CNTRLR Ableton Live Remote Script
From Livid Wiki
Contents |
Intro
This Ableton Live Script for the CNTRL:R provides automatically mapped control over your Live Set when using the CNTRL:R. Requirements CNTRL:R Ableton Live 8.2.2 or above
Installation
Download the zip file from the Livid Apps page. Unzip the file and place the folder in the appropriate Live MIDI Remote Scripts directory:
- Macintosh – Right click on the Live application icon and select "show package contents". Put the CNTRLR folder in Contents/App-Resources/MIDI Remote Scripts
- Windows - put the CNTRLR folder in C:\Program Files\Ableton\Live 8.x.x\Resources\MIDI Remote Scripts
Setup
Open Ableton Live, and open your Live Set. Open the Preferences window, and select the "MIDI" tab. In the top Control Surfaces area, select "CNTRLR" in the Control Surface Menu, and select "CNTRLR Control Surface" or "CNTRLR Control" as the input and output ports. If you intend to map some of the unused buttons or over-ride some of the assignments, select the CNTRLR in the Remote columns below. If you intend to use the CNTRLR to record automation and notes in a track, enable the Track column, too.
The Modes
1. Mixing
The Mixing mode offers sends, pans, clip and scene triggering, track controls and selection, and session navigation and zoom. The script centers around a 4x4 grid, and uses the left sliders as the Volume controls for the active four tracks. The bottom 16x2 button array provides a variety of different functions such as track select, mutes, solos, etc.
The bottom right four buttons in the 16x2 button array provide Play, Stop, Record Arm, and Zoom controls for your set. The four buttons above provide Session navigation controls. These nav buttons will move the red highlight box in Live, re-orienting the buttons, sliders, and knobs to different tracks and clips.
The rest of the buttons in the 16x2 are divided up into groups of 4 to provide per-track controls for the tracks active in the session view.
Taking advantage of the many potentiometers, CNTRL:R provides access to both channel strip functions pan and SendA and SendB, where the right potentiometers map to the EQ for the active tracks. Of course, you must have an EQ3 or EQ8 device installed on the tracks! This is a somewhat asymmetrical arrangement.
The 4x4 button matrix is dedicated to launching clips.
The Right Sliders are dedicated to "global" functions of Return volumes, Prehear and Master volume.
Hold down the Zoom button, and the 4x4 grid will change its appearance and function so you can quickly navigate the red highlight box to a different part of your Live set, simply by pressing a button in the 4x4 grid.
2. Mods
CNTRL:R is designed for more than launching clips, mixing, and DJ'ing in Ableton Live. There is a growing set of Max for Live plugins that take advantage of the CNTRLR's unique layout. Simply drop one of the CNTRL:R devices into a Live track, and the Remote script will automatically map one of the top encoder buttons to act as the "toggle" to hand off the CNTRL:R to the device. If you have four devices, then all top encoder buttons will provide access to the device. You can load the same device into different tracks and access them with the Mod buttons.
Each dial-button on the top row of endless encoders represents a 'mod-slot'. If a Mod is loaded in Max for Live, it will display the slot number it is attached to in the top, right corner of its plugin GUI. In addition, loaded Mods will be indicated on the CNTRL:R by a lit LED below its dedicated encoder (with a different color depending on the type of Mod inserted).
To control a Mod that is loaded in one of the CNTRL:R's Mod-slots, press its dedicated encoder's dial. When a Mod is being accessed by the CNTRL:R's controls, its LED indicator will turn white. If no Mods are currently being controlled (i.e. the CNTRL:R is in 'Live-mode'), the slot LED's will either be off (for no Mod loaded), or the color for its loaded Mod.
When in Live-mode on the CNTRL:R, the Mod's dedicated encoder will control its patches overall volume. This allows the user to retain volume control of all loaded Mods even when not editing them directly in Mod-Mode.
In addition to accessing Max for Live Mods with the top encoder buttons, it is also possible to access different 'User Map' modes if no Mod is attached to the Mod-slot selected (see below).
Current available devices are:
3. User Mapping
In addition to allowing control of Max for Live 'Mod' devices designed for the CNTRL:R, the top row of encoder buttons also provides up to four different "User Mapping" pages for custom mapping of Live parameters to the CNTRL:R. This is all done without altering the functionality of the Remote Script's pre-mapped functionality. For example, if there are special samples or effects that you want to map to encoders and buttons that are outside of the Remote Script, you can put those in one of the 'Mod' slots.
Pressing one of the top encoders that isn't attached to a 'Mod' (the LED below is 'off') will change the channel transmitted by all of the 'Mod' controls (i.e. all of the RGB buttons and the 12 endless encoder dials and their buttons). This allows User Mapping through Live's built in 'MIDI Map' feature.
To use this feature, you must make sure the 'remote' button is enabled in Live's MIDI preferences for both the input and output 'Control' ports of the CNTRL:R.
To assign User Mappings, you MUST press the empty Mod's encoder button before entering 'Learn Mode.' Its LED will turn white to show it is selected as the active bank. Then, press Live's 'MIDI Learn' button to enable MIDI learn mode (top, left side of Live's GUI). You can then select a control in Live and assign a remote event to control it by moving the corresponding control on the CNTRL:R.
NOTE: This User Banking function does not include the left and right side knobs and sliders on the CNTRL:R. If you assign them with Live's MIDI Mapping features, their default function as determined by the Remote Script will be broken.
Also NOTE: Remapping channels in this way only changes the way Live receives data from the CNTRL:R. It does not ACTUALLY change the transmission of data from the device itself. This means that other applications you may have attached to the CNTRL:R will continue to receive data on MIDI Channel 1, even though you have "virtually" remapped the channels in Live. To change the actual channel transmitted from the CNTRL:R, use the CNTRL:R's Editor or its built in Channel Banking features:
