Novation Remote SL MkII and Native Live Instruments/Effects

[littlelosthorse]

Right, so i sold my old remote sl and got an mkII as it just seemed to be what the original was meant to be like but working now that Automap 3 is around. I've been messing around with it for a few hours now and its really bugging me.

The automap presets are great when used with automap enabled plugins (i.e. third party VSTs), BUT!!!!: I can't get a mapping to work with anything that is in live in terms of making a custom user map. Automap 3 will say that its mapped but the controls will not move in Live.

Other problems that I'm having include an inability to get a midi response from the drum pads and an inability to map different parameters to the XY pad (it only ever shows the same parameter on both axis)!!!

Is anyone else having these issues or do I need a replacement keyboard?

Also, is it possible to map controls for live using Live's midi learn button in the top right hand corner and bypass automap all together?

Any help much appreciated as this is driving me insane!

Horseman

[glitchrock-buddha]

It's really important to know what Port does what to have things work right. This might be your problem.

It should look like this generally:



Settings:
Control Surface = Remote SL, Inut/ouput= Port 2

Remote SL (Port 1) - Track = On (For Keyboard)
Remote SL (Port 1) - Remote = On (If you want to use ableton midi learn on manual templates)
Remote SL Input (Port 2) - Remote = On (For ableton midi learn in template 40)

All else off!
Except if you use Automap midi client, then you need it's Remote = On. (Off in my picture)

[Android Bishop]

Right, so i sold my old remote sl and got an mkII as it just seemed to be what the original was meant to be like but working now that Automap 3 is around. I've been messing around with it for a few hours now and its really bugging me.

The automap presets are great when used with automap enabled plugins (i.e. third party VSTs), BUT!!!!: I can't get a mapping to work with anything that is in live in terms of making a custom user map. Automap 3 will say that its mapped but the controls will not move in Live.

Other problems that I'm having include an inability to get a midi response from the drum pads and an inability to map different parameters to the XY pad (it only ever shows the same parameter on both axis)!!!

Is anyone else having these issues or do I need a replacement keyboard?

Also, is it possible to map controls for live using Live's midi learn button in the top right hand corner and bypass automap all together?

Any help much appreciated as this is driving me insane!

Horseman

I'm not gonna go through and address all these issues but two main ones are:

1) Native Live device and racks have to be controlled via the ableton live automap template #40. It has nothing to do with the automap server, template #38, which controls 3rd party vsts. I believe there is a new dedicated button for the automap universal. read the manual or look at that pic up there for configuring the ableton automap (control surface).

2) regular midi mapping can be achieved by enable MIDI output ports via the automap server. Then, whilst in automap universal (again, template 38), browse to "user" groups and you'll see all the output channels you opened. select one and boom, you have a full channel of midi controls to play with the old fashioned way. easy

[eddu]

Maybe i am wrong but Live doesnt detect the parameter moving if you just move the knob on the SL (you have to manually click it with the mouse, clicking on configure) so using the automap feature now in Live is kinda clumsy.

Any news on that?

[eddu]

Ok, i tried it with sylenth1 (automap pro 3). I can see everything moving in the GUI but Live doesnt record anything, even if i click with the mouse on the parameters to make them appear udner "configure". All of this using the midi configuration posted earlier in this post by glitchrock-buddha.

Moreover, when i switch back to Live automap to control live´s devices it doesnt work either.

Anybody having this issue?

[littlelosthorse]

Hellow all, thanks for the ideas but i'm still having trouble with this.

Android Bishop - I know the previous SL (MKI) had templates but this one only has templates listed by name and not by number so i think it works in a different way. There only seems to be one template for ableton.

Just to be completely sure - Automap works fine with VSTs that I have installed separately and enabled with the plug-in manager. However, I cannot get any native ableton instruments or effects to work in this way.

Here's what I seem to be seeing so far (partly just to get it straight in my head but comments much appreciated):

When the Automap button on the SL is not lit:
- With the options in the manual, each of the controls are already mapped to each of the dials etc. on whatever instrument/fx/etc is selected on the screen.
- with the options that glitchrock-buddha shows above you can use the Remote SL MKiI to control whatever parameters you like using ableton's midi learn mode.
- Both of these methods work with native ableton instruments and effects. But, with both of these, as soon as you click (with the mouse) onto a different instument or whatever, all the controls on the SL become mapped to that new selection.

When the Automap button on the SL is lit:
- I am shown the Automap server with all the controls on my SL.
- I follow the instructions for "learning and editing parameters" (move parameter on computer, bress learn button on SL, touch control on SL.
- The Automap server shows that the control is mapped by displaying CC#xx (where xx is a number, supposedly relating to the control on the computer)
- When i move the control on the SL, the automap server corresponds by moving on the screen BUT the control in ableton does not move at all. After this, each time i try to assign another control, regardless of which control in ableton i choose, it always shows up on the automap server as the same as the first one. This way I get lots of dials and sliders moving about on the automap server at the same time when i'm moving one control on the sl hardware and yet native ableton instruments and effects etc.. are not changing at all!

As a side note, my drum pads aren't registering at all - they don't highlight in the automap server and the midi-in button on ableton doesn't light up when they're pressed. - is anyone else having this problem?

I know it must be possile to control native ableton things with the SL because it works when the automap button is not lit but I just can't get it to work!

[glitchrock-buddha]

I think a couple of you (not Android) are confused about what each type of automap does. You do not use automap universal (38 on MKI, or automap button lit on MKII) for any of Live's devices. They don't automap that way. They only work with the ableton automap template (40 on MKI). This one works different. You do not map things out in that except for the bottom 8 knobs which are freely assignable. The sliders automaticallt map to groups of 8 volumes/pans/sends. And the top encoders automatically map to groups of 8 parameters for the selected device. When you chose a different device, it is obviously suppsed to change to be controlling that. You can press the button on the left of the encoders to lock it to the currently selected device though.

And yes, not with Live 8, you must configure the order of your parameters before they show up for the encoders. This is infinitely better because you can now decide the order they are in. If you want to use ableton's midi learn, you either use the bottom 8 knobs in the ableton automap template or you use a manual template or you use the midi client in automap universal (but make sure to set the midi client remote to ON in preferences which was off in my pic). It all works as it's supposed to (except for the fact that it always goes back to the ableton template after you midi learn something wile in a manual template, which is annoying).

[eddu]

glitchrock-buddha,

I undersntad perfectly we need to be in template 40 to use Live´s automap and on 38 to use Novation´s.

What happens here is exactly this:

http://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=113708

So..i guess its something fixed on 8.0.2, which i still didnt update. Can anybody confirm this? Thx.

[McQ714]

where exactly did you get the MKII from? It's not supposed to be released for another month.

[glitchrock-buddha]

glitchrock-buddha,

I undersntad perfectly we need to be in template 40 to use Live´s automap and on 38 to use Novation´s.

What happens here is exactly this:

http://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=113708

So..i guess its something fixed on 8.0.2, which i still didnt update. Can anybody confirm this? Thx.

I see what you're asking. I think this was fixed in the recent Live updates. We're at 8.03 now btw. I'm not sure about that, but I thought I remember that being addressed. I'll confirm later. But either way, it's a Live issue, not a novation issue. People were having that problem with other hardware using instant mappings as well.

[Android Bishop]

Ok, i tried it with sylenth1 (automap pro 3). I can see everything moving in the GUI but Live doesnt record anything, even if i click with the mouse on the parameters to make them appear udner "configure". All of this using the midi configuration posted earlier in this post by glitchrock-buddha.

Moreover, when i switch back to Live automap to control live´s devices it doesnt work either.

Anybody having this issue?

did you update Live? It did this in 8.0.1 but its been fixed since

[Acid303]

I'm having these issues and more (my automap and several buttons no longer light up)

http://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php? ... hilit=mkII

Did any of you get yours working right?

[luzil]

I think a couple of you (not Android) are confused about what each type of automap does. You do not use automap universal (38 on MKI, or automap button lit on MKII) for any of Live's devices. They don't automap that way. They only work with the ableton automap template (40 on MKI). This one works different. You do not map things out in that except for the bottom 8 knobs which are freely assignable. The sliders automaticallt map to groups of 8 volumes/pans/sends. And the top encoders automatically map to groups of 8 parameters for the selected device. When you chose a different device, it is obviously suppsed to change to be controlling that. You can press the button on the left of the encoders to lock it to the currently selected device though.

And yes, not with Live 8, you must configure the order of your parameters before they show up for the encoders. This is infinitely better because you can now decide the order they are in. If you want to use ableton's midi learn, you either use the bottom 8 knobs in the ableton automap template or you use a manual template or you use the midi client in automap universal (but make sure to set the midi client remote to ON in preferences which was off in my pic). It all works as it's supposed to (except for the fact that it always goes back to the ableton template after you midi learn something wile in a manual template, which is annoying).

i wanna buy the mkII to conrol ableton many parameter fm synth operator. This post confuses me a little. So simple question: Is it possible in automap or advanced map mode to assign FREELY all the 16 knobs 8 faders and buttons in one template on several pages to operators parameter and save this? What if i have operator in a instrument rack with macro controls, will some novation knobs be auto mapped to this. So do i have to save 10 or more pages to get control over all ADSR and frequ of the LFO, Filter, OSC? I want to be able to assign when possible most important controls on 2 pages of a map to novations knobs and faders, so that i can switch pretty fast. Otherwise i think i have to get something like BCR2000 to really freely assign everything

thx

[glitchrock-buddha]

I think a couple of you (not Android) are confused about what each type of automap does. You do not use automap universal (38 on MKI, or automap button lit on MKII) for any of Live's devices. They don't automap that way. They only work with the ableton automap template (40 on MKI). This one works different. You do not map things out in that except for the bottom 8 knobs which are freely assignable. The sliders automaticallt map to groups of 8 volumes/pans/sends. And the top encoders automatically map to groups of 8 parameters for the selected device. When you chose a different device, it is obviously suppsed to change to be controlling that. You can press the button on the left of the encoders to lock it to the currently selected device though.

And yes, not with Live 8, you must configure the order of your parameters before they show up for the encoders. This is infinitely better because you can now decide the order they are in. If you want to use ableton's midi learn, you either use the bottom 8 knobs in the ableton automap template or you use a manual template or you use the midi client in automap universal (but make sure to set the midi client remote to ON in preferences which was off in my pic). It all works as it's supposed to (except for the fact that it always goes back to the ableton template after you midi learn something wile in a manual template, which is annoying).

i wanna buy the mkII to conrol ableton many parameter fm synth operator. This post confuses me a little. So simple question: Is it possible in automap or advanced map mode to assign FREELY all the 16 knobs 8 faders and buttons in one template on several pages to operators parameter and save this? What if i have operator in a instrument rack with macro controls, will some novation knobs be auto mapped to this. So do i have to save 10 or more pages to get control over all ADSR and frequ of the LFO, Filter, OSC? I want to be able to assign when possible most important controls on 2 pages of a map to novations knobs and faders, so that i can switch pretty fast. Otherwise i think i have to get something like BCR2000 to really freely assign everything

thx

The Novation controller can do manual midi assigning just like any other controller using the regular templates. The problem with midi assigning parameters manually on Live's devices like operator is that they can't be saved with the preset. Also the assignments are global in the project. So if you manually assign operator filter for example, then that control is always attached to that knob in that project. That can be good or bad. But if you do this, it can not be saved for alter time with the presets or made permanent for operator. However, template 40 (ableton template, but it's a different template number with the mkII I think)) uses the top 8 encoders to automatically assign to operator's most important parameters (same for all live devices). And if you use an instrument rack, then you can assign whatever parameters you wish to the 8 macro knobs. Then when you select the rack, the 8 encoders will automatically control those 8 rack macros. That's the way to go when you want to be able to control only what is selected. The bottom 8 knobs on the SL are available for global assignments, so it won't matter if the device is selected or not, they will always control what you midi learn to them.

[luzil]

The Novation controller can do manual midi assigning just like any other controller using the regular templates. The problem with midi assigning parameters manually on Live's devices like operator is that they can't be saved with the preset. Also the assignments are global in the project. So if you manually assign operator filter for example, then that control is always attached to that knob in that project. That can be good or bad. But if you do this, it can not be saved for alter time with the presets or made permanent for operator. However, template 40 (ableton template, but it's a different template number with the mkII I think)) uses the top 8 encoders to automatically assign to operator's most important parameters (same for all live devices). And if you use an instrument rack, then you can assign whatever parameters you wish to the 8 macro knobs. Then when you select the rack, the 8 encoders will automatically control those 8 rack macros. That's the way to go when you want to be able to control only what is selected. The bottom 8 knobs on the SL are available for global assignments, so it won't matter if the device is selected or not, they will always control what you midi learn to them.

thx, sounds really bad cause i use operator in nearly every project. So this appears with all midi-controllers like BCR2000 that u cant save the assignments in a preset for ableton plugins? Is this a temporal incompatiblity of Novation Software and Ableton GUI and will be fixed? Or will this generally not work. I read Ableton is written in C++ as most vsti i think. And with the vsti novations automapping seems to be working pretty fine. Are there differences in the GUI? I mean the program only have to save a sreen position for knob for vsti, because thier gui is often static, in ableton depending on tft resolution and opening of browser the position can be different. But how r the novation sliders assigned then to ableton track faders, this does work without saving in every project? I dont get why it doesnt work for plugins.

Sry for question, but this saves me some hundreds euro if can only use the remote sl in such a limited way to control Live i have to reconsider this. Its many knobs where a main pro criteria for me. Is there any way to control operator with another midi-controller so i can easily laod its preset in every project i put a operator in? At least i need a quick controlling of all 4 osc coarse, fine, level, ADSR.