Ableton Forum

There is probably a simple answer for this, but after much searching and RTFMing, I have yet to find it.

Does Live only allow you to choose between Absolute or Relative mode for ALL CCs on a MIDI channel? That is, let's say I have CC 1 through CC 10 mapped on MIDI channel 1, and I want CC 1 - 5 to be absolute, and CC 6 - 10 to be relative, yet when I go into MIDI map mode and change CC 1 to a relative mode, all the rest of the CC mappings (2 through 10) are also changed to relative mode.

So, is this a general MIDI thing, or a Live thing, or what? To me, it doesn't make much sense; you should be able to have all your messages from your controller travel on one channel, whether they be from keys/notes, pots, or rotary knobs... so why can't I mix and match between Absolute and Relative modes on different CCs???

Thank you for your help!

-Gabriel

You can select the mode on the bottom left of the screen as you map each one.

yur2die4 wrote:You can select the mode on the bottom left of the screen as you map each one.

Yes, I am aware of that. The issue I have is that when I change MIDI Ch 1 / CC 1 to Absolute mode, EVERY OTHER CC on that channel is also changed to Absolute along with it... why!?

Further info: Looks like it could simply be an issue with Live not updating/refreshing the "Mode" drop-down menu. For example, it's showing that I have a normal fader set to Relative (Signed Bit) even though it was previously set to Absolute, and it's behaving as if it's in Absolute mode, and then when I switch it to another selection and then back to Relative (Signed Bit), it then starts behaving erratically, reflecting that it's just an issue with Live not refreshing that drop-down box with the proper/current info.

I'll submit a bug report. What a pain in the ass.

citrus wrote:Further info: Looks like it could simply be an issue with Live not updating/refreshing the "Mode" drop-down menu. For example, it's showing that I have a normal fader set to Relative (Signed Bit) even though it was previously set to Absolute, and it's behaving as if it's in Absolute mode, and then when I switch it to another selection and then back to Relative (Signed Bit), it then starts behaving erratically, reflecting that it's just an issue with Live not refreshing that drop-down box with the proper/current info.

I'll submit a bug report. What a pain in the ass.

This is the answer I got back from Ableton support: "Changing the CC Mode is global in Live which means the setting of the first one will be applied to all at once."

What??? Since when is CC mode a global setting? Wouldn't that mean you couldn't have controllers with both faders and endless knobs? I don't remember this being the case at all.

Anyone have answers besides this? I'm really confused now. I changed the title of this thread in hopes of clarifying the real issue and attracting some new readers.

Seriously? NOBODY? This is as basic as it gets, it's just not discussed in the manual, and the behavior seems buggy. Come on!

For future reference, in case anyone has the same issue/question, this is the official answer from Ableton support:

Live doesn't offer using relative and absolute CCs in one Live Set right now. Which means that you can only use endless encoders as normal ones. We've added it to the feature wishlist for future versions of Live to be able to use both.