Ableton Forum

Mac/Logic user, new to Live and the PC. Very happy so far. But...

I'm using "Native Instruments" FM8. I have the track record enabled, and I'm changing parameters in the FM8 plug-in window, but they are not getting recorded. Why not? Do they need to be mapped to a MIDI controller?

This seems like it should be so simple.

In other words...

I have a MIDI part that I recorded playing a pad sound in FM8 from an external keyboard. It is looping and recording. Sounds great.

Now, the track is still recording, so I open the FM8 window up and turn the Arpegiator "on" and then "off" while the already-recorded MIDI notes trigger the sound, and the result is very cool sort of a stuttering pad. Love it.

But when I stop recording and play it back, the Arpegiator On & Off commands were not recorded. The mouse click data is not getting recorded, only the notes I play on the MIDI keyboard. Bummer.

It would be great if my mouse clicks were recorded too.

Am I missing something?

I could be wrong here, but someone else will come along who knows 100%

I believe that only the first 128 parameters as seen by Live are able to be recorded.

So check if your arp setting appears in the first 128 parameters...

Thanks for helping...

So, you're telling me that I can't change parameters in the very cool, easy to use, FM8 graphical interface... that I have to use the list that Live provides on its "Devide Parameters" list, if I want to record them?

no, not what I'm saying

again, hope somebody else will chime in on this

what I'm saying is that if the parameter you want to tweak is not listed in the first 128 parameters as seen by ableton, that it will not record into the clip no matter where you tweak it.

in the plug in window at the very bottom of Live (not the pretty FM8 window) hit the triangle button. now you can see all 128 addressable parameters that you can tweak. use those to mess with the FM8, not the FM8 GUI. your parameter can also be tweaked by drawing in an envelope in clip view.

I understand, and I know how to use the "Device Parameters" and how to use the MIDI and Key maps, but it's a bummer.

I know that you can automate Live instruments' parameters graphically (Impulse and Simpler). The track display even changes to show you the parameter you are modifying. I just assumed you could do that graphically with third-party plugs like NI Komplete.

For example, the list that Live provides for a Reaktor Ensemble I was using tonight was unreadable (the names were too long), and thus unusable. And in FM8, the Arp. on/off is not among the first 128 parameters.

It just doesn't seem like it should be that hard to do. It's a computer after all, and it obviously knows when I'm changing a parameter becasue the sound changes. I should be able to record those changes.

Oh well, time for a workaround. Live is still a great program.