Ableton Forum

I understand that you can use various templates to map parameters of Ableton devices/instruments to Machines knobs and buttons, and have read a few threads on this that indicate that this may not be as straightforward to set-up and use as it could be. My question relates to how difficult this is to set up, and how fluid it is to use.

In practice, how easy/difficult is it to go from:

• creating a pattern in Machine... (either as standalone, or as a plug in to Ableton)
• to then controlling Ableton's mixing controls, clips, scenes etc...
• then to go into, say, Operator or Analog, and create a bassline or a lead...
• then add various effects to that instrument and control those parameters...
• and then jump to using a third party plug in in Ableton...

...and then switch back and forth between each item, controlling entirely from Machine?


Can all of this be done purely through the Maschine controls - and how fluid is this workflow in practice?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

* bump *


Errr...anyone?

Anyone at all?

(please, not all at once!)

Gee, tough crowd.

Yeah, with the right ableton/maschine template (and eventually bome's midi translator) I guess this would be possible. you can't add instruments or effects in ableton without using the mouse though.

Yeah, thats fine - I figured that you would still need some mouse work - I just wanted to know if such a workflow was realistically possible?

I have mine set up like above, just without scene and clip triggering (launchpad for that). But one could do even more with mackie control (text feedback on the maschine) and further scripting (moving rectangle for clips), but I'm counting on stray for this

mothergarage wrote:I have mine set up like above

Above??? Do you just mean with a basic ableton/maschine template? - or this 'Bome's Midi Translator', that you speak of.

mothergarage wrote: But one could do even more with mackie control (text feedback on the maschine) and further scripting (moving rectangle for clips), but I'm counting on stray for this

What exactly is the 'Mackie Control' - I've seen some discussion of this elsewhere. Is it just a Maschine midi template?

well, yes. I needed midi translator for keyboard commands which weren't midi mappable.

This is what my maschine template looks like



I don't know if the free version of midi translator would suffice. With the Pro version there are many more things, like simulating the shift button, possible. (I haven't done this though)

mothergarage wrote:well, yes. I needed midi translator for keyboard commands which weren't midi mappable.

This is what my maschine template looks like

Ah, cool - thanks for posting that - that is a big help Really appreciate that

Just so I'm 100% clear (sorry, I'm not the most technical guy!) - the Bome Midi Translator has been used to add controls such as 'Zoom In' and Zoom Out' and 'Select All', right? (all keyboard commands)

I just read through some of the Bome tutorials - it looks pretty tricky to set up. Did it take a while to get it right?

I have modified the LiveMaschine template, which is available in the template thread on NI's forum.
I added keyboard shortcuts through Midi Translator. Some things had to be midi mapped/key mapped in Live. I did this once and saved it as my startup template.

So you assign a midicc to Maschine's buttons/pads, then you create an action in Midi Translator, midi learn the button/pad and decide which keycommand should be put out to Live. Once you get it it's quite easy.

Cool, thanks a million.

I'll have a play and see how I go. Cheers!

Another question - just so I'm clear.... I take it that people can create their own templates and share them with other users who use the same midi controller, right?

If so, is there an optimal MAchine template for Ableton - or does it really come down to what your needs are - ie. whether you are using the software purely for studio or playing live?

Citizen wrote:Another question - just so I'm clear.... I take it that people can create their own templates and share them with other users who use the same midi controller, right?

Yes, people make their own templates for Maschine and often share them: http://www.native-instruments.com/forum ... hp?t=82226

Not just as a midi controller though. You can also have default templates for the Maschine software itself and have different ones based on whether it is running in standalone mode or as a plugin.

delicioso wrote: Not just as a midi controller though. You can also have default templates for the Maschine software itself and have different ones based on whether it is running in standalone mode or as a plugin.

Ah, sweet.

Is it smart enough to automatically switch between those two (or three) templates when it is being used as either standalone or a plug-in, or do you have to manually switch the template each time?