Ok, so I got a tablet. This is the coolest thing ever--being able to control knobs with a pen. Awesome.
Now, for the Ableton Wacom support (or lack thereof): I've tried using pen2live. It works great, but I'm wondering what the best way to use this is.
1. Is there a way to make Pen2Live start automatically when the computer boots up, or when I start Ableton?
2. Is there a way to easily toggle my pen (using the Wacom drivers that come installed on Tablet PCs or something else) so that touching it to the screen is a middle click instead of a left click? To elaborate: suppose I'm working on Zebra 2. Turning knobs, blah, blah.... Now I want to go and draw some automation in Ableton. Wouldn't be cool to just hit one button to change my pen to transmit a middle click instead of a left click?
I'm well aware that I can change the pen button to be middle click, but it sucks having to hold that button down when working with Live. Part of the reason I'm using a tablet is to alleviate some RSI, and holding that button down a lot doesn't exactly help.
Finally, any other useful tips for using Live with a tablet would be most appreciated.
Thanks!
WACOM support
no pressure, but, well, erm..Hello Jimmy,
we are already working on a solution, but at this stage it is too early to say when and how this will be implemented.
I think it should be possible to find at least a temporary solution in the foreseeable future
- maybe in one of the later Live 7 updates.
Best regards,
Nico Starke
Ableton Support
when you try to adjust knobs or faders, they go sick and jump from min to max values. also when you try to move automation dots.
you can switch to "pencil" mode, and turn off sequencer grid to draw automation, but the result will be still not smooth.
you can switch to "pencil" mode, and turn off sequencer grid to draw automation, but the result will be still not smooth.
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Just wanted to chime in
Just wanted to chime in - i also exclusively use a wacom tablet. Absolutely love it, no reason to use a mouse any more (and saved my rapidly failing wrist!)
Support in Ableton would be Mucho Appreciado, the ease of use and quickness would be superb.
As a super flaky workaround, (i use it in Ableton Suite, can't confirm in other vers.), you can go into your Wacom Tablet properties and set up a profile for Ableton (easiest if you have Abe open):
1) Go to Start > all programs > Tablet properties
2) Go to the "Mapping" tab (far right in the middle of the window)
3) In the "application" section, top half of the window, on the far right click on the "+", a window will come up. either browse to Abe or if you have it open it will be right there to click on.
4) In the mapping section, change from "Pen" to "Mouse" mode.
5) Spend the next hour tuning the acceleration/speed to a comfortable setting (i still havent figured it out), but its better than before.
Someone's probably already posted this before, but just thought I'd chime in.
I would really really really like for this support in Ableton. It only makes sense!! (Wacom works in Reason for crying in a bucket!)
Support in Ableton would be Mucho Appreciado, the ease of use and quickness would be superb.
As a super flaky workaround, (i use it in Ableton Suite, can't confirm in other vers.), you can go into your Wacom Tablet properties and set up a profile for Ableton (easiest if you have Abe open):
1) Go to Start > all programs > Tablet properties
2) Go to the "Mapping" tab (far right in the middle of the window)
3) In the "application" section, top half of the window, on the far right click on the "+", a window will come up. either browse to Abe or if you have it open it will be right there to click on.
4) In the mapping section, change from "Pen" to "Mouse" mode.
5) Spend the next hour tuning the acceleration/speed to a comfortable setting (i still havent figured it out), but its better than before.
Someone's probably already posted this before, but just thought I'd chime in.
I would really really really like for this support in Ableton. It only makes sense!! (Wacom works in Reason for crying in a bucket!)
I love the Intuos. I'd love to have a Cintiq.
There is a problem with tablets in Live, one which will be quite tricky to solve:
How the hell are you supposed to change the value of a sliderless control which is very close to the border? Take the Tempo control for instance, the one on the upper left corner.
You'd be forced to tip the pen on the upper left corner of the tablet in order to access it in the first place, then, if you want to increase the bpm, you'd have to move the pen up, but since it's already pretty close to the top border your ability to increase the bpm is physically limited, this is a drawback of the tablet which the mouse doesn't have.
In that case, the only solution would be to create a popup slider which would pop up pretty much in the center of the screen in order to have enough space to move the pen. I could live with that, but the question is where else would it be necessary to create such workarounds? So the GUI in Live seems to have a "small" design flaw. I also work with Maya and for some reason the interface is just for a tablet, as a matter of fact all the Apps I use work just perfect with the tablet. I'm using it for 3 years now, and I clearly remember how my wrist used to hurt back then.
So obviously a GUI redesign has a lower priority than evoluting/fixing/tweaking the audio engine, I can understand that, but they really should start caring a lot more about the GUI since touchscreens are starting to appear EVERYWHERE, ant they are nothing else that tablets glued onto screens...
Apart from that, the GUI has quite some flaws, since often, if you start to resize one panel, a lot of space starts getting wasted. Space, which could perfectly be used to give additional access to frequently used controls / to improve the workflow.
Other than that, and the MIDI Editor which I'd like to see improved, I do like Live quite a lot.
There is a problem with tablets in Live, one which will be quite tricky to solve:
How the hell are you supposed to change the value of a sliderless control which is very close to the border? Take the Tempo control for instance, the one on the upper left corner.
You'd be forced to tip the pen on the upper left corner of the tablet in order to access it in the first place, then, if you want to increase the bpm, you'd have to move the pen up, but since it's already pretty close to the top border your ability to increase the bpm is physically limited, this is a drawback of the tablet which the mouse doesn't have.
In that case, the only solution would be to create a popup slider which would pop up pretty much in the center of the screen in order to have enough space to move the pen. I could live with that, but the question is where else would it be necessary to create such workarounds? So the GUI in Live seems to have a "small" design flaw. I also work with Maya and for some reason the interface is just for a tablet, as a matter of fact all the Apps I use work just perfect with the tablet. I'm using it for 3 years now, and I clearly remember how my wrist used to hurt back then.
So obviously a GUI redesign has a lower priority than evoluting/fixing/tweaking the audio engine, I can understand that, but they really should start caring a lot more about the GUI since touchscreens are starting to appear EVERYWHERE, ant they are nothing else that tablets glued onto screens...
Apart from that, the GUI has quite some flaws, since often, if you start to resize one panel, a lot of space starts getting wasted. Space, which could perfectly be used to give additional access to frequently used controls / to improve the workflow.
Other than that, and the MIDI Editor which I'd like to see improved, I do like Live quite a lot.
8.1, Windows 7 (32 bit)
leinad wrote:
How the hell are you supposed to change the value of a sliderless control which is very close to the border? Take the Tempo control for instance, the one on the upper left corner.
You'd be forced to tip the pen on the upper left corner of the tablet in order to access it in the first place, then, if you want to increase the bpm, you'd have to move the pen up, but since it's already pretty close to the top border your ability to increase the bpm is physically limited, this is a drawback of the tablet which the mouse doesn't have.
thats how tablets work, no? the tablet is mapped to the size and dimensions of your screen.. absolute pen position..
unless you have your pen set to mouse mode.. in that case you have a relative pen position..
Dude...Poster wrote:
the tablet is mapped to the size and dimensions of your screen.. absolute pen position..
unless you have your pen set to mouse mode.. in that case you have a relative pen position..
I know . I just wanted to point out that "just adding wacom support" isn't going to solve the problem entirely. Some aspects of the GUI will need to be redesigned and maybe that's just what is keeping Ableton from starting to solve the tablet issue. 'Cause really, I bet, they must be as anxious of getting live to run on a tablet just as much as we are.So I offered them help, back then when I coded Pen2Live, so that the pen tip can automatically know when it is being pushed over such a weired control (slider etc), which was their really easy way out of this issue (mid-term at least). Most of the work would have been on my side and I would have done it at no cost. At least in the 6.x version they didn't consider what I had to offer (I really don't know about 7.x since I'm not planning to upgrade). They could still drop me a line to see if we could arrange something. It would still be an external tool, but at least the tip would know by itself if it should simulate a mouse or a pen. At this time it's the user who needs to decide which one to simulate (by choosing the tip or the middle mouse button)
8.1, Windows 7 (32 bit)
I had not read this well..leinad wrote: There is a problem with tablets in Live, one which will be quite tricky to solve:
How the hell are you supposed to change the value of a sliderless control which is very close to the border? Take the Tempo control for instance, the one on the upper left corner.
You'd be forced to tip the pen on the upper left corner of the tablet in order to access it in the first place, then, if you want to increase the bpm, you'd have to move the pen up, but since it's already pretty close to the top border your ability to increase the bpm is physically limited, this is a drawback of the tablet which the mouse doesn't have.
That's a minor flaw i.m.o.
I could very well live with adjusting parameters within a couple of actions instead of one..
I just tried with another app by moving its window down, so that a dial was located at the bottom of my monitor..
It took me about 3 actions to fully rotate a dial.. ok to me..
Besides that, you can always type the value into a box or use the up/down cursor keys..
An extra option would be a modifier key to change the drag direction to horizontal..
I don't think they're going to change the GUI though because that'll require value boxes to be moved away from the outer edge..
Impossible, and will eat a lot of screenspace..
Just dug out my old Wacom Volito, and it seems to work just fine in 7.0.9 in relative mode (which I prefer) with the latest drivers. I'm sure it didn't last time I tried it. Has something been changed? Anyway, it's pretty good. Shame my Volito has a jitter problem though, although that doesn't affect its usage in Live.