MPE option box greyed out (not available) for Ableton Push 3 External Port

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goldenechos
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MPE option box greyed out (not available) for Ableton Push 3 External Port

Post by goldenechos » Fri Jun 09, 2023 5:29 pm

Am I doing something wrong here?

MPE option box greyed out (not available) for Ableton Push 3 External Port, so I cannot send MPE to my Sequential OB_6, for example.

At the I/O Output, Ableton PUSH 3 External Port page there is an option for MPE but I cannot select it to turn it on.

T

[jur]
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Re: MPE option box greyed out (not available) for Ableton Push 3 External Port

Post by [jur] » Sat Jun 10, 2023 12:49 am

You need to press the button above it to switch the option on/off, not the encoder.
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elbows
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Re: MPE option box greyed out (not available) for Ableton Push 3 External Port

Post by elbows » Sat Jun 10, 2023 11:44 am

The MPE checkbox on that config page is only for input ports, not output ports. This is just the same on the normal software interface (non-Push) version of Live.

To send MPE to external synths you should use an 'External Instrument' device on a track instead. Then when you have selected a MIDI port in that device, scroll down that devices channel list and you will find MPE near the bottom.

However when it comes to the OB6, that synth only listens on MIDI channels 2-7 when in MPE mode. There is an option to restrict MPE MIDI channel range in Live, so that Live will work with synths like OB6, but I think this setting might not be available via the Push interface. So you should probably set it up using the Live software, then save that External Instrument as a preset that you can access from the Push in future:

Add an External Instrument device to a track.
Select the desired MIDI device, Audio device etc in that devices settings.
Choose MPE from the channel dropdown.
Click the channel dropdown again and select the option that has now appeared at the bottom - MPE Settings...
In the dialog box that appears, change the Last Note Channel to be Channel 7.
Press OK.
Use the disk icon to save the External Instrument as a preset.

[jur]
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Re: MPE option box greyed out (not available) for Ableton Push 3 External Port

Post by [jur] » Sat Jun 10, 2023 1:05 pm

My bad, I misread you and was answering about the input port :oops:

Well, I don't have any MPE hardware synth handy to test, but yeah I suppose in your case the way to go is to set up a track in Live and then transfer it to P3.
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medenine
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Re: MPE option box greyed out (not available) for Ableton Push 3 External Port

Post by medenine » Tue Jun 13, 2023 2:07 pm

Thanks for this info Elbows. I was wondering about this too, to send MPE to my hydrasynth and GR-1. In P3 I see the MPE in the external track (didn't realise that was there!), but there is no midi channel to send it to unfortunately. So it seems the only place to set it up is in Live?

elbows
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Re: MPE option box greyed out (not available) for Ableton Push 3 External Port

Post by elbows » Tue Jun 13, 2023 4:22 pm

medenine wrote:
Tue Jun 13, 2023 2:07 pm
Thanks for this info Elbows. I was wondering about this too, to send MPE to my hydrasynth and GR-1. In P3 I see the MPE in the external track (didn't realise that was there!), but there is no midi channel to send it to unfortunately. So it seems the only place to set it up is in Live?
The way MPE works is to use multiple MIDI channels, one for each note, so its normal that in dropdowns where you normally select a single MIDI channel, MPE is its own option that you choose instead of choosing a channel.

For most synths including the Hydrasynth, you therefore dont normally need to select a range of MIDI channels to use, it will automatically use the MPE standards defaults which is to use MIDI channel 1 for global messages and channels 2-16 for all the notes and the expressive data and pitch bends that goes with those notes.

You only need to worry about reducing the range of channels used by MPE if you have a more complex setup or synths that dont listen to the full range of channels when they are in MPE mode. The OB6 is one of those synths, which is why I had to provide additional info about how to reduce the MPE channel range in Ableton when using that synth. For Hydrasynth, just selecting MPE should be enough.

medenine
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Re: MPE option box greyed out (not available) for Ableton Push 3 External Port

Post by medenine » Tue Jun 13, 2023 4:49 pm

Many thanks for the detailed reply. I just tried it out and I was triggering multiple MPE instruments at once as I have several (Hydrasynth, drift, and even some drum samples to my surprise!) set up in my session. so it seems that the answer is to only control one MPE instrument per session with this set up?

elbows
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Re: MPE option box greyed out (not available) for Ableton Push 3 External Port

Post by elbows » Tue Jun 13, 2023 5:42 pm

medenine wrote:
Tue Jun 13, 2023 4:49 pm
Many thanks for the detailed reply. I just tried it out and I was triggering multiple MPE instruments at once as I have several (Hydrasynth, drift, and even some drum samples to my surprise!) set up in my session. so it seems that the answer is to only control one MPE instrument per session with this set up?
That sounds like more of a general Ableton track arming issue, or where exactly you have put all those devices, rather than anything MPE-specific. I'm a bit rusty with that side of Live after some years away from it, so better for someone else to answer that one in detail.

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