Is It Possible To Go Mouseless During Production? How Could I Do It?

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silentSunlight
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Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2021 9:50 am

Is It Possible To Go Mouseless During Production? How Could I Do It?

Post by silentSunlight » Wed Nov 17, 2021 9:54 am

Hello! This may be a bit of a newb question, but is it possible to go mouseless during production in Live?

I'm a software engineer by trade, and I've found that going mouseless speeds me up immensely and reduces nerve pain in my wrist (I have some minor nerve damage there due to a motorcycle accident).

What would be the best way to do this in Live? Is this possible? Perhaps there are some forum posts someone could point me in the direction of? I tried searching for a bit, but I'm a bit lost in all the results.

Thanks!

Greenapples2019
Posts: 283
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2019 6:43 pm

Re: Is It Possible To Go Mouseless During Production? How Could I Do It?

Post by Greenapples2019 » Wed Nov 17, 2021 11:35 am

Hi there, and welcome. There's lots of ways you can at least reduce mouse usage; midi controllers are a good start, with buttons/knobs taking advantage of the midi mapping within Ableton. Many of these controllers have Ableton-specific mappings, and popular ones are Ableton Push, Novation Launchpad or ones from Akai, Roland etc. You can also look at programs like Keyboard Maestro (especially with something like a Stream Deck or Loupedeck) and ClyphX Pro which give you access to complex macros, manipulation of windows and more advanced automation not possible with standard midi/key mapping.

I don't know of any specific threads on here, but hopefully some of that will set you in the right direction. Happy to clarify anything, and good luck!

Cheers
D

jestermgee
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Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2010 6:38 am

Re: Is It Possible To Go Mouseless During Production? How Could I Do It?

Post by jestermgee » Wed Nov 17, 2021 10:56 pm

Short answer is No, DAWs have far too many functions and processes to make it possible to go completely mouse less and were designed around a computer using keyboard and mouse since this actually provided a much faster workflow than doing things the old analogue tape way.

Some things can be done faster with KB shortcuts like switching tracks and such but things like doing fine edits to a sample, mapping parameters to macros are easier with a mouse.

As mentioned, you can add control surfaces like Push to allow a lot of physical control of things. I have 3 control surfaces that cover most of the typical usage of Live:

Push 2 offers great control over live and it's native devices, offers incredible programming of drums and allows browsing of sounds and adding/setup of tracks (tho Lives browser is still pretty rudimentary)

Mackie MCU: I've had it forever and it offers very good control over all tracks/sends and input channels so I use it dedicated for all track mix control. It can also do all your FX automation and control but I use Push and Komplete Kontrol for that mostly.

Komplete Kontrol MK2 S61 Keyboard: This is my main MIDI input keyboard and my browser/controller for all my VST plugins. So Push is great at controlling Live but is still lousy and clunky when it comes to controlling VSTs so I use KK for everything VST instrument related. It can also control the mixer in Live but the MCU does that for me.

So each covers a different part in Live and each can also cross between functions if needed which is useful sometimes. What works for me may not work for someone else and I have also gone through dozens of other options along the way that haven't been all that useful, just something you end up figuring out over time really. I would also HIGHLY recommend getting something like a Kensington Trackball:
Image

I use it almost all the time but have a normal mouse for games, I find it faster to use in a DAW because you can "flick" the ball to move fast but main thing is your hand is not in the "claw" shape all day and I started getting RSI in my hand from work, switched to a trackball and have never had a cramp or issue in the last 10 years. Also a good chair and if you can afford, lift desk is all great if you are a ling hour computer user like me who works and plays on a damn computer all day.

Yaman29
Posts: 23
Joined: Fri Jul 02, 2021 8:37 am

Re: Is It Possible To Go Mouseless During Production? How Could I Do It?

Post by Yaman29 » Fri Nov 19, 2021 7:48 am

I also recommend a Trackball and/or a Trackpad. I use both alternately.

Valiumdupeuple
Posts: 1134
Joined: Mon May 31, 2010 12:36 pm
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Re: Is It Possible To Go Mouseless During Production? How Could I Do It?

Post by Valiumdupeuple » Sat Nov 20, 2021 2:33 pm

Learn every Live shortcut. Many important ones are missing, but M4L to the rescue!

doubleUG
Posts: 247
Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2011 7:19 am

Re: Is It Possible To Go Mouseless During Production? How Could I Do It?

Post by doubleUG » Sat Nov 20, 2021 8:47 pm

copy the text, open Live > drag in empty M4L device > open Max editor > paste > save M4L device
https://docs.cycling74.com/max8/vignett ... ng_patches

https://doubleUG.bandcamp.com/releases

silentSunlight
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2021 9:50 am

Re: Is It Possible To Go Mouseless During Production? How Could I Do It?

Post by silentSunlight » Sun Nov 21, 2021 11:05 am

Just wanted to say thanks for all the thoughtful advice :D

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