Ableton sets initial value to 0 when recording midi CC

Share your favorite Ableton Live tips, tricks, and techniques.
Post Reply
mwicat
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Mar 24, 2019 12:33 am

Ableton sets initial value to 0 when recording midi CC

Post by mwicat » Wed Feb 12, 2020 5:50 am

Hi,

I have the following problem with my set up on Ableton Live 10.1.3 on MacOS. I connect Korg Minilogue XD synth via USB and enable midi track in+out. I enable automation and start recording midi clip in session view. Notes are recorded in the clip and everything is fine. Then I start to modify some parameter e.g. filter cutoff on minilogue. Minilogue sends midi cc with parameter change events to ableton. Changes are recorded and replayed back as expected when clip finishes recording and is triggered. What is not expected is that when parameter change happens in time t1, e.g. midi cc value = 63 at 00:00:04 then ableton sets midi cc value = 0 at the beginning of the clip. In other words it assumes that before it received the first parameter change event, the parameter value was 0. This is unfortunate since each recorded clip sets filter cutoff on minilogue to zero at the beginning until the first recorded cutoff change happened and since cutoff is zero, no sound is produced. The better way would be to assume that if parameter is set to value=63 at 00:00:04 then it was value=63 from the beginning.

current behaviour:
Image
expected behaviour:
Image

Possible fixes:
1. Fix it manually - not viable, since it's live situation
2. Convert cc parameter to live parameter with something like ControlChange8 - semi ok, but requires to anticipate every changed parameter beforehand
3. Filter out parameter value=0 event with max for live before it reaches minilogue - requires m4l and some hacking

Since it looks like quite standard live situation, is there a better solution for the problem?

chapelier fou
Posts: 6357
Joined: Mon May 15, 2006 12:15 pm

Re: Ableton sets initial value to 0 when recording midi CC

Post by chapelier fou » Fri Feb 14, 2020 6:54 am

I’ve got no solution to provide but I’m watching this topic with interest.
MacBook Pro 13" Retina i7 2.8 GHz OS 10.13, L10.0.1, M4L.
MacStudio M1Max 32Go OS 12.3.1

aking7
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Jun 22, 2012 4:23 am

Re: Ableton sets initial value to 0 when recording midi CC

Post by aking7 » Sun Apr 26, 2020 11:33 am

I would also like a solution to this! It has caused me many headaches.

TLW
Posts: 809
Joined: Thu Aug 23, 2018 2:37 am

Re: Ableton sets initial value to 0 when recording midi CC

Post by TLW » Tue Apr 28, 2020 6:43 pm

Draw in a CC envelope that has the CC setting you want at the start of the clip. Then overdub record changes.

A CC being assumed to be zero until a human alters it is a good thing. Any alternative would cause a lot of problems and/or work to sort out. Far more than spending a few seconds setting an envelope to a particular value at the start fo a clip.
Live 10 Suite, 2020 27" iMac, 3.6 GHz i9, MacOS Catalina, RME UFX, assorted synths, guitars and stuff.

M4rtijn
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Nov 14, 2009 3:58 am

Re: Ableton sets initial value to 0 when recording midi CC

Post by M4rtijn » Sun Jul 26, 2020 11:48 am

To make working with all the controls of the Minilogue XD much easier, I developed a Max4Live device called MiniloCC XD. It allows you to send and receive CC to/from the Minilogue XD, and also has support for the Push 2 controller. You can get it at https://gumroad.com/l/NLDQC .

jBernz
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Apr 25, 2014 3:23 am

Re: Ableton sets initial value to 0 when recording midi CC

Post by jBernz » Thu Jan 14, 2021 9:29 pm

TLW wrote:
Tue Apr 28, 2020 6:43 pm
Draw in a CC envelope that has the CC setting you want at the start of the clip. Then overdub record changes.

A CC being assumed to be zero until a human alters it is a good thing. Any alternative would cause a lot of problems and/or work to sort out. Far more than spending a few seconds setting an envelope to a particular value at the start fo a clip.
So for those using Ableton for LIVE this is not an option. I would prefer that Ableton in fact not send any CC messages when starting clips, whether it be 0 or any other message.

lakiluk55
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Oct 10, 2024 10:10 am

Re: Ableton sets initial value to 0 when recording midi CC

Post by lakiluk55 » Thu Oct 10, 2024 10:11 am

Any solution to this problem yet?

CountDooku
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Dec 31, 2021 1:48 am

Re: Ableton sets initial value to 0 when recording midi CC

Post by CountDooku » Sun Jun 29, 2025 12:23 am

Also looking for a solution!

Post Reply