Ableton Forum

Not sure if this is old news, but I just stumbled upon the coolest thing today. I was setting up MIDI learn on one of my softsynths and I happen to have one of my controllers mapped to CC21. I noticed that it wasn't mapping correctly. Every other control mapped fine except for that one. Then, I noticed by accident that if I click on any control with the mouse and turn the controller mapped to CC21, it moved the control in the softsynth! So instead of mapping all the controls across multiple pages, I can just click on any of the controls I need to set and then turn the same knob! One knob controls all! It only works with CC21 and only in Ableton Live. It works with all my plugins in Live, but not in other hosts or when running the synths standalone. So did I stumble upon an Ableton Live feature that I just never knew about? Have I been living under a rock all these years?

Peace \/
chisel316

Which controllers do you have set up in Control Surfaces in midi preferences?

yur2die4 wrote:Which controllers do you have set up in Control Surfaces in midi preferences?

I have my XBoard61 and Maschine. The strange thing is that it only works with my XBoard61. If I map CC21 to a knob on Maschine, it doesn't work.

I meant in the top section. For dropdown boxes. Which types of surfaces do you have selected?

Closest I can guess would be something like Automap. But I don't think it would give you that feature without the appropriate controller.

Otherwise, you might be using some kind of other script

yur2die4 wrote:I meant in the top section. For dropdown boxes. Which types of surfaces do you have selected?

Closest I can guess would be something like Automap. But I don't think it would give you that feature without the appropriate controller.

Otherwise, you might be using some kind of other script

The XBoard61 and Maschine are my surfaces. It only works with XBoard, so I can even disable Maschine as a control surface and it still works. So my top section looks like: Control Surface: XBoard61; Input E-MU Xboard61; Output E-MU Xboard61. All other 5 slots are empty. This is definitely the best hidden feature I've ever seen! It allows me to use one knob to control any parameter of any plugin. I just have to click on the control with my mouse first.

Peace \/
chisel316

I figured out this weekend it's not CC21, it's the CC that controls Macro 1 - which happens to be CC21 on my XBoard. I was able to do the same thing with my Maschine by using the excellent MEGAMaschine template. So by having my left hand on a rotary encoder and my right hand on the mouse, I can control any parameter of any plugin with that single encoder. Too cool!

Now if I can find a compact MIDI controller with a single rotary encoder I'd have a portable setup!

Peace \/
chisel316

Yeah, I just checked this out on my Numark stealth control, if you click a parameter, the knob mapped to macro 1 takes control of whatever parameter you've selected last. Neat!

antarktika wrote:Yeah, I just checked this out on my Numark stealth control, if you click a parameter, the knob mapped to macro 1 takes control of whatever parameter you've selected last. Neat!

Yeah. That's gotta be the best hidden feature I've seen in all my years using this software.

Peace \/
chisel316

don't keep it so hidden then

copy/paste the text from the Emu's User Remote Script (you must be using one, as it's not a supported controller) so we can fake it with our own controllers!

garyboozy wrote:don't keep it so hidden then

copy/paste the text from the Emu's User Remote Script (you must be using one, as it's not a supported controller) so we can fake it with our own controllers!

I figured out that there's nothing special about the Emu. It's just that it uses instant mapping. You should be able to use your own controller in the same way. Just setup a user remote script and whatever CC you use for Macro 1 you can use to control any parameter by clicking on it with the mouse first.

Peace \/
chisel316

So let me just get this straight (sorry not by my music computer).

I assign the a knob on my controller to CC21 and then anytime I click on any parameter (Ableton devices and 3rd party plugins), that knob will control now control it.

So I can click away on anything with one hand and adjust it with the other, including macro knobs mapped to other controls.

?

Yes, that is correct, the last parameter you clicked on will be controlled by the knob that controls macro 1, so long as the device maintains focus. It seems to not work on everything, but I tried it with Alchemy, and various random effects, and it seemed to work the majority of the time.

It doesn't have to be CC21. It's whatever CC you have mapped to Macro 1. On my XBoard61, this happens to be CC21. I now have it working with Maschine and with my Nocturn which I got back out just because of this discovery. Someone needs to make a USB controller that consists of a single endless rotary and a touchpad or trackball mouse. That way you can do it all with one hand! While I'm dreaming, let's throw in a motorized fader for plugins that use slider controls!

Peace \/
chisel316

Chisel wrote:

garyboozy wrote:don't keep it so hidden then

copy/paste the text from the Emu's User Remote Script (you must be using one, as it's not a supported controller) so we can fake it with our own controllers!

I figured out that there's nothing special about the Emu. It's just that it uses instant mapping. You should be able to use your own controller in the same way. Just setup a user remote script and whatever CC you use for Macro 1 you can use to control any parameter by clicking on it with the mouse first.

Peace \/
chisel316

Doesn't work here. My user remote script/edirol pcr500 sends out cc21 on macro 1, midi channel 16.
Works fine as a device controller with 'blue hand' mapping, but not the way you describe.

Okay, now that the description has gone further, I understand what is going on. Too bad because it sounded promising haha.

For vst's, live not only allows you to hit Configure to map your favorite controls (automatically mapped to blue hand+ bank select support), but the last unmapped spot becomes a controller of anything you happen to select within the vst GUI. (on my Novation Remote mkII it sometimes even takes a stab at showing the parameter name and type of measure)

Pretty limited application, but can still come in handy! I believe a good way to implement this would be to map 7 spots to controls, and leave the 8th spot blank so that knob 8 can be a variable control knob.

It would have excited me quite a but if this applied to track levels, sends, and any selected parameter on Live's native devices