Remote Zero Mk 2 - Bome - Live 8 - rotary encoder mapping

ello Florian & Crew!!!! !! I have been trying to work with the remote zero & bome to control ableton 8...

all i want to do is use the rotary encoders to scroll up and down through clips on a track, I want the encoder to be able to transmit messages which will correspond to key up & key down keystrokes on my qwerty. In addition to this function I need the eight separate encoders to control the scrolling *(key up/key down function) on each separate track in live...

ie first encoder / track 1 - turn clockwise = scroll down / turn anticlockwise = scroll up
2nd encoder / track 3 - turn clock wise = scroll down / turn anticlockwise = scroll up
3rd encoder / track 2- turn clock wise = scroll down / turn anticlockwise = scroll up

u get the idea i hope....

so in practice i could, for example simultaneously scroll to the 5th clip down in track 1, the 8th clip in track 2, the third in 3, the 6th in four, only if I had like 15 fingers on each of my four hands (!)

Here's where im getting stuck:

1. In bome i get as far as assigning the encoder to a keystroke, but so far i've only got it to go up OR down, in live. what must i do to make it work both ways??


2. How do I set the Remote Zero encoders to govern a track each??

Thank You for reading and helping hopefully!!

Best Regards- Bala

Hi balatoui,

so, for me it´s hard to understand, what you want to make in ableton, cause I don´t know the program. Perhaps I can help you wehn you explain me what you get in and what you want to output.

So, I see the remote zero. Do you want to use the knobs on the left side? I you turn right, you want to scroll up, I you turn left, you want to scroll down? Do you want to use the different knobs to service differnet tracks?

Is that correct?

So, what is the MIDI incoming of a knob? Can you post this? And which keystrokes do Ableton need for controlling that? Is it always the same keystroke and it depends on the focus, or can you use different keystrokes for each track?

Cheers,
Rüdi

Hi RuDi

thanx for the reply man!!

well i got the rotary encoder to scroll up and down so thats the first task completed!!

and YES RuDi i want different knobs to service different tracks!!!!! oh yes!!!

now what i want to achieve:

>the rotary encoders on the left hand side of the remote zero
>I want them to be my clip select controls for each of my eight track i use 4 my set

basically in ableton u have a matrix of loops which u can weave together by triggering this audio. I am trying to find a way to swiftly select and trigger clips (loops) over a number of tracks simultaneously.

Is there a way I can lock a rotary to a certain track. so when i turn that rotary it will always only cycle through the clips on that track?

OK Rudi:

These are the MIDI incoming: / / / / / / / This is what i want them to do

Rotary 1: BO 48 pp / / Track 1 clip cycle controls
Rotary 2: BO 28 pp / / Track 2 clip cycle controls
Rotary 3: BO 06 07 / / Track 3 clip cycle controls
Rotary 4: BO 50 pp / / Track 4 clip cycle controls
Rotary 5: BO 52 pp / / Track 5 clip cycle controls
Rotary 6: BO 09 pp / / Track 6 clip cycle controls
Rotary 7: BO 66 pp / / Track 7 clip cycle controls
Rotary 8: BO 6B pp / / Track 8 clip cycle controls

thanx a million man!!!

balataoui wrote: Is there a way I can lock a rotary to a certain track. so when i turn that rotary it will always only cycle through the clips on that track?

Unfortunately Ableton Live doesn't have the proper functionality to do what you're looking to do. With Ableton, scrolling/launching can either be done directly on the "scenes" (an entire row of clips) or via the arrow keys on the selected cell (based on what's in focus at the time).

Really your best option to get close to what you want to do would be to map each clip box individually. This would be tedious - but it would work similarly to how you are describing what you want. The alternative, using the focus-based method, would be nearly impossible to manage and would have your focus box flying all over your screen - which I know I wouldn't want...

Basically what you would need to do would be to have a knob AND a trigger button assigned for each track you're wanting to use. You would select the clip you want to fire off on the knob (say clip 14) and then you would fire it off with a launch button. It looks like the Zero MK2 has a good layout to do just that, using the drum pads or even one of the lower buttons.

So your code for the first track would look something like this;

Track 1 Selector Knob:
Incoming - B0 48 pp
Rules - ga = pp
Outgoing - none

Track 1 Launch Button:
Incoming - whatever
Rules - none
Outgoing - 90 ga 7F

The outgoing action consists of a "90" message - which is a midi Note On on the first midi channel. The "ga" variable changes the note that's sent from 0 thru 127 (think from C-2 on a midi keyboard to C8, 10 whole octaves). The "7F" just means send a full velocity note.

So basically your knob would select which note you want to send, and the drum pad or button would transmit it. Once you have that set up you can individually map the clip slots you want on track 1 to the value of the knob. Mapping, as I stated, would be tedious. You would have to go into Live midi mapping mode, click on the clip slot you want to use, turn your knob to "1", and then hit the drum pad to map. Repeat ad infinitum for the rest of the clips...

Then when you get around to mapping track two - just use the same translators as the first track but change the "90" to "91" so you're transmitting on the next midi channel. Also, you'd have to change the global variable "ga" to the next one, "gb".

I'd be happy to help you out further with this if you like. Lemme know if you have any questions...

joe

Hi balataoui,
I think joesapo is right in saying there's no direct solution to your needs for the combination of the SL Zero and Ableton. I've been working with that combination for a while, but decided that it was not very musical scrolling up and down to find the row you want in a track, and then launching that clip. That's pretty much the FaderFox approach, and as tempting as it seems, I ultimately decided that I didn't want to hunt around for the clips I wanted to launch. I wanted to be able to punch a button (one for every clip) and be done with it!
Even using the computer keyboard to launch clips is more intuitive and immediate, and I'm pretty sure you can use more than one keyboard. at a time. That frees up the Zero's encoders for functions they're better suited for.

For that matter, I'd think you'd even be more likely to be satisfied by using your mouse to launch clips than by hunting for the correct row and then launching the clip.

Another approach would be to change templates on the Zero, and assigning different controller messages to a row of switches. You can use switches on the Zero to select different templates, so you don't have to scroll through them, and once a template is selected, the switches would send messages to launch clips in a certain row of ableton.

Another thought, along joesapo's line would be to scroll to a certain scene, but not actually launch the scene. Then use a row of switches on the Zero to send a track launch. (That's done by assigning a unique midi cc message to the track launch button...visible only when you enter the midi assign mode...you'll find it in the manual if you don't know about it. This would mean, though, that you'd have to be scrolling up and down to highlight the row in which the particular clip you want is, and then launch it. Like other such solutions, I think it's not particularly conducive to musical thinking while you're trying to get "off the ground".

But if you have even the most basic soldering skills, you might consider doing what I did. Search the internet for "DIY midi controller". There are several companies offering kits which you can use as a starting point to build up a controller, and you can let your imagination guide your design, ending up with a controller that suits your desires. It takes a bit of time, but you might be happy with such a solution. MT will be your friend. You obviously have a technical nature if you're attracted to using MT, so I'd think you're capable of succeeding if you're willing to devote the time.

Other solutions exist, but I guess you're trying not to spend buckets of money. There's the fabulously expensive Lemur which, and in any case, is probably not to everyone's taste because there's no tactile feedback (I would think). I think there are other touchscreen based attempts at midi controllers beginning to appear, and I would think that they're far less expensive. There are even DIY touchscreen kits.
Then, of course, there's the APC40. Might suit a lot of people's needs, and not too expensive.
OK....hope you find a way to do what you want.
Gabriel

Dear Crew thank U for ur wonderful insight!!!

I love the the scene select clip launch idea gabriels. yeah come to think of it using the rotaries to select different clips was a little far fetched but i was thinking like a scientist, not a musician when i dreamt that one up!!

well i also got the apc40 but i like to try making music in different ways seeing how fluid i can make the experience, i think i will try some more Bome Magic in ableton, the remote zero with the tips u guys suggested

Cheers - Bala

Bala,
one last thought. Check the manual for hot key commands. You can do interesting things with them. Need mt pro for that.
Oh, one more thing. Try the mt absolute cursor mouse commands followed by a mouse click.
Gabriel

I forgot I actually have a live browsing preset all set to go; http://sapostudio.com/share/livebrowse.bmtp

The basics;

Yikes!!! What does it do?

gabriels wrote:Yikes!!! What does it do?

It handles grabbing clips from the Live browser, navigating your focus around, and zooming the clip view. I recommend turning 'follow' on when you're using the zoom, it makes for a cool effect if you zoom in real close...

Just remap the incoming triggers as necessary...