Setup query

[Stringer1]

Recently acquired a Mackie Onyx 1640i, Volca FM and MI Shruthi XT.
I am in the market for a MIDI keyboard too (perhaps one of the launchkey range), and potentially Push 2.
I have Live 9 suite and the obligatory MacBook pro (on High Sierra).

I want to play, record and MIDI sync some drum tracks from Ableton (say 6, controlled/played with the Push), with another Ableton synth track (controlled/played with the MIDI keyboard), with an external track each for the Volca and Shruthi. I think to do this I will need a USB hub and a MIDI splitter (I assume Live will provide MIDI clock).

Questions
Am I barking up the wrong tree, or should this work (for up to 16 tracks of hardware/software)?
Does Live have to sequence the hardware?
Can Push and MIDI keyboard control/play separate Ableton tracks simultaneously?
Should I just stick to a Push 2 plus Mackie board for playback & mixdown?

Any thoughts will be massively appreciated!

[Richie Witch]

Questions
Am I barking up the wrong tree, or should this work (for up to 16 tracks of hardware/software)?
Does Live have to sequence the hardware?
Can Push and MIDI keyboard control/play separate Ableton tracks simultaneously?
Should I just stick to a Push 2 plus Mackie board for playback & mixdown?

Answers:
1) Yep, that will work
2) Live does not have to sequence the hardware--you can sequence it with any other sequencers you have. Live can be controlled by external hardware as well, so this part is up to you.
3) I'm not familiar with Push, but should be possible as long as all your MIDI controller sources are assigned to different MIDI channels, and the MIDI tracks match the MIDI channel the controller is sending MIDI on.
4) What alternative did you have in mind?

[Stringer1]

1) Yep, that will work
2) Live does not have to sequence the hardware--you can sequence it with any other sequencers you have. Live can be controlled by external hardware as well, so this part is up to you.
3) I'm not familiar with Push, but should be possible as long as all your MIDI controller sources are assigned to different MIDI channels, and the MIDI tracks match the MIDI channel the controller is sending MIDI on.
4) What alternative did you have in mind?

Thank you!
1-3 as I hoped. What I'm thinking is to play say 6 tracks from Ableton for drums, a couple for synths, then the external hardware channelss with everything playing to MIDI clock from Live. Shruthi and Volca both have sequencers I think. Then I can record into Ableton and playback for mixdown.
4 - that was the alternative, literally do everything in the box with no external hardware, except mixdown on the desk.

[Richie Witch]

Yeah, what you're describing is how I work. Usually the drums are coming from a drum rack in Live, then maybe Dune, or Kontakt, or a virtual piano on a MIDI track or two, and one or two hardware synths and the Eurorack all synced to a common clock.

From that, I'll record four to six audio tracks, plus any hardware sends/returns, and one MIDI track for each external sequencer.