How to Use MIDI Controllers Ableton, Logic & FL Studio

To figure out how to achieve this, I've been doing a lot of Googling, watching YouTube videos, and reading through Reddit. However, none of the lessons I've found appear to apply to what I'm attempting to do.

Is there a way to make a DAW play nicely with numerous controllers without having to plug and disconnect every time I want to switch things up?

In addition, I wanted to be able to assign the drum pad's keys to interact directly with the various sounds while yet being able to quickly switch to, say, a piano emulation and have access to all of the notes on my piano controller.

Just as you can simultaneously record several audio performances on various audio tracks, you can use two MIDI controllers. Each controller generates a distinct performance and initiates a distinctive set of sounds on numerous instrument tracks.

This article will describe how to use several MIDI controllers with various DAWs, including FL Studio, Logic, and Ableton. You'll be able to make them all operate at once.

Ableton has several MIDI controllers.

Click the "i/o" circle on the right in session view to bring up a few drop-down boxes for each track in Ableton if you want to use two MIDI controllers. You will be able to select the controller you wish for every MIDI track. For each device you want to control, you will create a separate track.

Then, set each song's input to the matching keyboard that you want to use to control it.

You must disable the exclusive arm in Live's options, then switch monitoring to Auto and enable the arm button on both tracks if you wish to play both instruments at once.

1. Change the setting for "All Ins" under the MIDI channel's I/O (Input/Output) settings to the specific keyboard you want to use to control that instrument in the main view (Arrangement or Session View).
2. Repeat with the opposite keyboard or instrument.

Now, the keyboard assigned to the device will only activate it when the tunes are armed (but you may switch the toggle from "Auto" to "In" if you want it to record everything whether the track is armed or not).

If you don’t see I/O controls:

How can I attach different MIDI devices to different tracks?

If you're using a MIDI keyboard and MIDI controller, you're probably sending MIDI CCs to control a number of live synths on several tracks if you want to switch between songs simply by record arming the track.

Open the IO on the tracks where your VST instruments are placed and change the MIDI Forms to No Input.

Construct a MIDI Track and set the MIDI From to "MyKeyboard" or your controller, and the MIDI To to whatever instrument track you desire for each routine you wish to create.

With no songs enabled, you won't hear anything, but you could notice the MIDI meter blinking in the MIDI From area. You'll see your keyboard or controller launching the designated device as soon as you arm a tune (one of the songs you created for routing). The other keyboard user is doing the same.

What should you do if a midi controller suddenly stops responding to your fader?

When using two midi controllers with Ableton, there are instances when you'll assign a knob or fader and it'll look like no matter what you do, the parameter is unable to pick up anything from any of my controllers.

You must comprehend the interplay between the MIDI settings in the preferences, the overlaps between devices, and both MIDI in-out and Ableton control in-out in order to resolve this.

Third-party VST mapping often begins with an Ableton macro, which is subsequently mapped to the outboard hardware. a series of two steps.

It is necessary to save the project folder when, for instance, mapping a VST to an Ableton macro in a rack. It is not among the preferences of everyone.

You might be able to disable the unnecessary ins and outs if you can manage your MIDI inputs and outputs in the MIDI options. This may lessen the unpredictable nature of directives from one device overriding those from another.

How can I link a command to two midi notes on two different controllers?

It's simple to map your first midi controller to start the next scene, but it can be challenging to map a second midi controller to do the same without overwriting the first instruction.

By pressing a midi device's pad or using a foot pedal, you might accomplish this.

Unfortunately, Ableton cannot accept two separate words for the same function, so it is impossible to map two different notes to the same button or function. However, you have a few choices:

1. To broadcast the same note on the same channel as the other, modify one of the controllers. It will work if you program your controllers to emit the same midi word (certain controllers can be programmed to do this).
2. Use a midi tool (like Bome's) to translate a note from one of the controller signals to another before sending it to the live performance.

The Bome translator begins out by just passing through whatever it sees as it sits between external devices and your laptop (Ableton). Then you create a script (so easy, just click buttons), and it reads and picks up what the device sent. The script you write will change the controller's midi word to the one you choose. The translator will therefore convert one of them when it finds that it matches the word from the other device that it has just passed through, despite the fact that they both output distinct words.

If you've set up shortcuts, you can even have it output a keyboard letter so that both midi instruments and your keyboard can activate the scene or function in Ableton. When you have mastered the technique, ANYTHING is feasible.

3. Send the appropriate note to a virtual midi port (iac on a Mac) that comes back into Ableton to activate the scene. This will create a dummy clip in Ableton that is triggered by the second controller.

Logic Pro

By default, the sum of all MIDI controllers that Logic has detected is transmitted to the sequencer input (in the MIDI Environment). Additionally, Logic monitors for MIDI data from all channels of all instruments if only one software instrument track is enabled for recording.

With Logic, you may use many MIDI instruments simultaneously by:

• change the MIDI environment to connect instruments to the sequencer input, tracks, and monitors or,
• have the MIDI Channel assigned in the track inspector and have each device set up to use a different MIDI channel.

The Logic uses the MIDI Channel set up for the tunes if you have more than one software device active for recording. Each MIDI device must be set to deliver messages on the same channel as the song you wish the instrument to play through, of course.

Read on if you want to learn how to play different instruments using different MIDI controllers, or if you want to use an external sequencer (such an MPC One or another computer running Logic) to trigger the instruments inside of Logic.

1. Turn on multiplayer mode for logic

Choose Auto demix by channel while recording multitrack in the MIDI section of Logic Pro X's File > Project Settings > Recording menu.

a number of midi controllers

2. Configure the MIDI Channel on Each Controller Keyboard.

Choose a MIDI channel for each controller, then consult the documentation for each controller to learn how to adjust the MIDI channel it transfers on.

If you're using an MPC or another external MIDI sequencer, you can skip this step (where songs already transmit MIDI info on their own channel).

3. Configure Each Logic Track's MIDI Channel.

Set the MIDI channel parameter for each instrument track in Logic to be triggered by controller transmissions on that channel.

a number of midi controllers

4. Record-arm all of the Logic controllers' MIDI tunings.

Using two MIDI controllers with FL Studio

I've always thought it odd that FL recognizes two different MIDI devices but lacks a straightforward method of allowing you to use one controller for a synth and a separate one for a drum machine (just as an example).

I had to manually select a different MIDI controller before playing a different channel on the instrument rack. It's just boring!

Old articles that instruct you on how to perform things have been found, but they all lead nowhere.

You must need the FPC plugin if you want to use two controllers with FL Studio. Making it a child of the "Layer" layer and choosing "Map notes for the entire bank" from the dropdown menu will allow you to map the pads to the midi signals.

After pressing this button, sequentially push or trigger the keyboard buttons you want to use for the pads (bottom left to the upper right).

Your midi signals will be connected once you've pressed all the buttons you want to utilize and selected "Cancel map notes for the entire bank."

Simply right-click on the volume sliders to midi-map the mixing parameters. Move the desired fader or knob by right-clicking, connecting to a controller.

How can I set certain ranges for numerous instruments in FL Studio?

For instance, you might want your axiom's lowest octave to play bass and the rest to control a lead.

To accomplish this, you would select the bass instrument and use the pop-up box to restrict the midi input.

To alter the instrument's range, click and hold the orange portion of the image, then use your right mouse button to alter the root note. (The instrument will play at a lower pitch the higher your root note is.)

The same holds true for your lead; just make sure they don't cross each other, and you've made a multi-instrument keyboard for yourself.