Softube Console 1 is pretty sweet but Ableton Live doesn't support track follow.
http://www.maxforlive.com/library/device.php?id=5055
Console 1 Track Follow Device
I like using Softube Console 1 when I do my final mix but unfortunately Ableton Live doesn't support track follow for the Console 1.
Ableton Live supports:
*Automatic Track Number
*Automatic Track Name
This device allows limited track follow for Ableton Live and Console 1.
"Console 1 Track Follow" allows Ableton Live to follow Console 1 but Console 1 will "NOT" follow Ableton Live.
**New 1.1 Update Features**
*Master track is now selectable from the Console 1 controller.
*Any number of return tracks (within Ableton Live's own limits) are now selectable from the Console 1 controller.
*Uses imp.midi and imp.sysex externals to bypass all of the previous MIDI setup complications. Just drop Console 1 Track Follow on the Master track, verify Console 1 MIDI port is selected, and you are ready to go!
The externals are cross platform but I have not tested on Windows as of now.
*Attempts to set the MIDI port automatically to Console 1 MIDI port. Get MIDI Ports and drop down menu for manual selection if needed.
**FEATURES from 1.0**
*Select track buttons on Console 1 hardware controller will select the corresponding Ableton Live track Number
*Page up and down buttons will let you select more than 20 tracks in Ableton Live (up to 1000 pages can be selected).
*Shift button on hardware temporarily disconnects the Select Track buttons to allow you to choose shift settings or load other channel strips without accidentally changing the track.
** How to use it:
Make Sure every track in Ableton Live is named:
"# Track name"
This makes sure the track gets an automatic number.
Add Console 1 plugins to every Instrument/Audio /Return/Master Track.
Now when you select a track from the Console 1 controller, Ableton Live will follow the track selection!
Ableton Live MIDI Preferences:
*No MIDI preferences changes required as of v1.1. Just leave all Console 1 MIDI preferences set to "off"(Track, Remote, Sync).
Drop 1 instance of Console 1 Track Follow on the Master track (or any Audio track).
You should see "Console 1" selected as the MIDI port on the Console 1 Track Follow device. If you don't you can press the "GET MIDI PORTS" button to fill the drop down menu with your MIDI ports. Choose "Console 1" from the list.
**Planned/Attempted Future Features**
* Fix issue of Navigating OSD menus with the page up/down buttons
* Other things I can't think of right now that "are" possible with limited Softube Support.
**KNOWN ISSUES**
*Tracks can be selected regardless of whether or not there is a Console 1 plugin on the track (more of a feature than an issue to me).
*Because of the page up and down functionality the page up and down buttons cannot be used to select new menu devices such as channel strips or settings options. --Use the Volume/Select Knob instead.
*Control is only one way because of limited information from Softube. The physical controls send SysEx data (which is how I was able to tap into the controls) but communication is with the plugin(s) and hardware are done through some sort of local network communication. I'm not sure if I can hack it to work like the "supported" DAW's can so just assume this is all the functionality you get for now (Until Ableton decides to officially support it).
**Tips regarding known issues out of my control**
*If you add more return tracks after you have loaded your Console 1 plugins, the order of the return tracks may be incorrect. To fix this you can use the "...Rearrange Tracks" functionality in the Console 1 controller settings menu. This is due to the fact that Ableton Live return tracks are Letter vs. Numbers (a problem of incompatibility between Softube and Ableton's Return Tracks letter scheme).
A good workflow is to add all of the return tracks you might need before adding all of your console 1 plugins.
*(Console 1 bug work around) If you use the ...Rearrange Tracks functionality and try to "swap tracks" from the Console 1 controller it will cause the Softube Console 1 app to crash. The workaround is to move the track you want to replace to an empty location and move the new track to the new empty location that you just created. Basically don't try to move the track right on top of an existing one when rearranging. tracks from the controller.
Please let me know if you find other bugs and if anything isn't working for you. I'm only able to test with my single controller and on OSX as of now.
. At the same time, it’s their company and they can run it how they want... I’ll shake it eventually... hopefully.