Ableton Forum

hoffman2k wrote:1) Select the MIDI driver to send the mackie control data over. I suggest using the built-in port of the app named "from PK [squared] 1".

I am not seeing this port here (Windows XP), which means I am not seeing any "PK [squared]" ports here. Do I need to install anything to make that port appear?

3) Use the second built-in port of the app named "from PK [squared] 2"

Not available here.

Also disabling any Midi port via the "Midi Setup" does not seem to make any difference, they are still all listed in the drop-down menus.

Hm, MidiYoke ports (virtual Midi interface) are gone as well, maybe that Maple Midi uninstall blew my system. I will check.

Too bad, but still thanks for supporting the community with this free app!

Timur, I'm a pc user, and I use MidiYoke. Does MidiYoke not work on your system?

MidiYoke is back now. It was killed by uninstalling MapleMidi (same as MidiYoke but had some bugs). I still do not have those PK [squared]" ports though. Trying with MidiYoke ports now.

yeah, the PK midi ports were a reference to OSX, which does that.

I mean THANXXX

watching it boot into Native Mode is so cool. Hahaha. Not sure I have it working yet, but that'll just be tweaking the midi ports correctly.

Thankyou so much for taking the time to complete it, release it, and no doubt let yourself in for a load of questioning and explaining. I'd stopped checking that pK Hacked page, figured you were busy, and I think I remember your laptop was stolen, figured that was probably the end of this, that and you owning a Lemur. Hehe, I'm excited.

So, you releasing the Max patch?

Machinate wrote:yeah, the PK midi ports were a reference to OSX, which does that.

Ah, thanks for the quick responding helpline! Parameter controls are working now, no luck with notes in or out yet, but probably I'm just doing something wrong with the settings.

really loving it but not getting any lights showing up on the PK despite having the IAC bus set as the output from the 'host'..

Can someone please help me with the Mac os X version...!?

I have taken 3 screenshots. Can someone please guide me through setting each of them up. I'm almost pulling my hair out in frustration over not getting it to work.

No. 1


No. 2


No. 3

jhawk wrote:Can someone please help me with the Mac os X version...!?

I have taken 3 screenshots. Can someone please guide me through setting each of them up. I'm almost pulling my hair out in frustration over not getting it to work.

No. 1


No. 2


No. 3

I'm getting everything working lovely apart from lights on the PK at the moment..

Followed Machinetes stuff to the letter - i recommend doing that first ..

Hoping the lights issue is just something to do with the internal midi routing back to the PK from Live.

Works like a charm now, notes and lights all up and running. Looks a bit like a step sequencer when longer notes are playing. To make the pads light react to Live you need to route Live's midi output to the PK [square] via a dedicated Midi track it seems since Drum Racks can only output audio (or put the Drum Rack into an Instrument Rack and put a second chain with External Instrument up that routes out to PK [square]).

Is it intended that the layout is different from the Drum Racks layout? E.e. PK [square] starts with lower C in the upper left corner while Drum Rack starts in lower left corner?

PS: Two error messages in the PK[sq window:

- error: patcher: missing arguments for message "close"
- error: fpic: can't find PICT file gifinvertpksquared.jpg (QT requeited for other filetypes)
coll: finished, 5 lines

Obviously Quicktime needs to be installed. Just got rid of when it caused trouble.

Timur wrote:Works like a charm now, notes and lights all up and running. Looks a bit like a step sequencer when longer notes are playing. To make the pads light react to Live you need to route Live's midi output to the PK [square] via a dedicated Midi track it seems since Drum Racks can only output audio (or put the Drum Rack into an Instrument Rack and put a second chain with External Instrument up that routes out to PK [square]).

Is it intended that the layout is different from the Drum Racks layout? E.e. PK [square] starts with lower C in the upper left corner while Drum Rack starts in lower left corner?

PS: Two error messages in the PK[sq window:

- error: patcher: missing arguments for message "close"
- error: fpic: can't find PICT file gifinvertpksquared.jpg (QT requeited for other filetypes)
coll: finished, 5 lines

Obviously Quicktime needs to be installed. Just got rid of when it caused trouble.

Yes i don't think it works properly with Drum Racks yet.. also how did you patch midi to get the lights working?

There are two ways to get the light working:

1. Pads react only to hitting/pressing, no output from Live

In PK[sq set "Notes From Host" to the same port as "Notes To Host". Whenever you hit/press a pad it will light up until you release it, routing is done by PK[sq. But watch out for Midi feedback, don't ever send anything from Live to that port! I managed to crash both Live and PK[sq (sometime one sometimes the other) with this.

2. Pads react to both hitting/pressing and output from Live

You need to use a third virtual port for that and set "Notes From Host" to that port (i.e. "Out To: Midi Yoke: 3) while "Noted To Host" use the second virtual port (i.e. "Out To: Midi Yoke: 2").

In Live's Preferences set Midi Input to virtual port 2 and Midi Output to virtual port 3. To make the light of the PK follow a Midi clip you need to route the output of the clip to the PK. I found two ways to route Midi clips out to PK[sq.

1. Create a dedicated Midi track and set its Input to the track where the Midi clip plays from and Output to virtual port 3. Set monitoring on that track to In. If you set monitoring on the clip playing track to Auto/Off the pads will follow the midi clip. If you set monitoring on the clip playing track to In the pads will follow your hitting/pressing.

2. Use an Instrument Rack on the track the Clip plays on with one chain containing your instrument (i.E. Drum Rack) and the other chain using an "External Instrument" plugin that routes Midi to PK[sq via virtual port 3.

All in all it's a nice application, but unfortunately written in Max, which wont allow me to customize it to my own needs. I already own Reaktor 5 (which can't do Sysex ) and don't dig into building my own instruments yet. So buying Max is a bit too much. But as far as I know Pure Data is able to read at least parts of Max patches, so maybe I can make up something with this combination.

Anyway, thanks again CovertOperators, I will definitively use this!

Do not try to switch "Port-Type" in Live's Preferences (MME/DirectMusic) while Live is playing a clip over PK[sq. It will make Live hand (clip keeps playing, but no response). Virtual Midi apps (MidiYoke, MappleMidi) are MME only, so better set them to MME to start with (Emulated DirectMusic is not what you want)!