This is a tutorial on setting up Maschine as a simple midi controller to play Ableton drum racks from the pads.
I show how to create the new template in controller editor and assign the notes for triggering the proper pads
Once you assign the proper notes to the pads you can quickly switch from Maschine mode to midi control mode for triggering your samples inside of ableton live.
It definitely makes a good midi controller once you learn how to set it up
Check out the video below
*You must be a member to see this tutorial. To access this and other exclusive content join today
This really got me thinking. I had never really considered using Maschine as a controller for 3rd party apps. After taking a casual look at the controller editor, it seems that Maschine would make a decent controller for Studio One. Maschine operates well within S1, so it would be really cool to be able to switch between modes. The knob page could either handle 8 channels of volume and mute per page or using 4 channels per page we could employ 4 volume rotaries, 4 pan rotaries with 4 mutes and 4 solos. All are nameable and additional pages are… Read more »
Yessir. I have a template setup for ableton that controls pretty much everything from track arming to transport, volumes, etc. That one takes a bit more to do, messing with midi remote scripts and such…but it works flawlessly.
Man you are a guru at this idk how you learn all this in one lifetime therefore i need some help. I found a video on youtube titled: Controlling Ableton Live 9 with Maschine Studio which shows how to use the machine studio template inside of ableton. it solved my need of triggering the ableton drum rack sounds with each pad on my maschine studio and a step further to controlling parameters etc. My issue is that i can’t seem to successfully record anything into ableton as i press record and begin to bang out sequences on machine while i… Read more »
Heres what i found so far after looking at my setup. Midi notes doesn’t seem to get recorded in the clips in session view but they get recorded in the track display in the arrangement view. Im used to using my axiom to program beats and being able to see the notes i bang out in the clips in session view.
Just realized I replied via email and not here, putting it here as well just in case someone else needs help 🙂
You want to hit the record in the clip or the overdub circle and not the global record button.
Nice One Son! I just put my M-audio Trigger Finger on Ebay! The only reason I was hanging on to it was I thought I needed it for Ableton’s Drum Rack…But know w this tip I can go ahead and do a Teddy Pendegrass and Just “Let it go! looks like another love TKO!” LOL! Thx Fam!
Yes indeed man. I actually have my controller set to control track arms, transport, metronome, tap tempo, volumes, etc…in Ableton lol
SJ did u figure out a way to get a controller to work w Studio Ones impact? I tried w M-audio’s trigger finger but I couldn’t get it to work. I was wondering if u could use Maschine’s controller the same way u showed us w Ableton’s Drum rack….
I will work on the impact tutorial for you fam, I’ll figure it out!
‘Yes indeed man. I actually have my controller set to control track arms, transport, metronome, tap tempo, volumes, etc…in Ableton lol’
Have you don a tutorial on this? I know how incredibly difficult this was for me to work out – eventually I found some templates on the NI site, but boy, it ain’t easy.
I just tried to use my Ableton/Maschine template the, and it isn’t working – I get the ‘Device Offline’ message on the Maschine display.
Is there something extra that I need to check in Live prefs?
Nah I haven’t done a tutorial, mainly because it’s just a long tedious process, i started from scratch, none of the templates from NI did what I wanted.
so I had to make my own remote user script to go with the template, etc.
if it says offline make sure you don’t have another program open that is using it.
can u send the file for this to load on the editor ?
This one is simple to setup so I didn’t post a file for it.
My Ableton recognizes the midi signal from the transport buttons, but for some odd reason it doesnt recognize the pads, I’ve looked through the settings for live and the controller editor and cant put a finger on what I’m doing wrong.
Did you create a brand new template?
Yes sir, I also downloaded a file you shared a few months a go. Same thing. most buttons and dials work, but not the pads
You need to make sure the pads are set to send on channel 1, make sure you don’t have maschine chosen as a control surface in ableton either, just set it up for midi. See if that changes it, maybe one of the config files in ableton are blocking it.
Yup, that was it. I have Maschine set up as a control surface. Thanks a lot fam!
Dope fam, yeah, those control surface files actually have pre-configured controls, so no matter what you do, you can’t change it.
I’ve actually made my own control surface file as well, so that I can control the transport, volume, pan, track arming/mute, etc…but it takes a while lol.
Glad you got it working fam!
any way u can send that file ur talking about saint ?
That one is really involved, it’s not a simple drag and drop file, you have to actually edit the remote script yourself as well as create a template. I may show how it’s done at some point but honestly it was a headache lol. If I could figure out a clean way to share it I would.
lol,I dig…
Ableton’s custom mapping is horrid lol. It’s very confusing. I mean it’s easy to go in and “midi learn” but that doesn’t stay with the settings on each new project. So I wanted to learn how to make a “permanent” map, maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan…..smh, it’s ridiculous bruh lol. Honestly though, if I find a good way to share the files needed and a good way to explain it, i will share it lol. Cuz it’s stupid man! lol
yessir, thanks so much for the help. another quick question though, how can I set up fixed velocity?
In the cotnroller editor where you assign the note, set the min and max velocity to 127
saintjoe just wanna say thanks again man, I was the one asking how to do this, u make it look so easy thanks again bro
No problem bro, glad to help!
LOL IT’S ALWAYS SOMETHING, ANOTHER ?
(You need to make sure the pads are set to send on channel 1, make sure you don’t have maschine chosen as a control surface in ableton either, just set it up for midi. See if that changes it, maybe one of the config files in ableton are blocking it.)
HOW DO I DO THAT STILL NEW LOL
Are you having the same trouble he was? Your pads not sending midi? Did you go in and set them up in the Controller Editor?
As far as the control surface thing, you need to go into ableton options, midi settings, and make sure you don’t have anything at the top where it says control surface.
yea i did all that, I think i am having the same problem he was having let me check on control surface
Cool, lemme know
i don’t see anything in options that says control surface, i just sent u a pic to your email of what mine looks like i feel like dick lol
yo joe! to save some time you can just copy the battery template and rename it I believe. It already has the same midi notes as the ableton drum rack setup on group A.
Yeah, I just wanted to show the mapping process so folks understand how to do it 🙂
Word!
Indeed!
Hey saintjoe, I was just messin with the controller editor and I noticed something. If you select the Ableton Live template and change to the “Pages” tab, you’ll see that “Pad Pages” is turned off by default. Turning it on enables the groups buttons. The C-H buttons are already mapped to C1-D#7. There are a couple of errors in my template, so watch that yours isn’t the same. On mine Pads 13-16 of Group C have the dash “-” in them and need to be changed. Pad 13 of Group H is mapped to CC 2 and needs to be… Read more »
Word, yeah I messed with the included ableton template previously, ended up still making my own as I wanted to tweak it a bit, plus I like the learning process.
Good tip though!
I wouldn’t have found the problem if it wasn’t for your tutorial.
After watching your tutorial, I was trying to create my own template. I was curious as to why the group buttons worked in other templates and not in the Ableton Template. It was just by dumb luck that I stumbled upon the problem.
I have OCD and can’t leave a problem alone.
Thanks for the tutorial. It really helped.
Dominick
Yeah, I remember when I first came across that, I’m not quite sure why they have it disabled by default, maybe to give you a choice of what you want to control lol.
I didn’t really like how they had the clips setup, so that’s when I got into making my own lol.
im running a maschine mikro… is it possible that i dont have a controller editor?
Mikro uses the same controller editor software as the regular Maschine. It’s a separate program, you don’t open it from Maschine. It should be installed on your computer though, do a search for Controller Editor.
hey..
may its interesting for some folks here..
this template by AM gets Maschine to work with the ableton live template and kontrolls drumracks with makro knobs with just a template switch..
before i was forced to change the control surface in the midi settings but theres a template wich simulates an MPD 24 in ableton.. very cool..
http://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=138048&start=15
Cool, yeah that’s nice…I went through the trouble of making my own remote script and controller mapping and all that so that I could control Ableton how I wanted lol
how do you setup mutes and solos to pads and knobs ect…. on the controller editor for ur daw of choice (example Pro tools)
open controller editor, decide which ones you want to use, then use your daws “midi learn” to map mutes and solos to the buttons.
in ableton, they have a user remote script, where you can hard code the mutes and solos by typing in the midi cc numbers
Sj not to be a pest but ive tried everything
Idk think i have the routing set up correctly in the prefieals page. I know ur not formilar wit pro tools but its really buggin me. I see how to set the mutes to whatever pads ect… But every time i set it up i check if it works but a pop up window comes up anx set protools can communicate right with the editor…. I hope knock can make video o this im so stuck lol
Pro Tools doesn’t need to communicate with the editor, the editor is just for you if you want to label or use specific midi cc/functionson specific buttons, knobs, and pads. It also allows you to create multiple pages of controls. What you need to look into deepr is how mapping midi controllers in PT. I do not know how they do it, but in products like Ableton or S1, you just hit a midi learn button , hit the control, and it lets you hit a button or turn a knob on your controller to assign it to that control.… Read more »
thanx SJ hope he does……i tried all that , i know its somethimg with PT that not lettimg me mapp thimgs becuz that annoyin pop up window keeps coming up. im trtyim to righht click on functions i want to rout and nothing is happening, im just stuck lol
Word, yeah seems to be something with how PT allows midi mapping, I wouldn’t have the slightest clue lol, most just have a midi learn mode you can enter lol.
it’s a nice movie!!
but i don’t know how to mapping maschine controller knob to ableton live macro ã… _ã…
help me…..
Have Maschine in Midi mode, enter learn mode in Live and turn the knob, it will be mapped.
thank you !!^^***
NO problem!
hey SJ. just a quick tidbit. i was messing round with this tutorial and i found a quick way i think…
after i made a new template in the controller editor, instead of renaming the pads, i just shifted the drum rack focus in ableton to the appropiate spot. i don’t how this will work w/ maschine in control editor mode but…??? (shrugz)
Yep! You can do that, I just wanted to show the actual full process to help people get familiar with Controller Editor really. But indeed, if you have a new or default template you can pretty much get it to trigger anything you want 🙂
All you gotta do is change the group buttons to shift to the proper notes.
Dear Saint Joe ,
I m trying the Massive template in Ableton .. but only the pads seem to work fine .. the knobs don t .. when I turn a knob on maschine only the ‘midi track in indicator’ in ableton flashes .. can you specify how I set up the preferences in ableton ?
thanks
I will do a video for you real quick
check this out bro https://maschinetutorials.com/using-the-massive-controller-template-in-your-daw/
Followed the instructions to the T, maschine is not accepting the drum rack. If I press a pad, the corresponding pad will light up in control editor, but when I load a kit, nothing happens….
check the note assignments, also make sure the track is rec enabled and make sure Maschine is enabled as a midi input device inside of Ableton.
Actually I take that back. When I hit pad C1 it lights up C-1 on the drum rack.
yeah so, inside of controller editor, you can actually set the notes that the pads respond to, and you can use more than one group so you can use a larger note range
SaintJoe, thanks for everything….I am have a problem getting Pads 13-16 to assign. 1-12 are cool. But 13-16 are triggering clips….I’ve tried everything. Please help me. Thanks
How are you assigning them, have you tried using different notes in controller editor?
Saint Joe, I have followed every instruction you gave. I can see the pads corresponding in control editor but not with the drum rack. Play, record and stop work via the Maschine, so I know it is receiving the info in Ableton. However, I can not get the drum rack pads assigned. Please help….going crazy over here.
Which controller are you using and did you verify the proper notes are configured to match your drum rack? Is the drum rack record enabled?
You that dude!!!!! Thanks Saint Joe!!! I had to record enable the track!!! Best $10 I spent has been this website!!!
Glad to help man! I’ve done it before so had to make sure I asked that one 🙂
hey saint joe i got this boss! but i’m wondering is there a way to do this with the ableton v2 template as well? i couldn’t get it so far!
apparently you have to delete all the control surfaces in that one too, but one thing still remains with both of these… how do you change the octaves quickly on the controller to access the notes? i know you said c1 is default in ableton but what about a drum rack preset i drag in etc that starts on c3?
Each group acts as a separate set of notes if you turn them on in the controller editor, so you don’t change octaves you just change groups which changes the notes played.