MK2 + Ableton mode = missing drum pads?

[Bograch]

Hi all,
a total beginner here, please bear with me 

So I'm learning the basics of Mk2's integration into Ableton and I ran into a brick wall.

When I load up the drum rack and drag some individual drums into it, I can play them just fine in the Analog Lab mode (Shift+1). But when I change to the Ableton mode (Shift+8), I lose access to them. As far as I can see, there is no way to map the drums to the drum pad keys (or any other keys, for that matter) in Ableton mode.
So as of now, I would have to start in Ableton mode and press "record", switch to the Analog Lab mode to record drums and then quickly change back to Ableton mode to stop recording.
I'm pretty sure there are other ways to do it, I'm guessing by using the MIDI control center. Any help and/or clarification would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

[LilSmeag]

Hi. The first thing you should know is that you don't have to specifically use Analog Lab mode or Ableton mode in those situations. You are free to use any of the 8 banks the Mk2 has to offer. The reason it's (generally) useful to select Bank 1 and 8 for Analog lab and Ableton uses is that there is special functionality embedded into them. For example, Analog Lab mode let's you use the encoders to directly control device settings inside the plugin.
As for Ableton mode...When you select it, drum pads become controls for clip launching in session view. You can see that by changing to session view and pressing some of the pads for which there are tracks (try first 4). Some clips' indicators inside Ableton will light up. The second row of pads (when selecting buttons 9-16) will control the next row of clips, relative to the one you have selected at that moment.
For a quick fix, use any of the banks 2-7 when you want to play instruments and don't use session view. Drum pads will auto-map to low notes which will control default Ableton drum racks.
I recommend searching a bit about the Mk2's functionality on YouTube or on forums, it's pretty capable for its size.
Let me know if you need help with anything else.

[Hafenloewe]

Hi LilSmeag,
Thanks for the explantion. You wrote that there is a "special functionality" in Bank 1 and 8. So, is it not possible to "Recall" Bank 8 in the Arturia MIDI Control Center and change pads 9-16 to MIDI-Note pads for Channel 10?

I feel that the second row of CLip control is kind of unnecessary and I would prefer to have Drum pads on pads 9-16, but keep the clip control for pads 1-8.

Tks & Brgds!

PS: The Verifcatipn code of this forum is....!!!!

[ftrela]

So, is it not possible to "Recall" Bank 8 in the Arturia MIDI Control Center and change pads 9-16 to MIDI-Note pads for Channel 10?

I feel that the second row of CLip control is kind of unnecessary and I would prefer to have Drum pads on pads 9-16, but keep the clip control for pads 1-8.

That would be a good trick, but unfortunately it won't work. The Ableton remote script for Minilab is "expecting" bank 8 to be activated, so copying this mapping to another bank and then changing some controls won't do the job.

[LilSmeag]

Hi, sorry for the late response, I didn't see any notification.

As ftrela mentioned, remapping banks 1 and 8 inside Midi Control Center won't do the trick. If you use other DAWs, maybe these special functions won't be there, but Ableton has them. The technical reason (simplified), since I checked the control surface code, is that Arturia did not use the mappings to implement Live mode and Analog Lab mode, but rather the hardware buttons themselves. This means that you can remap bank 8 (bank 1 is read-only if I'm not mistaken), but the functions remain the same.

EDIT: not selecting the Mk2 as a control surface inside the settings might work, haven't tested that; it would completely get rid of Live mode, but also the controller might not automatically map to Live devices like a drum rack. If you still want Live mode but other functions for it, maybe my modified script could be useful. Check for modified functionality here on the forum. As long as you have Ableton Live Lite or use a maximum of 8 tracks, it works as intended.

[Branco Serra]

Hi, would you mind sending me the template of the ableton mode? I accidentally overwrited the memory 8 and now i cant get back the config

[LilSmeag]

Just saw your reply, sorry for the delay. The MIDI Control Center has the default factory templates as always-there, you-can't-delete-me profiles. You can use that to revert your 8th bank to default settings. I'd suppose you found a solution to your problem in the meantime, but for anyone reading this in the future, that's an option. Also, Ableton doesn't really care about what mapping you choose inside the MIDI Control software, since the Ableton Live mode (8th bank) automatically remaps everything.

[Branco Serra]

Just saw your reply, sorry for the delay. The MIDI Control Center has the default factory templates as always-there, you-can't-delete-me profiles. You can use that to revert your 8th bank to default settings. I'd suppose you found a solution to your problem in the meantime, but for anyone reading this in the future, that's an option. Also, Ableton doesn't really care about what mapping you choose inside the MIDI Control software, since the Ableton Live mode (8th bank) automatically remaps everything.

Thanks man