Ableton Archives - AudioSwift

Sep 09, 2024 Tips & Tricks

Controlling XY Pads in Krotos Studio with a Trackpad

UPDATED – NOVEMBER 23, 2024. For this tutorial, I’m using Krotos Studio version 2.1.2 and AudioSwift 2.3.8 Beta for macOS.

Krotos Studio is a sound FX plugin that comes with two XY pads to control the sound design. We can use a trackpad with AudioSwift for macOS to move both XY pads in real time. In this tutorial, we’re going to explain two methods to map Krotos Studio parameters to the trackpad.

Method 1 – Krotos Studio MIDI CC Assignments

The latest Krotos Studio version 2.1.2 added MIDI CC assignments capabilities for controls and XY pads inside the software. We can map the X and Y axes to AudioSwift CC’s using Krotos Studio MIDI Learn feature. For this first method we’re going to use Pro Tools as an example but it should work with any DAW.

Watch Demo 1 with Pro Tools

MIDI Mapping Process with AudioSwift

Since we are going to use AudioSwift in XY Mode, make sure the AudioSwift port 3 is enabled in the DAW. For Pro Tools, check Pro Tools > Setup > MIDI > MIDI Input Devices. Then, create an Instrument track and insert the Krotos Studio plugin. Make sure to click the arm record button on the track in order to receive MIDI messages from the trackpad.

AudioSwift port 3 and track record button enabled.

In the AudioSwift Console window, select XY Mode and View 2 to divide the trackpad into 2 XY pads. Choose the CC numbers you want to use. For the Left and Right XY pads, we’re only going to use the XY axes and not the switch buttons. Set both formats to Regular.

We need to map each parameter one at a time. Only click the left X button in the AudioSwift Console to enable it and disable all others axes. In Krotos Studio, right click the left XY pad dot and click MIDI Learn X Axis CC#. In this example, we are in the preset Ambiences – City in Krotos Studio.

Krotos Studio is now waiting to receive a MIDI message from the trackpad. Turn on AudioSwift with a four/five finger tap gesture on the trackpad and move your finger over the left XY pad in an horizontal way. Turn off AudioSwift by pressing the Escape key. The X axis in Krotos Studio should now be mapped to the CC number for the left X axis of the trackpad. In this example is CC10.

To map the Y axis, first disable the left X axis in the AudioSwift Console window and enable the left Y axis button. This is to make sure Krotos Studio will only receive the Y axis message from the trackpad. Right click again the left XY pad dot in Krotos Studio and now select MIDI Learn Y Axis CC#. Turn on AudioSwift with a four/five finger tap gesture and move the finger over the left XY pad in a vertical way. Turn off AudioSwift by pressing the Escape key. Both axes should be enabled to the correspondent CC numbers. Just right click the dot again to double check the mapping, then repeat the steps again to map the right XY pad in Krotos Studio and AudioSwift.

Test the Trackpad

Now Krotos Studio is ready to be tested with the trackpad. With the track selected and with the arm record button enabled, go to the AudioSwift Console and enable the left XY buttons and the right XY buttons. Click the start button in Krotos Studio to start recording. Turn on AudioSwift with a four/five finger tap gesture and start moving the left XY pad on the trackpad and then the right XY pad.

Tips for Method 1

The MIDI mappings can be saved if you save the preset as a user preset inside Krotos Studio. Next time you load the user preset, its MIDI mappings will be there. The MIDI mappings will work only for that particular sound you chose. If you change to another factory preset from either the same category of sounds or other, all the mappings that were in the previous preset will be deleted.

The buttons for start recording the sounds can’t be MIDI mapped from inside Krotos Studio. They don’t appear available for MIDI Learn. To start a sound you’ll need to press a MIDI note if you have a MIDI keyboard available and keep pressing the key (or use a sustain pedal). Release the key, and the recording will stop.

If you don’t have a MIDI keyboard available, you can use the MIDI Keys available in the latest AudioSwift Beta Version. When AudioSwift is active, there’s a MIDI keys feature using the computer keyboard (just like the ones that come built in DAWs). To activate it, click the MIDI Keys icon in the top left corner of the AudioSwift Console Window or press CMD + K. To sustain the note so you can use both hands on the trackpad, play the note and then press SHIFT + Tab. This will lock the sustain. To stop the note press the Tab key again to release the sustain.

MIDI Keys Icon in the AudioSwift Console Window

Method 2 – DAW MIDI Learn Function

For this method we’re going to use the MIDI Learn feature built in the DAW to do all the mapping. This method works with any DAW that has MIDI assignments features. For this example, we’re going to use Ableton Live.

Watch Demo 2 with Ableton Live

Selecting Krotos Studio Parameters in Ableton Live

Insert a VST or AU version of Krotos Studio in a track and select one of the presets in a category. In this example, we chose the preset Ambiences – City. We need to be able to see the parameters of Krotos Studio in Ableton Live in order to map them. The parameters names can vary between presets, and that’s why it’s important to first choose the preset before continuing with the mapping. Go to the plugin device, click the top left triangle to expand the device and click Configure.

IMPORTANT: don’t change between presets in Krotos Studio while the Configure button is enabled. Now click the left XY pad in Krotos Studio and the XY parameters will appear with a green color under the Configure button in the Ableton Live device (labeled XYPad_0 posX and posY in this example). Then, click the right XY pad to add those parameters and also click the Start button. Disable the Configure button. At the end there should be 5 parameters added like this:

MIDI Mapping Process with AudioSwift

Since we are going to use AudioSwift in XY Mode, make sure the AudioSwift port 3 is enabled in Ableton Live > Settings > Link, Tempo & MIDI > Remote column.

In the AudioSwift Console window, select XY Mode and View 2 to divide the trackpad into 2 XY pads. Choose the CC numbers you want to use. For the Left XY pad, we’ll use the XY axes and the switch button. The switch button is for starting the sound when the finger touches the trackpad and turning it off when it’s lifted. For the right XY pad, we’ll only use the XY axes. Set both formats to Regular.

We need to map each parameter one at a time. Only click the left X button in the AudioSwift Console to enable it. In Ableton Live, press CMD + M to enable the MIDI Map switch. The parameters will turn purple and they are waiting to receive a MIDI message from the trackpad. Look for the first X parameter (labeled XYPad_0 posX) under the Configure button and click it. Turn on AudioSwift with a four/five finger tap gesture on the trackpad and move your finger over the left XY pad in an horizontal way. Turn off AudioSwift by pressing the Escape key. The X parameter in the device should now be mapped to the CC number for the left X axis. In this example is CC10 on MIDI channel 1 (labeled 1/10 in the image below).

To map the Y axis, first disable the left X axis in the AudioSwift Console window and enable the left Y axis button. This is to make sure Ableton Live will only receive the Y axis message from the trackpad. Click the Y parameter in the device (labeled XYPad_0 posY). Turn on AudioSwift with a four/five finger tap gesture and move the finger over the left XY pad in a vertical way. Turn off AudioSwift by pressing the Escape key.

For the Start button in Krotos Studio (labeled Master Autoplay), repeat the same process but this time only enable the switch button of the left XY pad in the AudioSwift Console. Then repeat the steps for the right XY pad. At the end all parameters should be mapped like this.

Test the Trackpad

Disable the MIDI Map switch in Ableton Live by pressing again CMD + M. Now Krotos Studio is ready to be tested with the trackpad. With the track selected and with the arm record button enabled, go to the AudioSwift Console and enable the left XY buttons and the switch, and the right XY buttons. Turn on AudioSwift with a four/five finger tap gesture and start moving the left XY pad on the trackpad and then the right XY pad.

Tips for Method 2

Notice that if you lift the left XY pad the sound stops. Maybe you don’t like this behavior with this preset. Just disable the left switch button in the AudioSwift Console and instead, start the sound in Krotos Studio by clicking the Start button.To start a sound you can also press a MIDI note if you have a MIDI keyboard available and keep pressing the key (or use a sustain pedal). Release the key, and the recording will stop.

If you don’t have a MIDI keyboard available, you can use the MIDI Keys available in the latest AudioSwift Beta Version. When AudioSwift is active, there’s a MIDI keys feature using the computer keyboard (just like the one that comes built in DAWs). To activate it, click the MIDI Keys icon in the top left corner of the AudioSwift Console Window or press CMD + K. To sustain the note so you can use both hands on the trackpad, play the note and then press SHIFT + Tab. This will lock the sustain. To stop the note press the Tab key again to release the sustain.

If you switch to another preset in Krotos Studio, maybe the XY pads will be switched in position, or the parameters won’t be mapped at all. Some presets have knobs instead of XY pads. In this case, for the new selected preset, you’ll need to repeat the process with the Configure button to add the missing parameters and map them to the AudioSwift Console. You could map them to the same CC numbers, use another MIDI channel, or use another view in the XY mode with different CC numbers.

Some presets (like Whoosh – Hybrid) don’t have a Start button. Instead, the sound is triggered when its XY pad is clicked (parameter labeled onClick). You need to map this parameter to a different CC number in the AudioSwift Console with the switch button. Otherwise if you use the same CC number as Start, the onClick parameter will be triggered but also the Start button of other presets, causing no sound at all. This happened in my tests.

Once you added all parameters, you could save Krotos Studio as a preset inside Ableton Live, so the parameters list will appear again when you load the plugin in a different project. This will save you time. However, this doesn’t save the MIDI mapping (unless you save the project as a template). You’ll need to do the MIDI mapping process again.

Sometimes when doing the MIDI mapping, Ableton Live sets the CC numbers as relative MIDI instead of absolute MIDI. You’ll notice this behavior if you use the trackpad and the parameters jump all over the place. To change this, press again CMD + M and click the parameter. At the bottom right you’ll see the mode. Make sure Absolute is selected. In the AudioSwift Console select between Regular or Absolute format and choose the behavior you prefer for the trackpad MIDI controller.

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Aug 20, 2024 News

Subdivisions MIDI Tool for Ableton Live 12

SALE! – Get 30% off with coupon HOLIDAY30 until January 1st, 2025.

PRICE: US $10

Requires Ableton Live 12 and up with Max For Live installed.

Subdivisions is a Max for Live transformation MIDI tool for Ableton Live 12, designed for changing the properties of notes depending on their positions on the grid. It will only apply changes to notes with a starting time close to a chosen subdivision value, like 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, etc., and they can be the odd notes (on-beat), the even notes (off-beat) or both.

The properties changes available are pitch, velocity, position, duration, chance and velocity deviation. They can be applied in Relative, Absolute or Randomize Modes. This MIDI tool can also delete, mute or unmute the selected notes with additional conditions.

Subdivisions is useful to add feel to MIDI clips, by having precise control of the separation between the on-beats and the off-beats (swing), and the dynamics between them.

You can make a clip groove, accent certain notes, move the 2’s and 4’s ahead or behind the beat, quantize the starting and ending time of the notes separately, make two MIDI clips “play in the pocket”, and more. With MIDI clips on a loop, Subdivisions can apply chance and velocity deviation only to the off-beats for example, leaving the on-beats without changes or with different values.

Watch Subdivisions Overview

Subdivisions versus Find and Select MIDI Notes

Ableton Live 12.1 introduced the new feature Find and Select MIDI Notes. It adds a workflow for selecting notes in the MIDI Note Editor, including searching for specific notes using different filters, like by a time range and notes count (similar to what Subdivisions can do). Although this new feature in Ableton Live 12.1 is really helpful for many things, there are a couple of advantages when using Subdivisions for transforming specific notes:

Subdivisions MIDI tool gives quick access to select the notes and change six of their parameters. Instead of moving the mouse pointer around the clip view editor, with Subdivisions you go to one single panel, select the notes and apply the changes right there.
Subdivisions MIDI tool has a great precision when selecting the notes, specially when they were recorded in realtime with no quantization. The Range parameter in Subdivisions helps to select the notes that are a little off from the subdivision line on the grid. When you try to do the same using with the Time filter in Find and Select MIDI Notes, some of the notes that are a little ahead of the grid line can be missed by the filter and it can only go down to a 1/16 range. Alternatively, with Subdivisions you can filter down to 1/64 and decide how much precision you want for the notes selection.
Subdivisions MIDI tool can change the parameters of notes in Relative, Absolute and Randomize Modes, plus there’s an option to delete or mute notes with specified conditions.
If you select notes using the Find and Select MIDI notes and then move the positions of those notes to manually create a swing effect, you’ll find that the adjacent notes can disappear when they overlap. With Subdivisions you won’t have this problem, because the selected notes will shorten their end times automatically without affecting the adjacent notes.

Watch Transforming Arpeggios with Subdivisions

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Mar 26, 2024 News

New AudioSwift Mixer Script for Ableton Live

I’ve released a new Ableton Live Script for the Mixer Mode in AudioSwift. AudioSwift Mixer Script (AMS) adds better control of the mixing section in Ableton Live using simple touch gestures on a trackpad. It works with the recent released AudioSwift version 2.3.7 beta and it has been tested in Ableton Live 10, 11 and the new 12 version.

Previously, AudioSwift in Mixer Mode worked with the Mackie Control protocol (MCU). The protocol had a couple of limitations like clicking on a track and focusing the trackpad controller to that track. We can now select any track and the controller will be focused. We can even select a device parameter, and it will automatically map the parameter to the trackpad fader. The script also adds a couple of key shortcuts for commands in Ableton Live.

Download the script and the current AudioSwift Beta version

Use the AudioSwift Mixer Script for controlling faders and panning, while you can work with our previous AudioSwift Control Script for controlling multiple macros and device parameters at the same time. Both scripts will improve your workflow in Ableton Live, especially if you work mobile with a MacBook. Check out the video tutorial below on how to configure the AudioSwift Mixer Script in Ableton Live.

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May 14, 2020 Tips & Tricks

Instant Mapping with Ableton Live and AudioSwift

Learn how to control Live macros with the trackpad and AudioSwift in Slider Mode.

In the last blog post, I talked about using Automation Quick Access in Logic Pro for mapping one single slider in AudioSwift to multiple parameters on a track. Now for Ableton Live, I’ll show you a way to automatically assign the eight macros knobs on a rack to virtual sliders on the trackpad. We’re going to use a feature called Instant Mappings, which consists on changing a remote script text file with the control change (CC) numbers of the sliders, so Live can read it and make the connection instantly when you select the rack. You can use this for writing automation or quickly change the settings of an instrument/effects rack while you’re looking for the right sound. Let’s start…

AudioSwift in Slider Mode

Go to the AudioSwift Console and change the controller mode to Slider. For this tutorial, I’m going to use Bank A for the first four sliders, Bank B for the other four and MIDI channel 1. I changed the labels from Encoder 1 to Encoder 8, and assigned a CC number to each one from 20 to 27 (choose CC numbers that aren’t used anywhere in your project). I also changed the format of all sliders to Relative A. This is how it looks:

The UserConfiguration.txt File

We are going to look for the UserConfiguration.txt file and modify the remote script. With Ableton Live closed, go to Finder and press CMD+SHIFT+G. In Go To the Folder, paste this address ~/Library/Preferences/Ableton and click Go. Look for your current Live version and then click the User Remote Scripts folder. Create a new folder called AudioSwift. Copy the file UserConfiguration.txt and paste it inside the AudioSwift folder or download the one I made for this tutorial.

~/Library/Preferences/Ableton/Live 10.1.13/User Remote Scripts/AudioSwift

Open the text file to make the changes. You’re going to see a lot of lines but don’t worry, it’s really easy to get through it. All lines that have # are comments. The text is divided into sections and we’re going to check only two. The first one at the top is [Globals]. Look for the line GlobalChannel. By default it’s set to 0 which is MIDI channel 1 (it goes from 0 to 15), so we are OK here, since the AudioSwift Console is also using channel 1.

The second section is [Device Controls]. Here we type the same CC numbers used in the AudioSwift Console to the eight encoders. Some more lines below, change the EncoderMapMode to LinearSignedBit. Save the file and close the window.

Device Controls Section in UserConfiguration.txt

Ableton Live Configuration

Open Live and go to Preferences > Link MIDI. Make sure AudioSwift 3 input port is turned on in the MIDI Ports section. Under Control Surface, choose AudioSwift and select AudioSwift 3 as Input and Output. Close the window.

Now let’s test it. Select the instrument or effect rack. You’ll see a blue hand icon next to the title of the device, meaning that it’s been controlled by AudioSwift. Turn on AudioSwift with a four or five finger tap and start moving the sliders. To change between banks A and B use the key shortcuts Z, X, comma or period. Press Escape when you finish.

More tips

I showed you how to use AudioSwift with macro controls, but you can also select any Live device and AudioSwift can handle the first 8 parameters. What parameters will control depends on the device itself and your memory to remember. For example, the first two sliders can control the frequency cutoff and resonance in the Auto Filter device. In Live’s Compressor, the first four handle the threshold, ratio, attack and release in that order.

Maybe you want to use one of the slider to map something different on the fly using CMD+M on Ableton Live. You can use the sliders in Bank C of AudioSwift for this, or since we used MIDI channel 1 for the remote script with AudioSwift, change to another channel in the AudioSwift Console with key shortcuts Right or Left arrows.

If you’re looking to control volume and pan, I recommend using AudioSwift in Mixer Mode. It’s specially designed for this purpose. Learn how to use it with Ableton Live in our tutorials section. Once it’s configured, switch between Mixer and Slider Mode with key shortcuts 1 and 5.

We used relative MIDI for this particular configuration. If you feel the sensitivity of the slider is not what are you looking for, we can set it up to use absolute MIDI. Change the EncoderMapMode in the UserConfiguration.txt file to Absolute instead of LinearSignedBit, and change each slider in AudioSwift to Regular format. Then go to Ableton > Preferences > Link MIDI and try one of the Takeover Modes: None, Pick up or Value Scaling. Also, try another sensitivity for the controllers in AudioSwift > Preferences > Slider & XY tab.

For really complex automation, try assigning the same CC numbers of the Slider Mode to one or two XY pads in the XY Mode View 2, and experiment controlling up to four macros at the same time in all directions. Use the Return to Default setting in the AudioSwift Console to return to the original position of the knobs.

Be bold and have fun!