Ableton Forum

Has anyone tried this combination to control the fx in Live?

> Has anyone tried this combination to control the fx in Live?

Hi paraclude,

Some weeks ago connected the Korg Kaoss Pad from a friend to Live.
Assigning the controlers with the Kaoss Pad it's self is not posible.
It is sending two controlers at the same time, one for the X direction and one for the Y direction (eg. conrtolers 9 and 10, if i'm right).
Live can not determine which of the two controlers is ment, so assigning goes wrong.
You need an other device to assign the controler in Live. I used a Doepfer Pocket Dial, and used preset 9 for assigning the Kaoss Pad controlers.

Once you have assigned the controlers eg. to cutoff frequency and eg. delay feedback, you got a very creative controling toy.

So it's very good in use, but assigning in Live must be done by a second device.

Give everyone controll

f

FrankH,

I was thinking of getting the Pocket Dial - how has it been and what are you using as your midi interface?

Hi,

> ...
I made a default song with 942 controlers assigned!!! Logicaly ordered ofcause.
This is a Live song with 24 Tracks, 4 Sends. EQ and delay and/or compressor on each track.
With my Pocket Dial i remote control a whole mixingdesk in Live. I kept over 64 knobs free for assinegnement eg. to VST plug-ins.
-----
16 (endless rotary dial) knobs x 4 banks x 16 midi channels = 1024
-----
It's a real new way of creating Live music.

> ...
Actuely any midi-interface can be used, i own an Emagic AMT-8.
I primary use it for Logic Audio, but it works also perfect in Live.


f


PS. my default song made in Live v1.1 got worthless in v1.5, see the topic
"Lost controler assignement (relative is now absolute)"
in the bugs forum.
But that's no problem if you start creating your own default song in Live 1.5.
It's just people who were first at v1.1 that are f*cked right now.

Holy shit.

I guess Live can receive midi messages on 16 channels?

wow too....

don't you find it a chor to swap banks/midi channels ??

have you used it live?

just out of interest, how do you trigger your samples?

cheers

Wow thanks for those reply's,



> Holy shit.

Yea, it's pritty cool



> I guess Live can receive midi messages on 16 channels?

Yep, that's true



> don't you find it a chor to swap banks/midi channels ??

No, that's just the core power of logical ordering of the controlers.
I asked my self the question: which controlers do i want to have available at a time.

Mostly leveling is done for all tracks, so i assigned all level (faders) on CH 15 (midi channel),
use BANKs for layers of tracks1-16, 17-24
send1-4 and master level.

Track specific parameters i put together on CH x (tracknumber),
BANK 1 for sends, pan, track activator etc.
Bank 2 on every CH (track) contains the 4 band EQ of that track.

So when i want to set levels, i select CH 15,
when i want to tweak track 1, i select CH 1,
tweak track 9 select CH 9,
etc.
That's logical ordened isn't it?

To expend from 16 controlers per track up to 64 controlers per track i use the BANK buttons.
So that's full controll of EQs, compressors and all other effects on every track.
This is pretty serious stuff, a whole mixingdesk, like
Underworld,
ChemicalBrothers
and others got, but it just costs a fraction of it, and one Pocket Dial is far more portable than a fullsize 24 track mixingconsole.



> have you used it live?

Not yet, but we will be on stage soon.



> just out of interest, how do you trigger your samples?

By now i trigger the scenes (that's their official name in Live) by midi keyboard and computer mouse.
I'm thinking of building a surface with 128 triggers, and a status led at each trigger, but therefor i need note-on/off feedback from Live, just like feedback for motorized faders, implemented in 1.5 to control motorfaders.
I'd like to illuminate status leds on note-on.

Costs of this beast are estimated around 600 Euro's, plus three weeks (partime) building it, well i hope it will be finished before the sun hit's the roof. Or rain, eh... does anyone know an adress for waterproof triggers?

To control or not to control, is no longer the question


Frank Heijkamp

Personnally I'm also on the brink of buying the pocketdial for midicontrol, for triggering though I intend to go for one of those unprogrammed keyboards (with no azerty/qwerty layout, just plain rows of blank buttons) .... there are also versions with a joystick but noone could tell me upto now (had a thread on this) if the 'efx-dot' is controllable by a joystick (technically this is like a generic M$ Sidewinder usb interface)

Hi Frank - thanks for that explanation - definately logical.

One more question - is it easy to switch between the midi channels? I've seen the picture of the pocket dial on doepfers's web site, but am not sure how you would do it...

..I'm probably stupid - I suppose to select it, you hit the channel button whilst moving the numbered dial that you want as midi channel??

I want a controller for doing live performances, so just want to know from someone who's used it exactly how practical it is...

cheers

Hello my music friends,

> ..i intend to go for one of those unprogrammed keyboards..

That will do the trick too, and should be cheeper than building an midi trigger board.



> ..I'm probably stupid - I suppose to select it, you hit the channel button whilst moving the numbered dial that you want as midi channel??

Bullzeye!
That's just the way it goes, not stupid at all



Pocket Dial is just wonderfull, i can handle almost twice as fast with it than with an ordinary mixing console, and that's tripple times faster than with a computer mouse. That's because the knobs are in reach with one handmovement. There is no waste of time of moving your hand from one side to the other.

Ok, you have to practice, get the feel, learn to control in a diferent way. But is pay's off, in handling speed an creativity.

You should probably take two weekends (partime), to create your own default song.
Find out how you like your knobs ordered, it is personal to the way you work.

Enjoy the music,

f

wicked - thanks (think those unprogrammed keyboards are the way forward to).



ps what about linking 2 pocket dials together - possible?

> ps what about linking 2 pocket dials together - possible?

Yes, that's possible, we had the same idea.
In that way you can work with two or more peole (wow, it getting crowded here) on the same Live set.
One person composing, tweeking sounds. And the other doing the mix, pan, eq, compression etc.
Or just, one Pocket Dial frontstage, and one with a looooong midi cable, or even better, WIRELESS???



Those unprogrammed keyboards are they for PC only or are they for MAC two? A USB connector would be nice.


f

FrankH wrote: Those unprogrammed keyboards are they for PC only or are they for MAC two? A USB connector would be nice.


f

Mac too, usb too ...
My thread = http://www.ableton.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=528

FrankH wrote: Track specific parameters i put together on CH x (tracknumber),
BANK 1 for sends, pan, track activator etc.
Bank 2 on every CH (track) contains the 4 band EQ of that track.

Interesting setup... but I'm confused about something. If you're using CH15 for your master levels, that means you're using CH1 through 14 for track specific parameters: but you say you have 24 tracks, so how do you edit the track specific paramters of track 15 to 24?

thanks

another question for Frank........ i understand what you said last week about using multiple midi channels....

but how does this tie in with memories.?..ie. on the web site they say that there are 32 memories of each set of 4 banks (x 16 knobs)....

...what I'm really trying to say is how many memories are there for assignment of the knobs/banks/channels?

thanks