Ableton Forum

Hello,

I'm about to buy a controller surface. I know that Push is the dedicated Ableton controller. But while it's perfect in clip view it seems lacking in arrangement view. Mostly I make my idea's in Native Instruments Maschine (with Jam as the controller) and when it's time to add vocals and guitars on audio tracks I load all Maschine tracks to Abletons arrangement view and continue in a more timeline based way.

What I would like is a controller that gives me hands-on control of comping and mixing. Scrubbing through the timeline, transport controls that let me set markers, let me start anywhere in the song i like, faders and knobs for volume and pan control, buttons for slicing, nudging etc...

Do you have any tips? What controller surfaces do you use/like when working in arrangement view?

Greetings, Wilmar

Hi, I'm not sure such a control surface exists for ableton. Just use the mouse and keyboard?

Yeah you wont find a controller that can do all you ask in Arrangement as there are just far too many tasks to do and in most cases, you need a good amount of precision, the ability to easily zoom on regions, multiple different shortcuts/key combos, ability to reorder and shift things around.

Something like an MCU can offer you a lot of edit capabilities such as inserting markers and jumping between them, jog wheel for scrubbing (if you do some custom setup using Bomes for instance, you can also create a toggle that can scrub/select ranges to easily set a loop region or duplicate/delete/insert midi sections. You have instant access to mixer, pans, sends, automation parameters. MCU (or an equivalent such as Behringer) would probably offer the closest arrangement editor there is BUT you don't have keyboard/pads so you still need a keyboard or a push/pad controller.

I love the MCU but I do also love the ease of use the mouse and keyboard offer. If you are having issues such as cramps and fatigue in your hand due to mouse usage, get an ergonomic ball style mouse. I use a Kensington trackball which really helps with mouse fatigue

Our admin [jur] has a M4L device he created for using Push 2 in arrangement view.

viewtopic.php?f=55&t=205611&hilit=push+2+arrange+view

Tarekith wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 14, 2020 1:36 am

Our admin [jur] has a M4L device he created for using Push 2 in arrangement view.

viewtopic.php?f=55&t=205611&hilit=push+2+arrange+view

He didn't create it, just uses it. Was created by Valiumdupeuple and certainly seems to add some neat functionality in regards to keyboard shortcuts but only problem is lacks some of the needed editing capabilities such as editing clips and such:

- un/fold selected track(s), or all tracks at once
- zoom vertically and horizontally
- new Live10.1 W, H, Z and X zoom shortcuts
- set/display (cross)fades
- de/activate warp on audio clips
- reverse audio
- divide, cut, copy, paste, duplicate clips, tracks, devices.
- show/hide the detail clip Envelope tab!
- bounce in place
- mute/solo/arm individual tracks, and unmute/unsolo/unarm all tracks at once.
- set and de/activate the Arrangement and Clips loop brackets
- toggle on/off the arrangement « follow playhead» thing
- set and navigate locators
- "continue playing" and "play selection" playback modes
- re-enable automations
- toggle between Content and Automation modes
- de/activate Draw mode
- set the global quantisation value
- focus/close the various panels (Browser, device/clip view)
- For some reasons it also makes recording audio, midi and automations in Arrangement problem free (lots of people seems to encounter some problems with this when using the default Push script.)
- Plus, you can also map some of these functions to your computer keyboard or to an other midi device.

It's also unclear from the thread if it actually supports PC, initially it was only Mac and only 32bit. Also needs some external resources to allow the keystrokes to work. If you have Push may be worth looking into but would be nice to see a manual or example of how it works on Push and if it does indeed work on PC

Valiumdupeuple = [jur]

Tarekith wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 14, 2020 2:13 pm

Valiumdupeuple = [jur]

Hahahahaha!!

Cheers
D

Tarekith wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 14, 2020 2:13 pm

Valiumdupeuple = [jur]

Well heck, I did not know that.

jestermgee wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 14, 2020 12:39 am

I love the MCU but I do also love the ease of use the mouse and keyboard offer. If you are having issues such as cramps and fatigue in your hand due to mouse usage, get an ergonomic ball style mouse. I use a Kensington trackball which really helps with mouse fatigue

For me it's that doing everything on a dedicated device seems better for my creative flow. I use Maschine a lot, I've both the JAM and Studio, and I do like the fact that I'm producing music while merely glancing at the computer screen. The Push gives the same experience as long as you stay in clip mode. I really would like to find a way to have that same experience while mixing and arranging the whole song.

My dream would be that Ableton would come out with a complimentary device in the same format as the Push for arrangement view. Just like the Maschine JAM and Maschine mkIII are a good fit together. Let's call it Ableton MIX. Lay it next to the Push. It has transport and zoom buttons, 8 motorized faders, a jog/scrub section, markers section, dedicated buttons for slicing, cut-copy-paste. Buttons together with the jog wheel for nudging, fade in/outs, etc ... I would buy one immediately

And so my secret isn't one anymore thanks Erik
Yes Push-Arrangemode v2 works on PC too. I've made a user guide but I think it's only available when downloading the device. I can probably find a way to make it easily available. I'll do that.

Tarekith wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 14, 2020 2:13 pm

Valiumdupeuple = [jur]

my world just shrank a little!

I have this max for Live device for the arrangement view from valiumdupeuple, and it's perfect for what I want, it does a lot and cost a bit.........

I can highly recommend it, and no I'm not paid by Jur LOL.........

fishmonkey wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 25, 2020 7:09 am

Tarekith wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 14, 2020 2:13 pm

Valiumdupeuple = [jur]

my world just shrank a little!

At least Erik didn't revealed I'm from the Bitwig's KGB.

There goes my next post then, sigh...

i use korg nanokontrol2 for setting markers on the timeline and jump back and forth to markers on the timeline.