VIDEO (4 Part) Making a House Track in Ableton Live Tutorial

I have been getting a few request to make a video detailing how I make a track in ableton live. This is a 4 part youtube video (20 mins) explaining the process. Comment if you have questions. Part 4 shows a little bit of my new track. Sorry for the low video quality. My digital camcorder has been broken for a while so I used an old one.







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Drum Elements Section for Track Making Efficiency (Launchpad Option Too)

Last night, I had a great idea right before falling asleep, so I had to put it into action this morning. This is regarding your drum, snare, & HH tracks when making a track in ableton live.

Now, when making tracks, part of being a successful track maker, is having all the tools you need accessible and swappable at any time. Ableton does have a nice hotswap option that you can use to dig into your browser, but this is not fast enough for me, so I like to use my novation launchpad as a preview type tool, and mixed with a simpler, it can be great for preparing a template for your drum tracks making ableton template. I called this my "ELEMENTS SECTION".

In every track, you will have a KICK, high hats, and snares. So it makes sense to prepare your template with these in place since you will be using them 100% of the time. But you never know which one, and you may also want to have some control over the attack, release, pitch, lfo modulation, etc.

In my previous ableton track making template, I mentioned about having an ELEMENTS section. Since I primarily make house music, I wanted to have 4 tracks (dedicated to my VCM 600 right side) that controlled KICKS, SNARE, 1/4 HH, and 1/16 HH. These are basic elements that I need almost ALWAYS in a track. What I had before was pretty simple. Just 4 audio tracks, with the samples I wanted within them. Kicks on the 1, 2, 3, 4, - Snares on the 2, 4, - 1/4 HH on the 1.2, 2.2, 3.2, 4.2, - & 1/16 HH on all 16th notes (with changing velocity). This was nice, but I want to have more control and more options. Before, my elements section looked pretty simple, with some frequency shifters in each.

GOAL - Drum Racks with tons of samples. Make midi clips represent a standard use for each clip in the drum rack. Copy and paste to simpler. Many preset midi clips made in the simpler track. Full control over envelopes, filters, & modulation....QUICKLY!

My new idea is to do this. Instead of using 4 audio tracks...each element will be given a DRUM RACK, and a SIMPLER (beside eachother). If you look at the next photo, I have put a drum rack and simpler beside each audio track that was in my elements section (I will delete the original audio file track when finished, leaving 8 midi tracks -

The tracks labelled in green are my past audio elements tracks.

Now, the idea here, is to be able to make drum racks full of each element, like kicks, snare, etc...and then be able to drop them into the drum rack from my browser. I could make TONS of racks (more options). I will only use 64 squares in the drum rack, because that will match my launchpad, and I will be able to preview them or even tap them in outside of 4/4 if I like. But since most of the time a kick will be 4/4, I want to prepare midi clips that will trigger each of those particular samples within the drum rack, effectively using a different sample within the drum pad each time. The reason I am adding a SIMPLER beside it, I will explain in a minute. Lets talk about each of these elements separately, and I will walk you through the ideas I had for each.

KICKS - So the first thing you are going to want to do is create a midi clip to trigger the first sample in your drum rack. Add a midi clip to your kick drum rack, and draw in a note where you the first kick is. Since I will use the launchpad to trigger these sometimes, my first note is C1. It looks like this -

Now, make sure you dont draw in the note too short, or it will cut off any kick sample that happens to have a TAIL on it. Since I do house, there wont be any samples longer than my chosen size.

Next, we need to make copies of this midi clip, but instead of them being at C1, you need to make one to match EACH sample in your drum rack. I am making 64 of them for my launchpad, so I end on Dsharp6 (64 different midi clips). This is a little bit time consuming...copy, paste, transpose up, copy paste, transpose up (64 times). After this, rename your files and save. Mine looks like this -

Now, what you will want to do (I am going to do this later this afternoon because of my huge sample collection), is select many good kicks to put into your drum racks. You should SAVE these drum racks for later use...because they will be just drag and drop later. Fill your drum rack full of 64 drum samples, and now as you click any one of your midi clips, it will make a nice loop out of that sample...effectively auditioning tons of kicks right at your finger tips.

Now the reason we put a simpler in there is because sometimes, it will be nice to transpose the note of that sample. This is not so important with a kick because you can easily just transpose it within the drum rack sample...but in a minute, when we talk about High hats and snares, it will make more sense.

SNARE - Now, we need to do the same with the snares, but on the off hits (like in house music). Now in this case, I am going to enter 2 notes instead of one. The reason I am doing this, is because it is common in house music to have 2 of the same snares, but one with a quick release, and one with a long release to make a more bouncy sound. By adding 2 notes, I can later edit the clips envelope, and make one of the snares SHORT and one LONG, or any other effect I want to do between 2 snares. If you think you would need 4 instead of 2, go for it. I dont usually see the need to have 4 notes, just 2. Be sure to make your midi notes as long as possible because sometimes a snare sample can have a long reverb after it, and you dont want your midi note to shut off and cut the end of the snare sample. My first one looks like this -

Now we need to do that same copy and paste thing 64 times for each pad in the drum rack.

COMMAND A is your friend here to SELECT ALL and do this more quickly each time. This can be really tedious, but its for a template, remember you will be reusing this ALL the time for making tracks. My snares now look like this -


I saved them and named them. Again, the coolest part if this is using the simpler after this, but I will explain this after explaining all the drum racks first.

1/4 HH - These are place on 1.1.3, 1.2.4, 1.3.3, 1.4.3. Again, must be long enough to not cut off long high hats sound. Here is mine -
Now we need to do the same thing as we did with the kick and the snare, and make 64 of these matching the drum rack samples. Looks like this -


1/16 HH - Now this is the hardest of them all. Before I go too far, lets realize that we will NOT be using this drum rack (for any of the elements), but rather the simpler...so what you are hearing in the drum rack does not matter so much as being able to audition tons of samples quickly, and find what you want. So you pretty much need to be able to hear different types of sounds before they will go into your simpler track. The only problem with 1/16 HH's is that, when all played at the same velocity, it will sound like shit...even while previewing. So, for the purpose of them NOT sounding like shit, I decided to go with a house standard on my velocity of (LOUD, SOFT, SOFT, SOFT). This just makes it sound nicer while previewing. I will be changing it all around anyway in a minute, but for the purpose of the drum rack, lets do that. I decided on my velocity to be 96, 64, 64, 64. I know this may sound like shit, but again, we will be making presets in simpler for nice sounding ones. This is just to audition a 1/16 HH at anything but straight same velocity -
Now we need to make copies of this 64 times just like the previous ones. Here is mine -

Now you must keep in mind that your midi velocity will not take effect within your drum rack unless you have the velocity bar up to 100%. So, in the future, when you make your 1/16 note HH drum racks for previewing, you will need to move the velocity bar up to 100% on each of them when you make it, so you dont have to do it every time. DONT FORGET THIS...or else you will be preview flat, shitty sounding HHs. It is this little bar by the way (see the velocity of simpler in the bottom right corner) -
Just edit that parameter of each drum rack pad before SAVING it, and it will be set each time.

NOW LETS GET TO THE FUN PART!!!! Now that we have our drum racks made for previewing each sample, we can now make clip templates within each simpler to change the way a certain sample that you choose will sound. Since your samples are originally in a drum rack, selecting a different note on a midi controller will start a different sample. What we want to be able to do is use that SAME sample, but be able to change the pitch of each. There are certain combinations for each element that will sound good, like using a harmonic of a sound, or an octave up....different velocities....MILLIONS of combinations. I will only show you a few because I will be spending about 5 hours or so on this section to make TONS of clip that will be different from eachother.

Now, I might be getting ahead of myself. Lets re-explain in more detail what we are doing here.

Since you now are able to hear different samples that are within your drum rack...looping with your music...this will help you choose the sound you want. Once you have selected a sound that you want, you will want to open up the drum rack pad of choice, and view the sample. Then, click the box around the sample, and click COPY. Then go into your simpler that is sitting beside that drum rack, and PASTE that sample into your simpler. (make sure the velocity bar is up to 100% on that simpler too, or else your veloctity presets you make in a minute will not take action.)

COPY -
PASTE -
Now your sample that chose from your drum rack is within your simpler. Now its time to make some clips to activate that differently, but pre-decided. The kick is probably the most boring, but easiest to understand. Velocity is not so important (although it can be for an experienced producer making kick rolls). But for now, the kick, we will just be making some different kick styles.

Lets now go back and create some clips in our simpler. Remember that C3 plays the sample in its original form...so we will draw in notes in C3. I also like to change the midi input of the simper to my midi keyboard rather than the launchpad because I can play sounds based off notes, but you can use anything you want really as long is its mapped in normal piano progression.

If my set is looking confusing to you, I am working within the track TO THE RIGHT of the BLUE LIST that says DRUM RACK. That is my simpler. In the first midi clip, i made a regular 4/4 kick on C3 and renamed the file "REGULAR" -
In the next midi clip...I made it double speed and renamed the file to DOUBLE -
In the next, I made it double the speed of that and called it QUAD -
You should note that when making rolls like this, it is probably nice to change the velocity of some of the drum hits so it doesnt sound so stale ....or even edit the attack parameter in the clip envelope so they dont all sound the same.

Now, the possibilities are endless with this. You can remove a few kicks to make a more BREAK sounding kick, make super fast rolls, whatever you like. Edit the envelope to make it more dynamic too if you like. Make tons of clip presets that are ready to be used at any time if you like. You will never have to draw them in.

Its also worth noting that you can now DELETE your original DRUM RACK when making track because you will no longer need it if you have decided on a certain kick. JUST DONT DELETE it in your template....only on your NEWLY named file you are using for your particular track.

Now the kicks are pretty easy. You can apply the same concepts to the SNARES or the 1/4 HH. The only other one I want to talk about here is the 1/16 HH. They have MANY MANY options for different sounds...by using notes, velocity, and timing.

This is the main reason we are moving these into a simpler. Some of the best HH tracks can be made by using ONE HH sample at one pitch, and another one at another pitch. There are so many combinations for this...and you can make as many preset midi clips as you like.

Lets start with one that is the SAME as the one in our drum rack - I called this one REGULAR...even though the velocity is HARD, SOFT, SOFT, SOFT. That is what I consider to be regular in my production case -
Now, we have 3 main options when playing with this one (not including what we can do in simpler).

1. Change the Velocity
2. Change the number of hits.
3. Change the Note.

Lets start with #1. The next file, I will make the same as the last, but just change some velocities of each note. In this photo, I changed it so it is HARD, SOFT, HARD, SOFT. I also renamed the file to VC1 (velocity change 1) -
Now I will make many more of these. But lets move on to #2. Lets just remove some of those notes to get a different sound. I renamed it it R1 (removed 1) -
That is a nice little change to the high hat sound to make it sound less boring for sure. You can make MANY MANY of these, each with different velocities too.

Last #3, and the coolest one of these. Now, since we are using a single simpler within its own track rather than within a drum rack, changing the note within the midi clip transposes the note up or down...so you can make it sound like someone is playing 2 different high hats at the same time. I renamed this NC1 (note change 1) -
Now by mixing these 3 possibilies, you can make thousands of combinations of HHs. Make ones that you like, and then they can be played quickly depending on which sample you want to put in. GREAT huh!

Now, I forgot to mention one of the BEST parts about this. The fact that your sample is now within a simpler, gives you MANY more possibilites to change that sample (that impulse doesnt have). You can now change the attack, decay, sustain, & release of the sample. Also change the LFO, filters...basically ANYTHING within simpler. This gives you A LOT more control over the sound for sure! Make it sharper, longer, filtered...anything you want really! The possibilites are endless.

Now, just make tons of drum racks FULL of kicks, snares, & HHs...and your good to go! This is great for people with HUGE sample collections of kicks, snares, HH...you can just DRAG in a drum rack full of 64 different kicks....try each one, choose one, then choose a preset you made. You wont have to draw anything in (unless you want to change an old midi clip preset).

The best thing about this method is the speed that you can audition, test, and change different kinds of drum samples...on the fly. You can make tons of different midi clip options, and then apply them to different samples. It is really nice because certain styles of music (like house in my case) have certain elemental things within the drums. So you can make those elements in midi clip presets, and just change between them all on the fly. So many times, you will find yourself SATISFIED with a certain drum loop, without really trying it other ways. This way, you can try tons of possibilities (pre-decided), and then choose the best for the song you are making. You can always go in and edit one of the midi clips to get it EXACTLY the way you want.

Well I hope this helped. I just wrote everything down while I did it...so I will work out the bugs and maybe blog about it later! Enjoy!

Peace!

FroBot

FroBot - Digital Synthesis Ableton Set - VIDEO

This is a 2 part video explaining my digital synthesis set up that I use for making tons of noise. This is for sample creation, not track making or DJing. In-depth look at my set.

Part 1 -





Part 2 -



Enjoy!

FroBot

Novation Launchpad as a Monome Tutorial

Today, I figured out how to use my launchpad like a monome for free. This tutorial may not be the best because I wrote it as I was slowly figuring it all out....but, follow these steps, and it should all work. You should download these 4 programs to get this all to work properly, but in the end, I only use program number 3 when using the monome. Basically, I just made the connection with MAX RUNTIME once, and it worked after that.

4 programs -

1 "MAX Runtime"

2. "Polygome"

3. "Polygome OSX (special)" (click the download Polygome OSX link)

4. "Nonome Manual"


Now to be totally honest, I didnt 100% understand this process...but I know after doing it it worked. Basically, install everything. I dont understand exactly why I need to have MAX runtime running at the same time, but after I did it all ONCE, it worked without running programs 1, and 2. I only use Polygome OSX (program 3) from here on.

Please read the manual for set up. I wont go over that part. (also, in the manual, skip part 6, 7 about routing via MAX). It was useless for me.

Also, after reading the manual...it doesnt clearly state which file you should open with MAX. It is in the folder polygome_v0.98/polygome64v98/_polygome64.maxpat

(again, I only loaded this once, and then shut it down after that)

What I recomend is shutting down both programs now that you have them set up, and only open up the file "nonome-launchpad-poly-osx". The monome works fine for me after this step.

Now to first set up your routing. Lets do 2 things here. Lets start by getting into ableton and make sure your ins and outs are set up right. Lets look at the one input called "from nonome launchpad poly osx 1" Turn on track and remote.

This now enables you to output your monome to it.


Now, lets go back to the nonome program and set the destination output to that same input. In the top right corner where it says MIDI OUTPUT, SELECT that same Poly Osx 1 output (same as you just did in ableton to the inputs). Like this -


Now, if all that is set up well, you should have a connection. Now go within your ableton session view, and toss in a new midi track with an instrument you like. Go into the track routing section and select that SAME poly Osx 1 as your input like this -


Now, as long as your NONOME PROGRAM has its clock sync set to INTERNAL, and the little box is clicked...you should be getting sounds out of your launchpad in USER 2 mode. (remember to push user 2 mode 2ce to get the other options as described in the manual)

Also remember that the top row of buttons (top of the 8x8 grid buttons, not the preset buttons) lets you change the different sequence of the monome. So if you are wondering why nothing is changing, just push one of those 8 buttons, and it will change the sequence.

Now, this is all good, but we have one more problem. We need to SYNC the time in ableton to match the monome, instead of using the internal source....after all, we want the tempo to match ableton.

What you want to do first is to go into your AUDIO MIDI preferences in your mac. Open up midi preferences. Double click the IAC button to make a new midi bus. Name it. Mine is called "Monome Bus I made". Make sure to click the little box that says "Device is online". Now you have a midi bus to send your clock source out on.


Next, we need to go into ableton to enable that source. Go to the midi sync tab in ableton preferences and you will now see that bus you just created in the INPUT/OUTPUT section. Click the SYNC button next to the new IAC Bus you made (under OUTPUT). (you may also click TRACK like I did, but you dont have to, this is for another reason).


Now you have a bus that is sending out your clock time. Now, you must get back into nonome program and set the settings to receive that clock time. Under source, select BEAT CLOCK. Unclick the little box beside it that says "internal". Now, in the drop box that says "receive beat clock from", select that same IAC Bus you just created. Now you are connected.



******REMEMBER. No clock source will be detected unless you press PLAY within ableton...because there is no clock source to go by if its is on! So go into ableton and press play on the top bar.**********

Now you have a monome working with whatever sound you want, and in time with abletons tempo. Like I said, I just figured this all out today, so once I play around with it for a bit, I will give a whole new tutorial on how to use it. Right now, I simply dont know. I just wrote this blog mostly so I dont forget what I did today. It was really confusing to figure this shit out on my own...but I love the challenge.

A few tips I did realize today. Within nonome, in the PITCH SETUP part at the top, play with those paramenters to get different sounds.

In the mode section helps define velocity and different modes of use.

Anyway, when I understand it, ill blog it.

Peace!

FroBot

Novation Launchpad w/ Drum Racks - One of the BEST Production Tools Ever (not for clip launching)

The Novation Launchpad is a versatile midi controller that can serve many purposes other than just clip launching in a live set. Most people really only use it for this function, but in production, it can be one of the most handy devices ever. My track making process has become a breeze due to this thing.

What we are going to talk about today is using the Launchpad in conjunction with the drum rack inside ableton to help you organize your samples and have them ready for use at any second during the production process.

When you make a track by intertwining abletons session view and compose view, it can be very handy in creating the backbone to a track. Launch loops in scenes, sequencing sweeps and melodies, etc etc. But, once you have put together a nice backbone, you are missing the some of the MOST important elements...the random stabs or other quick noted instruments. They are what take a track from sounding loopy and repetitive, to atmospheric and musical.

One other problem that faces many producers, is that, if you are like me, you have an addiction to sample collection and creating. You enjoy having as many as possible. I have over 500 gigs of one shot samples, and it can get really confusing as to which ones to choose, and where to find them (considering a lot have abstract names having nothing to do with the sample within).

By using the drum racks, and saving them for later use, you can save time, and have a lot more options right at your fingertips during production.

The Novation Launchpad at 64 buttons for one shots at your disposal. It may not be as trigger friendly when compared to a regular drum pad, but in production, you will most likely be quantizing and adding effects to your one shots anyway, so this is not a big deal.

Its also handy that all you have to do to use the launchpad as a drum pad, is click the USER1 button, and its already mapped out to C1 - Dsharp6.

Lets start with how to organize your samples.

I like to set up a bunch of audio tracks within ableton at first, so I can drag my clips into them (you can just drag them into your drum rack, but i'll explain why I do this in a minute).

When surfing your samples, you will finds tons of different genres of samples you may like to use in production. Therefor, I name each audio track that I have created, based off a certain genre of sample. (ex. stabs, chords, guitars, ethnic hits, organic percussion, etc etc)

Then, just start surfing your samples, and dragging them into the appropriate audio track.


Another helpful tip for finding nice one shots amongst a mass amount of unorganized samples is to search by SIZE within the browser. Just right click the top of the title bar within the browser, and select the size option. Then, organize by the SMALLEST to Largest. This way, small one hit samples, anywhere from 4kb - 100kb, with show up first. These are smaller files and more likely to be one hits than longer samples.

Dont be afraid drag TONS of samples. You have 64 buttons to use in connection with the launchpad, so you can make tons of racks to be used later. (I made about 45 racks just today).

Once you have selected all your samples and moved them into audio tracks, the next little personal tip I will give you is to MIX THEM UP within the audio track. If you are using downloaded samples, there is a good reason for this. You may have put whole groups of samples from your browser into your audio track, and because they were all good and you MAY or MAY NOT want to use them...and you would rather have them then not, mixing them up really help to mix up sounds so the are not all totally similar within one rack. Randomization can be your best friend when making and electronic track, and the ability to record just by tapping on buttons can make for some nice combinations. Another good reason to do this, again, if you are using downloaded samples, is so that, if you do decide to use a few samples from one rack rhythmically, you arent using them all from the same maker. Mixing up different manufactures samples make it less possible that other producers will notice you using the same sample CD that they have.

I wouldnt go as far as to mix up different elements (like guitars with horns, or percussion with vocals)...but if there is a certain combination you would like to use, then by all means do it. This is just my preference. I usually have a sound I am going for, and then it gets changed a little bit by my choice of samples, but I still like to have a general genre of sample to look for. If you love just random making, mix it ALL up.

Now you have them just they way you want to put them into your drum rack. Your scene may get super high (mine were up to 500 scenes of samples within one track).

Now you need to make a midi track, and insert a blank drum rack. The bottom of the the rack view should conveniently already be at C1, which is the first note of your launchpad.

Go to your audio track that you want to move the samples from, and make sure it starts from scene one. Use the shift key, and select the samples within that track 1-64 (cause you have 64 buttons on your launchpad). Drag them over to your midi track, and put your mouse over C1. This will set all your 64 samples within your rack (C1 - Dsharp6). Now your samples are in your drum rack.


Now, you need to save it. Click the little icon in the drum racks top right corner that looks like a disc. This will prompt you to save it within your drum racks in your browser. Name it to your liking, and press enter. It is now saved for later use.

To repeat this process, just drag a blank drum rack over top of the old one, and it will be fresh again. Drag clips from your audio tracks into, name it, repeat.

It also helps to delete the samples from the audio track when you finish moving them just so you can remember things more easily. Also, it helps to then drag up the samples back to scene 1, unless you wanna do the division of 64, 128, etc, math every time. If you drag them back to the top, when you reselect them, you are always selection scenes 1-64. This can be a lot easier when making many racks at one time.

When you finish making your racks, make nice folders for them within your browser so you can find them easily later. Mine looks like this...so many racks!!!!


Now, anytime you want a certain sound when producing, just make a midi track, and drag your rack from the browser into the midi track...and WALAH, there is your rack. Much better than manually surfing through all your samples and testing them out like audio clips, and you can use your rhythmic side of drumming to sequence them.

By understanding chains and zones, you can even record a sequence of your rack, and apply certain effects to different samples you pressed. You can change the key of each, velocity, etc etc within the sample editor of each sample too.

A few tips about this method -

Samples will all have different volume levels. This is bad for improving, but not a big deal if you are producing because you can change the volume to suit the track, which you would be doing anyway. If you want to do a little bit of extra work, you can go within each sample in your drum track and change the volume of each so they are all the same. Just move the volume parameter on the right side of the sample, and watch the meter beside it. When its reaching around 0db, it should be fine.

Also, I dont usually like to put my highhats & snares into drum pads. There is a reason for this. I like to separate my elemental parts (kicks, snares, HH, etc) into a different section of my set. The reason for this, is 100% of the time, I need to change the frequency and tone to match the track I am making, so I like a frequency shifter (and usually an EQ8) to be sitting within the those particular tracks. You could however put one right after your rack, but I actually like to work with those samples via audio, not midi. Its nice when slicing them on the fly, or applying beat repeat. But this is just my preference, many producers loving using midi to make beats.

Also, when using one shots, its best to have all your samples on an external HD so you dont waste up space on your computer. When I make tracks, I always plug it in. When I go out to play, I manage my set and save the samples I want to use live to my computers HD. The reason for this is, I dont want to lug extra gear around...and also, if you are using a firewire 800 HD like I am, there are some issues when using a firewire sound card and a firewire HD at the same time since they are on the same bus. That is for another blog all together.

Well, thats it for drum racks. I can honestly say, the launchpad is my essential tool in the track making process. For finding samples, testing samples, and organizing samples. Its more than just a clip launcher. In conjunction the with VCM 600 for mixing...it doesnt get much better than this!

Have fun, and keep making them funky ass tracks!

Peace!

FroBot

Mapping the VCM 600 w/ Novation Launchpad via Midipipe TUTORIAL

Many of the new midi controllers being released are not able to be programmed like the old ones. In the old days, you could (after reading in depth the manual) individually program which CC value & midi channel each button controlled. This was a nice approach for people who were using multiple controllers...and I prefer this way. Now-a-days, for some reason, and a really STUPID reason, manufacturers are not making the controllers programmable. They are predefined on certain channels and values...which can be a NIGHTMARE when trying to use them together. Controllers like the VCM 600, Novation Launchpad, VCI-100, etc, are all NON-PROGRAMMABLE. What a bitch huh! Well, there is a nice little solution that I have come upon, and its FREE for mac users. Its called MIDIPIPE (just google it). Its a nice little program that runs while you are running ableton or any other DAW, and lets you remap your controller. This particular blog will explain to you how to use the VCM 600 with the Novation Launchpad (one of the best combination of controllers in my mind)

Now keep in mind, my set up is a little different due to the fact that I already have a Microkontrol, nanokontrol, and trigger finger all mapped out...so I did a little bit of a work around (because I hate programming them)...but I will explain to you what to do.

Also, keep in mind, if you want to use Novations AUTOMAP, you will lose the ability to page through your session view, as you will have assigned a certain midi value to each clip, rather than the internal mappings that they have made for ableton...which are very convenient.

Also, realize that I am re-mapping the VCM 600 and NOT the launchpad...as I want the LED to all function correctly on the launchpad. One problem I have not figured out is how to get my LEDs to respond correctly on the VCM 600 with this method...so anyone with ideas on how to do that, would be great!


Ok, keep this in mind when dealing with the Launchpad.

It uses Midi channels 1,6,7,5 (for the top buttons "session" "user1" "user2" "mixer"
It uses midi channels 8, 9, 10, 11, 7 (for the right buttons "vol" "pan" "send A "send B"

What a bitch eh, when the VCM looks like this-

Midi Channels all correspond with track channels (ex. midi channel 1 is track 1, 2 is 2, and so on). This runs all the way for 1 - 6 in bank 1, and if you click into your new bank, they are midi channels 7-12. All buttons on the right (usually used for effects and such) are all on CHANNEL 13.

I never use bank 2 of the VCM because I dont like my sliders to change when I come back...so with this example, I will be left with open channels 7-12, 14, 15, 16 on the VCM.

I am left with open channels 2, 3, 4, 12, 13, 14, 15 ,16 on the Launchpad.

So you can run the numbers and see that we have only a few TOTALLY open channels.

I have also opted out to NOT USE the "SEND A" AND "SEND B" and "PAN" on the launch pad because I already have nice knobs for them on the VCM. So, I can then use those channels too (9, 10, 11).

So basically, I need 6 channels for the 6 track channels on the VCM.

In my case, since I already use a few others for other things....my case looks like this.

OPEN CHANNELS - 9, 10, 11, 12, 2, 15 (but you should also have 14, and 16).

You can move the channels using midi map to any of the open channels...and you should be good to go.

SO HOW TO SET UP MIDI PIPE


Its pretty much drag and drop. Just drag the midi in from the left, over to the right part of the screen. Select the VCM as your midi input and click "hijack".

Now toss in a MIDI ROUTER and route the channels you like. Mine looks like this.



After that, you need to select an output. (dont mind the control split thing you see there, that is something I use to define the parameters of the transpose values within my set...which is for another blog all together)

Select the output as MIDIPIPE OUTPUT1 and make sure PASSTHROUGH is clicked.



You now have it all setup to work around the the Launchpad. Now you need to go within ableton preferences to define the OUTPUT of your VCM 600 as MIDIOUTPUT 1...and also click the TRACK & REMOTE buttons in the bottom section.



AND WALAH!!! You should be up and running. To test it out, get into midimap mode within ableton, and move a slider or knob. You should see your new values instead of the old ones. Just map out everything you want with midipipe on, and you are good to go. DONT FORGET TO SAVE YOUR MIDIMAP SETTINGS within midimap so you can reopen them everytime. Midipipe doesnt use much CPU power, so it doesnt hurt anything running it...I always do.

The only problem now is that you have no LED feedback on your VCM 600...so whoever comes up with an idea...email me at djfrobot@gmail.com PLEASE! Id love to know!

Hope this all helps! Enjoy all the possibilities of buttons and faders at the same time!

Peace!

FroBot