Recording automation of Kontakt parameters in Arrangement View over existing notes using sliders
Posted: Tue Oct 22, 2019 7:41 pm
Hello, I've been trying to get this to work for the past week during evenings now.
I am using Ableton Live 10 Suite. I already have my MIDI notes of multiple instruments (violin parts, violas, cellos, basses, brass) written and inserted into MIDI clips in Arrangement View. I would like to afterwards record automation of two parameters (Dynamics and Expression) on each of my Kontakt library Spitfire Albion One instrumenti in such a way as the creator of the library shows in his video, where he is using Logic. In this video he deleted the Dynamics and Expression automation from his previous session and re-records their changes for each instrument using his sliders on his controller.
1. The problem I'm having is that if I map the sliders of my MIDI controller in Kontakt as midi autonation, it only allows me to record their gradual change at the same time as playing them on my keyboard (not record them afterwards over already-written MIDI notes), because their changes are not recorded as automation, but as modulation inside the MIDI clip, which I can't re-record in arrangement view. Mapping inside Kontakt shown on this screenshot:
2. Another thing I've tried (see picture below) is to Configure the CC inputs in Kontakt in using the "Configure" button, and assigning my sliders in the MIDI mode of Ableton in a way described in this video from Sasha's Soundlab, which allowed me to record the parameter changes afterwards not as modulation, but as automation. But the problemwith that was that because it only worked for one instrument (for example violins) and if I wanted to then record the same parameter changes for violas, trumpets or other instruments, I would have to either
- reassign the sliders from one instrument, which would be a massive workflow killer since I work with many different orchestral instruments and each one of them would have to be automated this way in each project; or
- assign different two sliders for the second automated instrument, but since my MIDI controller only has nine sliders, I would soon run out of them, and either way in every orchestral project using a Spitfire orchestra I would have to assign the sliders again.
This is the Happy Scenario I'm trying to achieve:
1. For very Spitfire instrument:
1a) I load up a Spitfire library
1b) I record my MIDI notes / write them out by hand / import MIDI notes from an external source
1c.)I record Automation of the Dynamics/Expressions parameters using 2 sliders of my MIDI controller
2. during mixing, whenever I decide to change the Dynamics/Expression parameters, I just arm my instrument and re-record those two parameters at the same time without changing the MIDI notes using 2 sliders of my MIDI controller
Is there a way to come close to the process Christian Henson uses in his Logic-baseed video, but in Ableton? I would really try to avoid drawing the automation/modulation with mouse or have to reassign the MIDI controls every time I want to record a diferent instrument's Dynamics and Exression.
I am using Ableton Live 10 Suite. I already have my MIDI notes of multiple instruments (violin parts, violas, cellos, basses, brass) written and inserted into MIDI clips in Arrangement View. I would like to afterwards record automation of two parameters (Dynamics and Expression) on each of my Kontakt library Spitfire Albion One instrumenti in such a way as the creator of the library shows in his video, where he is using Logic. In this video he deleted the Dynamics and Expression automation from his previous session and re-records their changes for each instrument using his sliders on his controller.
1. The problem I'm having is that if I map the sliders of my MIDI controller in Kontakt as midi autonation, it only allows me to record their gradual change at the same time as playing them on my keyboard (not record them afterwards over already-written MIDI notes), because their changes are not recorded as automation, but as modulation inside the MIDI clip, which I can't re-record in arrangement view. Mapping inside Kontakt shown on this screenshot:
2. Another thing I've tried (see picture below) is to Configure the CC inputs in Kontakt in using the "Configure" button, and assigning my sliders in the MIDI mode of Ableton in a way described in this video from Sasha's Soundlab, which allowed me to record the parameter changes afterwards not as modulation, but as automation. But the problemwith that was that because it only worked for one instrument (for example violins) and if I wanted to then record the same parameter changes for violas, trumpets or other instruments, I would have to either
- reassign the sliders from one instrument, which would be a massive workflow killer since I work with many different orchestral instruments and each one of them would have to be automated this way in each project; or
- assign different two sliders for the second automated instrument, but since my MIDI controller only has nine sliders, I would soon run out of them, and either way in every orchestral project using a Spitfire orchestra I would have to assign the sliders again.
This is the Happy Scenario I'm trying to achieve:
1. For very Spitfire instrument:
1a) I load up a Spitfire library
1b) I record my MIDI notes / write them out by hand / import MIDI notes from an external source
1c.)I record Automation of the Dynamics/Expressions parameters using 2 sliders of my MIDI controller
2. during mixing, whenever I decide to change the Dynamics/Expression parameters, I just arm my instrument and re-record those two parameters at the same time without changing the MIDI notes using 2 sliders of my MIDI controller
Is there a way to come close to the process Christian Henson uses in his Logic-baseed video, but in Ableton? I would really try to avoid drawing the automation/modulation with mouse or have to reassign the MIDI controls every time I want to record a diferent instrument's Dynamics and Exression.