Per-song MIDI mappings for an extra controller — best practices / plugins?
Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2026 1:21 pm
Hi,
I'm setting up a live performance in Live using Session View. All songs are in the same project, with audio/MIDI clips organised across scenes
(e.g., Song 1 = scenes 1–5, Song 2 = scenes 6–11, etc.).
My current controller setup:
- Novation Launchpad — clip launching / navigation
- Korg nanoKONTROL — a small USB MIDI controller with faders, knobs, and transport buttons — used for mute, solo, and volume
I'd like to add an extra MIDI controller (in my case a Korg nanoKEY) to the setup, but with different mappings per song.
For example, when I'm in the first song, I want the controller's keys to play a certain synth loaded on Track 9, the first knob to control a
reverb size somewhere in the chain, and the second knob to control the decay parameter of a synth.
But when I switch to the second song, the same keys should play a different synth loaded on Track 10, and the knobs should control completely
different parameters — say, the cutoff and resonance of a filter on another synth.
I know that some of this can probably be achieved with Instrument/Effect Racks and Chain Selectors, but it gets really cumbersome to set up,
especially across multiple songs.
Essentially, I want a single trigger (e.g., when I move to a new song's scenes) to switch the entire controller mapping — keys, knobs,
everything — to a different set of assignments.
What's the best way to achieve this? I'm open to creative routing, Max for Live devices, third-party plugins, or any other approach.
Thanks in advance!
I'm setting up a live performance in Live using Session View. All songs are in the same project, with audio/MIDI clips organised across scenes
(e.g., Song 1 = scenes 1–5, Song 2 = scenes 6–11, etc.).
My current controller setup:
- Novation Launchpad — clip launching / navigation
- Korg nanoKONTROL — a small USB MIDI controller with faders, knobs, and transport buttons — used for mute, solo, and volume
I'd like to add an extra MIDI controller (in my case a Korg nanoKEY) to the setup, but with different mappings per song.
For example, when I'm in the first song, I want the controller's keys to play a certain synth loaded on Track 9, the first knob to control a
reverb size somewhere in the chain, and the second knob to control the decay parameter of a synth.
But when I switch to the second song, the same keys should play a different synth loaded on Track 10, and the knobs should control completely
different parameters — say, the cutoff and resonance of a filter on another synth.
I know that some of this can probably be achieved with Instrument/Effect Racks and Chain Selectors, but it gets really cumbersome to set up,
especially across multiple songs.
Essentially, I want a single trigger (e.g., when I move to a new song's scenes) to switch the entire controller mapping — keys, knobs,
everything — to a different set of assignments.
What's the best way to achieve this? I'm open to creative routing, Max for Live devices, third-party plugins, or any other approach.
Thanks in advance!