit off topic but has anyone tried the Mini with an iPad? I need a small keyboard and was going to buy the lpk25...

[stefski]

There's been reports of power issues with the LPK25 with the iPad, that's all I know.

[bafonso]

There's been reports of power issues with the LPK25 with the iPad, that's all I know.

Yes, I've heard. But I've read a lot of people don't have any issue. Even the LPD8 has power issues if you start lighting up the pads you can only have up to three lit up at the same time.

[kewtips]

Here is a user config file that might work for some people. I haven't posted the Akai Mpk mini config files but basically the pads are configured to channel 16 and the keyboard and rotaries to channel 15. [NB 1-16 in Akai map to 0-15 in Ableton). Enjoy...


# Config File for User-defined Instant Mappings

# We assume that the controls on your MIDI controller
# send CCs (except for pads). All controls that do not have
# an explicit channel setting are expected to use the
# global channel. CCs & Notes are counted from 0-127
# and channels from 0-15.

# ****The Mini software refers to channel 1-16. So channel 10 on editor is 9 in this script.

[Globals]
# The channel that the controller should send on
GlobalChannel: 14
# If your controller is connected via USB, replace ControllerName
# with the name of the respective port. Live will then try to
# recognize the ports for you when you select your Instant-Mappings
InputName: MPK mini
OutputName: MPK mini
# If your controller has pads that send notes, you can use them to
# play the visible pads in your DrumRacks. Just replace the -1 for
# the note (and channel) of the respective pad. The arrangement of
# the pads in the DrumRacks is as follows:
# 1 2 3 4
# 5 6 7 8
# 9 10 11 12
# 13 14 15 16
# (If you leave the channel of a pad at -1, Live will assume that
# the pad uses the global channel)
Pad1Note: 48
Pad2Note: 49
Pad3Note: 50
Pad4Note: 51
Pad5Note: 44
Pad6Note: 45
Pad7Note: 46
Pad8Note: 47
Pad9Note: 40
Pad10Note: 41
Pad11Note: 42
Pad12Note: 43
Pad13Note: 36
Pad14Note: 37
Pad15Note: 38
Pad16Note: 39
Pad1Channel: 14
Pad2Channel: 14
Pad3Channel: 14
Pad4Channel: 14
Pad5Channel: 14
Pad6Channel: 14
Pad7Channel: 14
Pad8Channel: 14
Pad9Channel: 14
Pad10Channel: 14
Pad11Channel: 14
Pad12Channel: 14
Pad13Channel: 14
Pad14Channel: 14
Pad15Channel: 14
Pad16Channel: 14

[DeviceControls]
# The Encoders will control the device parameters (you can also
# use knobs or sliders). Replace the -1's with the CCs sent by
# the respective controls on your controller. You can also set
# the channel for each controller if it differs from the global
# channel (if you leave the channel of an encoder at -1, Live
# will assume that the encoder uses the global channel).

# Preset 1
Encoder1: 17
Encoder2: 18
Encoder3: 19
Encoder4: 20
Encoder5: 13
Encoder6: 14
Encoder7: 15
Encoder8: 16
EncoderChannel1: 15
EncoderChannel2: 15
EncoderChannel3: 15
EncoderChannel4: 15
EncoderChannel5: 15
EncoderChannel6: 15
EncoderChannel7: 15
EncoderChannel8: 15
# Enter the respective map mode for the encoders here. The following
# map modes are available:
# - Absolute
# - Absolute14Bit
# - LinearSignedBit
# - LinearSignedBit2
# - LinearTwoCompliment
# - LinearBinaryOffset
# - AccelSignedBit
# - AccelSignedBit2
# - AccelTwoCompliment
# - AccelBinaryOffset
# Consult the controller's documentation to find out which mode to use.
EncoderMapMode: Absolute

# Buttons used here are expected to not be toggles (i.e., sending
# value 0 every second time you press it).
Bank1Button: 29
Bank2Button: 30
Bank3Button: 31
Bank4Button: 32
Bank5Button: 33
Bank6Button: 34
Bank7Button: 35
Bank8Button: 36
NextBankButton: 20
PrevBankButton: 16
LockButton: -1

[MixerControls]
# Again enter the appropriate CCs for the respective controls.
# If all sliders use the global channel to send their data,
# you can leave the channels at -1. You can, of course, use
# encoders or knobs instead of sliders.

# Preset 2
VolumeSlider1: 21
VolumeSlider2: 22
VolumeSlider3: 23
VolumeSlider4: 24
VolumeSlider5: 25
VolumeSlider6: 26
VolumeSlider7: 27
VolumeSlider8: 28
Slider1Channel: 15
Slider2Channel: 15
Slider3Channel: 15
Slider4Channel: 15
Slider5Channel: 15
Slider6Channel: 15
Slider7Channel: 15
Slider8Channel: 15
MasterVolumeSlider: -1
MasterSliderChannel: -1
Send1Knob1: -1
Send1Knob2: -1
Send1Knob3: -1
Send1Knob4: -1
Send1Knob5: -1
Send1Knob6: -1
Send1Knob7: -1
Send1Knob8: -1
Send2Knob1: -1
Send2Knob2: -1
Send2Knob3: -1
Send2Knob4: -1
Send2Knob5: -1
Send2Knob6: -1
Send2Knob7: -1
Send2Knob8: -1
TrackArmButton1: 21
TrackArmButton2: 22
TrackArmButton3: 23
TrackArmButton4: 24
TrackArmButton5: 25
TrackArmButton6: 26
TrackArmButton7: 27
TrackArmButton8: 28
VolumeMapMode: Absolute
SendsMapMode: Absolute

[TransportControls]
# The transport buttons are also expected not to be toggles.
StopButton: 13
PlayButton: 14
RecButton: 15
LoopButton: 17
RwdButton: 18
FfwdButton: 19

[gosinisha]

really appreciate hard work guys, but no result here.seems that ableton needs to make some more work here.i did everything like posted;mini shows up in ableton,but knobs do not give any command to live.OS is vista64,live 821 suite if info is needed.other things work well on mini,only knobs remain a problem.

[joshspoon]

EDIT: Wait, my txt file didn't save that's why. I started over and used the pad script info form the other script that was posted. It is still not having the pads correspond to the band of the drum rack I'm in.

@davidjetson. Yeah man it doesn't work for me either. Can you post your script?

[stefski]

Oooooh yes! davidjetson

Your UserConfiguration rewrite thing worked like a charm. This took me five minutes to do. The instructions are beautiful and it feels like the MPK mini turned into a €45 Maschine. I'm so happy. Thank you.

Anyone experiencing problems with this, make sure that the Akai MPK Mini Editor settings are correct. Hit upload (just saying this again, just in case). You should get a confirmation box saying it updated the MPK mini.

I just have a feeling that if anything didn't work with this setup, it's likely to be in there. Unless of course, it's getting the settings right in Abletons midi/sync, but you did say that the saved version of the UserConfiguration file worked?

[stefski]

Again, all this stuff is great - makes the MPK mini a blue hand controller.

Just curious to one thing, as I haven't been able to decipher the logic behind which knob or value the controller (having got it to follow this script) grabs the different knobs. On most "macro control" devices, it seems that the knobs on the MPK mini mirror the knobs on the macro control device. But the results on a Beat Stutter effect device doesn't seem to follow the same mirror logic, as the knobs affecting the device isn't following the same system. Not that I necessarily expect it to, but curious to know what it does and if there's some way I might change it around?

Again, the automatic mapping is great!

First post ever on the Ableton forums and I think it will be a good one

I have been trying to figure out how to get the MPK Mini to Instant Map to device controls and have found a solution.... couple hours of Googling and messing with settings got me up and running, so I figured I'd post and save others the time.

Anyway, there is a feature in Ableton that allows macro mapping for, as it seems, any MIDI device. It involves editing the user configuration text file.

Please note I think this is only available for and after Live 6.

On a Mac (not sure about Windows) go to:
Macintosh HD>Users>[yourusername]>Library>Preferences>Ableton>[yourversion]>User Remote Scripts

When you get to this folder you will see a text file called UserConfiguration.txt

Create a new folder inside User Remote Scripts, I called mine MPK Mini. Inside this folder, copy and paste the UserConfiguration.txt
Probably a good idea to keep a fresh, unedited copy of the UserConfiguration.txt file, in the User Remote Scripts folder.

You should have:
Macintosh HD>Users>[yourusername]>Library>Preferences>Ableton>[yourversion]>User Remote Scripts>MPK Mini>UserConfiguration.txt

Open the new UserConfiguration.txt file in your MPK Mini folder and edit the following:

GlobalChannel: 9
InputName: MPK mini
OutputName: MPK mini
Encoder1: 1
Encoder2: 2
Encoder3: 3
Encoder4: 4
Encoder5: 5
Encoder6: 6
Encoder7: 7
Encoder8: 8

The "-1" means that the program is defaulting, so when you change these to another number you are telling Ableton what channel your device (MPK mini) is located at, and further what the CC#'s for each of the knobs are.

Save the file.

Open Ableton, go to Preferences (again, not sure how this works on Windows) and then to the Midi / Sync Tab.

In the control surface drop down you should now see MPK Mini at the very bottom (or whatever you named your folder under User Remote Scripts). Add this for control surface, as well as for input and output.

Open the MPK mini editor software that came with the MPK Mini. The MPK mini has two separate channels, seems like it is two MIDI devices in one. I have the following configuration:

"PAD MIDI CH" set to 1
"Key + Knobs MIDI CH" set to 10

Knobs:
K1: CC set to 1
K2: CC set to 2
K3: CC set to 3
K4: CC set to 4
K5: CC set to 5
K6: CC set to 6
K7: CC set to 7
K8: CC set to 8

Don't forget to hit "Upload" to send the configuration to the MIDI device.

Please note that while the CC# for the knobs should match the settings in the MPK Mini Editor software, the globalchannel in UserConfiguration.txt is going to be one digit less. This is because the globalchannel in the text file starts at 0. I have set the globalchannel to 9 and entered 10 into the MPK Mini Editor for "Key + Knobs". I didn't use 1 through 8, as there was interference with the CC# to "Encoder" number. Not sure why this happens.

Here is a link that was really helpful:

http://createdigitalmusic.com/2009/07/a ... s-control/

[agent314]

First post ever on the Ableton forums and I think it will be a good one

I have been trying to figure out how to get the MPK Mini to Instant Map to device controls and have found a solution.... couple hours of Googling and messing with settings got me up and running, so I figured I'd post and save others the time.

Anyway, there is a feature in Ableton that allows macro mapping for, as it seems, any MIDI device. It involves editing the user configuration text file.

Please note I think this is only available for and after Live 6.

On a Mac (not sure about Windows) go to:
Macintosh HD>Users>[yourusername]>Library>Preferences>Ableton>[yourversion]>User Remote Scripts

When you get to this folder you will see a text file called UserConfiguration.txt

Create a new folder inside User Remote Scripts, I called mine MPK Mini. Inside this folder, copy and paste the UserConfiguration.txt
Probably a good idea to keep a fresh, unedited copy of the UserConfiguration.txt file, in the User Remote Scripts folder.

You should have:
Macintosh HD>Users>[yourusername]>Library>Preferences>Ableton>[yourversion]>User Remote Scripts>MPK Mini>UserConfiguration.txt

Open the new UserConfiguration.txt file in your MPK Mini folder and edit the following:

GlobalChannel: 9
InputName: MPK mini
OutputName: MPK mini
Encoder1: 1
Encoder2: 2
Encoder3: 3
Encoder4: 4
Encoder5: 5
Encoder6: 6
Encoder7: 7
Encoder8: 8

The "-1" means that the program is defaulting, so when you change these to another number you are telling Ableton what channel your device (MPK mini) is located at, and further what the CC#'s for each of the knobs are.

Save the file.

Open Ableton, go to Preferences (again, not sure how this works on Windows) and then to the Midi / Sync Tab.

In the control surface drop down you should now see MPK Mini at the very bottom (or whatever you named your folder under User Remote Scripts). Add this for control surface, as well as for input and output.

Open the MPK mini editor software that came with the MPK Mini. The MPK mini has two separate channels, seems like it is two MIDI devices in one. I have the following configuration:

"PAD MIDI CH" set to 1
"Key + Knobs MIDI CH" set to 10

Knobs:
K1: CC set to 1
K2: CC set to 2
K3: CC set to 3
K4: CC set to 4
K5: CC set to 5
K6: CC set to 6
K7: CC set to 7
K8: CC set to 8

Don't forget to hit "Upload" to send the configuration to the MIDI device.

Please note that while the CC# for the knobs should match the settings in the MPK Mini Editor software, the globalchannel in UserConfiguration.txt is going to be one digit less. This is because the globalchannel in the text file starts at 0. I have set the globalchannel to 9 and entered 10 into the MPK Mini Editor for "Key + Knobs". I didn't use 1 through 8, as there was interference with the CC# to "Encoder" number. Not sure why this happens.

Here is a link that was really helpful:

http://createdigitalmusic.com/2009/07/a ... s-control/

Just want to go ahead and say, thumbs way up to this post.

Rare to see a forum user that's got a 100% helpful posting history.

[kodiacc]

hey everbody!

just want to say, for these guy who also have problems with the mapping.

whats important, are the Lines [Global] and [DeviceControls]. If they are missing like in some examples posted here, its not working for my Live.
The rest is basically very easy and clear for me. Just set your Channel right.
So just try it out

So i Guess something Like

Code: Select all

[DeviceControls]
# The Encoders will control the device parameters (you can also
# use knobs or sliders). Replace the -1's with the CCs sent by
# the respective controls on your controller. You can also set
# the channel for each controller if it differs from the global
# channel (if you leave the channel of an encoder at -1, Live
# will assume that the encoder uses the global channel).

# Preset 1
Encoder1: 1
Encoder2: 2
Encoder3: 3
Encoder4: 4
Encoder5: 5
Encoder6: 6
Encoder7: 7
Encoder8: 8

should do it

[stefski]

Thanks! This does look like what davidjetson's take on the script, which is really helpful for the MPK Mini.

Then some devices just don't follow the logic in those lines. They just act differently, assigning seemingly random parameters to the encoders. With "seemingly", I mean there's probably an explanation for it.

hey everbody!

just want to say, for these guy who also have problems with the mapping.

whats important, are the Lines [Global] and [DeviceControls]. If they are missing like in some examples posted here, its not working for my Live.
The rest is basically very easy and clear for me. Just set your Channel right.
So just try it out

So i Guess something Like

Code: Select all

[DeviceControls]
# The Encoders will control the device parameters (you can also
# use knobs or sliders). Replace the -1's with the CCs sent by
# the respective controls on your controller. You can also set
# the channel for each controller if it differs from the global
# channel (if you leave the channel of an encoder at -1, Live
# will assume that the encoder uses the global channel).

# Preset 1
Encoder1: 1
Encoder2: 2
Encoder3: 3
Encoder4: 4
Encoder5: 5
Encoder6: 6
Encoder7: 7
Encoder8: 8

should do it

[kodiacc]

hm, yeah but davidjetson got the definitions as i mentioned missing. this [DeviceControl] Stuff.
for me they dont work differently, but i just tested them on instrument racks. not really on all kind of devices like effects and stuff

[samtastic]

just picked up an MPK Mini also, and have now got it mapping to devices via the blue hand - woo : )

For anyone on a Mac, I found Mattadams' remote script and MPK preset very helpful (includes a readme file in the zip): http://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php? ... 2#p1251562



Also, some advice to anyone having problems with AKAI's MPK Mini Editor Software (for Mac) or with Remote Scripts, here's what I learned (and re-learned - have done the same process ages ago with Korg's nanokontrol):


For anyone who has problems with the remote script (i found mattadams zip file - above - very helpful)...

once you have saved the script in the right place, which is as easy as dragging Matt's 'MPK Mini' folder to Macintosh HD>Users>[yourusername]>Library>Preferences>Ableton>[yourversion]>User Remote Scripts, the next step (which is where i messed up, and Matt doesn't mention it in his readme) is:

a) open live (or quit/reopen if it's already open), then
b) under the MIDI panel of Abeleton's preferences, select MPK Mini for *each* of the three columns, "Control Surface", "Input", "Output" (I forgot this the first time round and couldn't get it work for me).

For anyone else who has problems with the MPK Mini Editor Software (on a Mac):

I found that the version that came on CD wouldn't work properly on my Macbook (running OS 10.5.8 ) - I couldn't upload presets to the MPK Mini hardware

but it did work on my Mac Pro (running OS 10.6.4).

I tried downloading/installing the version that's on AKAI's website, but it would crash upon opening (on my Macbook with 10.5.8, haven't tried with the Mac Pro on 10.6.4

And then that caused the CD-version to crash also. Got the CD version opening again once I trashed the downloaded-version




Anyway, I couldn't get the software to upload the presets to the device - it should display a message 'upload successful' or similar - on my Macbook at all (it's running OS 10.5.8 ), but it all worked properly on my Mac Pro (OS 10.6.4).

maybe AKAI haven't properly tested the software with older versions of OS X?

hope that helps someone, rather than confusing them further : )