Live 11 with StreamDeck

[buckman]

Does anyone here use a Stream Deck with Ableton?

Just looking at one and weighing up the benefits and what it can do with Live?

For example, does the Stream Deck with Ableton just store quick actions for simple things in Live, or does it allow for multiple actions at once, under one key/button to take place, rather like Reaper's Actions and macros?

Thanks

[Christian61]

Hi,

I use the 15-button Streamdeck (iPad app version) with Live to do almost everythink like:
Start/stop, loop, jump to markers ect.
change views / browser / details ect.
load my favourite VSTs, FXs and midi FX (several 100 buttons)
Color / name tracks and a lot more…

Nice is that streamdeck buttons (with your own image) can have 'multi actions' to define a serie
of (Ableton) keystrokes / shortcuts or text entries / pauses / etc/ect. to get the job done.
You can even trigger actions in other programs like BetterTouchTool (Mac)
It is next to the SSL UC1/UF8 a vital part of my setup.


To get an idea of a multi action in streamdeck (to load a VST):



Some other examples:

Main screen


Track functions


FX Groups


FX


VST


Midi effects



Have fun,
Christian

[buckman]

Thanks Christian!

This is really interesting, and the google images look great.
It gives a great insight into what the Stream Deck can do without learning the key commands!

And I guess you can set this up for not only Ableton, but Logic, etc too?

Very interested in your Stream Deck keys, like MIDI pitch, launching certain VST's, chords, scales etc!

Did you set these up personally, to your way of working or are they standard Live functions mapped to a StreamDeck button?

[Christian61]

There are no predefined mappings / plugins for Live in Streamdeck I could use...
my main purpose for SD was initially to easily find and load my VST / FX and don't have to search everytime in the Live Browser for them...

* * *

there some paid DAW setups like here:
https://www.sideshowfx.net/ableton-live-mc-stream-deck

Streamdeck plugins:
https://apps.elgato.com/plugins

[Christian61]

....

and the latest SD page I made is a kind of 'Preset Skipper' deck...

The idea is to load up a VST (or FX) and then press a SD button to skip 'automatically' through their factory presets.
(like:
press a cursor down key, (... next preset will load)
wait 10 seconds (to audition the new sound)
and then
repeat this 5 / 10 times

* * *

Some VST/FX allow to skip presets with up/down cursors, while some other VST allow only mouse clicks
( in such a case you have to move the mouse first to the right spot in the VST )

[buckman]

There are no predefined mappings / plugins for Live in Streamdeck I could use...
my main purpose for SD was initially to easily find and load my VST / FX and don't have to search everytime in the Live Browser for them...

* * *

there some paid DAW setups like here:
https://www.sideshowfx.net/ableton-live-mc-stream-deck

Streamdeck plugins:
https://apps.elgato.com/plugins

This is great and exactly what i'm looking for, especially in my other programs that I don't really use, due to key commands that I can never find! like Logic Pro, FL Studio, Reaper etc! so if I can do this for all these DAW's and more then great!

So correct me if im wrong (spologies just researching the SD) so I could set up in Ableton for example :

1. Open new Audio Track
2. Set it to Resampling
3. Set it to Record into the Resampling track
4. Disarm

All under one SD button press?

[Christian61]

you can do it with a SD button If you can do all of it in Ableton only with your keyboard. (moving a mouse to a x/y pos and click there is not available in SD as far as I know...)

"Set it to Resampling" can be done only with a mouse or not ?

[buckman]

Ok so it can only map key commands from buttons, keys and not Mouse Moveable things?

[Christian61]

Check here the standard function for a.SD button
https://help.elgato.com/hc/en-us/artic ... 4NSYM2YTXE

You would need an additional tool like BetterTouchTool for mouse clicks (BTT is only for Mac), BTT can be triggered from a SD button.
BTT can do mouse moves / drags / clicks etc. and much more.

But
… the main issue is really , that the ‘current’ selected active track can be anywhere on the Live screen. You might have 25 tracks or only 2.
SD / BTT would not know which is selected and to which x/y pos to move the mouse to to get the “Set it to Resampling”. clicked (at the moment you press the SD button). I had similar issues and did not found a solution.

[buckman]

Thanks Christian61

I will have a look at Better Touch Tool, as this is all new to me.
I didnt really want to install lots of different Apps, so maybe the Mouse stuff I still do, but the Stream Deck does look good as its customizable, programmable, and hardware buttons!

Been looking on Youtube and some of the SD set ups for Ableton, Logic, Cubase, even Google, look really good.

Personally looking at the SD XL with the more buttons, as its not that different to the smaller v2 SD.

[Christian61]

Great,

one idea might be to 'test drive' whether/how the button programming works is to use the
streamdeck app (on iPhone/iPad/ect), it can be used instead of the SD hardware. In my case I have an 'old' iPad Mini to run streamdeck.

https://www.elgato.com/de/stream-deck-mobile

[JeanB31]

Hi Christian,

You say that you can jump from one marker to an other with the streamdeck..
How do you do that ?
Do you use a midi plugin like MIDI by Trevliga Spel ? And send midi control change to Ableton?

Thank you !

Jean

Hi,

I use the 15-button Streamdeck (iPad app version) with Live to do almost everythink like:
Start/stop, loop, jump to markers ect.
change views / browser / details ect.
load my favourite VSTs, FXs and midi FX (several 100 buttons)
Color / name tracks and a lot more…

Nice is that streamdeck buttons (with your own image) can have 'multi actions' to define a serie
of (Ableton) keystrokes / shortcuts or text entries / pauses / etc/ect. to get the job done.
You can even trigger actions in other programs like BetterTouchTool (Mac)
It is next to the SSL UC1/UF8 a vital part of my setup.


To get an idea of a multi action in streamdeck (to load a VST):



Some other examples:

Main screen


Track functions


FX Groups


FX


VST


Midi effects



Have fun,
Christian

[[jur]]

my main purpose for SD was initially to easily find and load my VST / FX and don't have to search everytime in the Live Browser for them...

This!

[Christian61]

Hi Christian,

You say that you can jump from one marker to an other with the streamdeck..
How do you do that ?
Do you use a midi plugin like MIDI by Trevliga Spel ? And send midi control change to Ableton?

Thank you !

Jean

Hi Jean,

first define some locators in Live ( I named them 1..8 ) and then some key mappings 1..8, so that you can jump to locators with the keyboard...
like here:


and then define in Stream Deck a button to send some 'system text' like '2' (that will send a 2 key to Live, which jumps to locator '2' )
like so:


Hope that helps...
Christian