midi channel routings!

[paul4pa]

I support the call for making this change to Ableton.
The only stopping me moving to another DAW is that I know Ableton really well after over 10 years with it. Only recently has this become an issue ...but I will jump ship if Ableton 10 doesn't do something about it.

[Mister36]

Am I right in thinking that this is not fixed in Live 10?

[Stromkraft]

Am I right in thinking that this is not fixed in Live 10? :|

This being? I think nothing is changed really as far as MIDI tracks is concerned.

[thinktankted]

I don't know if anyone figured this out yet, but if you just set the Midi channel to something besides all channels, then tracks sending midi to that track don't get muddled up. Here is what it looks like:



EDIT: Welp...that actually doesn't work...it worked for a brief moment, but then switching it to all screwed it up.
EDIT2: Ok, it does work, I just had the volume down on my channel 2 instrument to test the All Channels, setting it back to Channel 1, and turning back up the volume on channel 2 instrument got it back to working as expected.

AHA!!! I set the Midi Input on Track 1 to "No Input" and it still works, so that is the secret sauce...The Track Midi Input setting is independent from what the VST is getting from other midi tracks, if that routing is set up.

I think the All Inputs / All Channels setting is like a failsafe for those "hurrr-durrr, why doesn't it make any noise?" moments that we all have from time to time.

[Stromkraft]

AHA!!! I set the Midi Input on Track 1 to "No Input" and it still works, so that is the secret sauce...The Track Midi Input setting is independent from what the VST is getting from other midi tracks, if that routing is set up.

Are you monitoring the input with a tool like MIDI Monitor? And you see the proper channel there?

Because I don't. Even if the input channel is limited to what channel is coming into the track, what actually goes out is invariably MIDI channel 1. I think that's what the OP and the others describing this issue are referring to.

[Mister36]

Even if the input channel is limited to what channel is coming into the track, what actually goes out is invariably MIDI channel 1. I think that's what the OP and the others describing this issue are referring to.

Anyone know if this is sorted out in Live 11?

[spacelake]

It's maddening it still doesn't work in Live 11. MIDI channel output is just fixed to 1.

[Mister36]

Very frustrating that this (merging MIDI to channel 1 when routing between tracks) still isn't addressed in Live 12.

[Vaultnaemsae]

Wow, MIDI channel insanity still in 2024 (almost 2025). I just bumped heads with this. Read on if you dare.

- I’m sending a stream of data from a MIDI controller on MIDI channels 2 through 7 to Omnisphere 2 (OS2); it’s multitimbral after all but only Ch. 1 is triggering in OS2…but I’m not sending any data on Ch. 1. The channel strip is set to receive from the MIDI controller on “All Channels.”
- It’s not technically MPE data but I tried activating MPE in the MIDI settings since multichannel MIDI shares some similarities. Still, I’m only seeing data arriving at OS2 on Ch. 1 even though I’m not sending any data on Ch. 1.
- So I deactivated MPE, and applied the MIDI Monitor — yes, MIDI data is received — but the channels are being “monitored” incorrectly…I guess it’s showing a kind of MPE data distribution, including channels that do not exist in the original data stream! But why would it do that? And anyway, data only arrives on a single channel in OS2, and it’s all channels merged!
- Totally stumped, I simply tried to route MIDI thru from Live 12 to an external monitoring device…no dice. Live 12 is taking it upon itself to reorganize/garble the MIDI. This is extremely strange and not in line with a “professional” DAW/Live audio/MIDI tool.
- No other DAW I tested appears to modify/restrict MIDI like this.

So, what’s it all about?

[Mister36]

On top of the main critical issue of Live merging MIDI streams between tracks to channel 1, Live's own MIDI Monitor device doesn't even seem to accurately monitor MIDI from a plugin on another track. For example, sending notes C1 and D1 (on the 1 and 3 of a 4/4 bar, respectively) explicitly on channel 10 shows them in Live's MIDI Monitor device as on channels 2 and 3, respectively... And further investigation shows that the note pitch is changing what channel is shown. Tapping the MIDI from this receiving track, however, shows it all to be on channel 1, as per the main issue discussed in this thread.

What, indeed, is going on?

[Vaultnaemsae]

This is the main text of Ableton support's reply to a bug report based on my above post:

"Indeed, this is a limitation of Live, where it merges any incoming MIDI from any channel to Channel 1 internally.

We've collected the wish for stop mergin these so it can be considered for future updates.

I hope that helps! Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any further questions."

It certainly feels like a brush off. It doesn't help any of us in the slightest, let alone address the MIDI Monitor issue.

[Valkon]

@Mister36 Most likely, assigning different midi channels to incoming notes is caused by the need to provide separate control of chord notes via the MPE mechanism... I would gladly sacrifice this feature for the sake of multi-channel tracks!