Ableton Forum

Hello, i'm not new to Ableton but haven't done a lot of work mapping controllers and have just purchased a slider controller (Midi Maker Sparrow 8x100) which is simply 8 sliders. I'm trying to map it's movements to various parameters and am encountering issues. I'm still running Ableton Live 11, version 11.3.35 (scared to upgrade to 12 given the number of crashes i experience) on a Mac.

I've used the software that came with the controller to set up the sliders to send cc messages 14 thru 21 and have verified that those messages are indeed being sent. In my MIDI setup, i see the controller as an "In" MIDI port and have set the "Track" and "Remote" options for the controller. To cut to the chase, the problem seems to be that MIDI Map mode doesn't retain the cc message that i received when moving the controller in MIDI Map mode.

My steps are:
1. Load simple Ableton instrument (e.g. piano)
2. Go into MIDI Map mode
3. Click on Macro 1 to enable it to receive messages.
4. Move the first controller slider on my device, set to deliver cc #14.

As i do so, i see under the "Note/Control" column of the mapping window that it IS receiving cc #14. However, i don't see the Macro 1 virtual knob changing in any way. Then, when i stop moving the controller slider, the value under the "Note/Control" column of the mapping window reverts from "CC14" to "CC1". In other words, MIDI map mode is not retaining the controller message sent. After exiting MIDI Map mode, moving the slider set to send CC14 has no effect on the parameter that i've set it to. Further, the virtual Macro 1 knob DOES respond to CC1 messages. As an even further twist on this plot, when i move the mod wheel to say its max value of 127, once i stop moving the wheel, the value of the Macro 1 knob reverts or "snaps back" to a low value. I've done some googling on this and a primary cause of this behavior seems to be Options->MIDI Envelope Auto-Reset being enabled. I've disabled it and still no dice.

Has anyone encountered this issue with a controller and any advice on how to solve it?
thank you!

To start off, when doing the mapping I would consider doing it while all other controllers are unplugged.

It sounds like cc1 is either being sent by a controller where the hardware is kinda worn out / dirty fiddly that keeps ‘updating’ every time it changes the slightest bit, OR there is something from a controller or The new controller that is programmed to send cc1 commands at specific moments (some controllers have a ‘touch’ sensitive quality that sends a cc when they are tapped, or a connected hardware device might have cc1 automation transmitting to Live for whatever reason)

Bonus tip: if you do a mapping and then do Undo, it should go to the previous cc#.. so you might be able to hit Undo when it changes to 1 and hurry up and exit mapping mode.

One last little piece of advice. Mapping is one of the first most obvious approaches to controlling devices. It is nice because it’s direct and hands on. So it certainly has its strengths. An alternative is ‘User Remote Script’. This is a method of control where you designate your controls to be in control of parameter 1-8 (or 1-16 even) and then any device you Select, you automatically have took over the first 8 parameters of that device. The downside is that if you wanted to go back to control something else you have to go back to that and select it. The upside is that everything Is mapped at all times… but only during selection.

Good luck. Keep us updated.

Thanks for your reply and thank you for the tips! I've been using Ableton for years, but in a very 'basic' way and am now going deeper.

This controller is brand new, so i'm certain it's not that. I will try unplugging the devices, that was a theory of mine and though i didn't physically unplug the other controllers, i was using MIDI Monitor to see if something might be coming from another controller and MIDI Monitor was not detecting anything.

I am going to look into your suggestion of User Remote Scripts. I had watched a tutorial on that, but it was fairly old and the format of the default file seemed to have changed somewhat.

I'll keep you posted, it's a very strange issue that i'm seeing here.

p.s. I see that you're from Menasha? My brother lives there currently, our family is from the Oshkosh area, specifically Winneconne. I've been in Denver for many years though.