Ableton live control with MFC-101 and USB

S

sethreign

New Member
well i've been reading and working on this for a bit now and it's just not working so i'd love some insight from those of you that are doing this

hey i'm having trouble getting my CC info to ableton via USB using the mfc-101 going thru the axe fx xl. was wondering if you could share your settings or any tips

i'm using a mac and ableton 9.1

i've gone into the I/O settings and tried it every which way, there is no midi thru option for what i gather with the XL

i've also tried running a midi cable out of my axe and into my other midi usb interface and i'm still not seeing midi information coming into live

my goal is to set up external pedal and switches or even IA switches to control parameters and do scene changes in live.

in theory this is pretty easy stuff so i'm not sure what i'm doing wrong...
 
I would also like to know about this. Actually, I am interested in going the other way... I want Ableton to make my changes for me. But being able to launch clips would be cool too. I have another midi controller I'll use for that... and probably have our drummer do that. But having my Axe patch changes done for me on the tracks would be sweet.
 
I don't have an XL, but there is a MIDI Thru On/Off option on the AxeFxII MkII

However, the XL has more MIDI OUT and THRU ports, so there clearly is a difference - have you tried both ports..?
 
Hey Guys!

I've got problem with setting up Fractal, MFC, and Ableton together.
Axe FX 2 is connected to Macbook via USB, MFC to Axe via ethercon.
In Axe settings "midi through" is set to on, "midi usb adapter" also set to on.
Midi messages works only in 1 way, from ableton to axe (fractal gets ableton bpm changes, preset changes etc), but ableton don't get any midi messages...

Any sugestions?
Thanks!
 
I use a gordius little giant that has a midi interface built into it, midi and usb.

One midi cable goes to the axe-fx and it's two-way: I can send to the axe-fx and receive tuner down a single cable.
One usb cable goes to the computer. It's also two-way: I can send midi to Ableton and Digital Performer, and those programs can send midi for the axe-fx (automation) to the little giant, and the LG routes that midi to the axe-fx.

I have an ableton template I built for looping. Ableton could hold backing tracks and do automation, but I use Digital Performer for that.

The little giant is so versatile it'll literally boggle your mind what you can do. My command spreadsheet for the Ableton looping template is really dense, but it works!
 
This literally just showed up in my inbox.
nativeKONTROL DDC


It's another way to interface a midi controller with Ableton, with a few more options like controlling LEDs and what looks like a better "takeover" function. BTW, the Gordius has LED control built into it, so you can use the LEDs to give you more info. I use it to tell me when I have vocal effects muted and for other functions inside my Ableton looping template.
 
Thank You, but I don't want to buy another controller ;)
Is there any way to check that Macbook receive midi messages from mfc? Maybe it's problem with ableton configuration?
 
Could you hook the MFC MIDI Out directly to the MIDI In on your interface and then have that pass THRU to the AxeFX so that you can effectively 'intercept' (and capture) the MIDI instructions as they're being passed through your DAW..?
 
Owczar said:
Is there any way to check that Macbook receive midi messages from mfc? Maybe it's problem with ableton configuration?
Click to expand...

Yes. Midi Monitor: snoize: MIDI Monitor

If your AxeFX is recognized by your computer (AxeEdit or FractalBot can see it) , you will typically see real-time messages immediately appearing when you load Midi Monitor. Use the Midi Monitor filtering to turn off the real-time and unknown messages, this will make it easier to debug. (You should not have to change any other Midi Monitor settings in order to watch the incoming MIDI traffic to your computer.)

As far as receiving the CC's from EXT1-4 via your MFC, make sure your EXT1-4's are configured to send the necessary CC's in the MFC setup screens, as necessary. More information about this is in the manual.

Once you have filtering configured in Midi Monitor as mentioned above, trigger an EXT controller. You should see the configured CC value show up in Midi Monitor's log, with the configured values.

If you do not, you have a configuration issue in the MFC. You'll need further help.

If you do, then it should be available to Ableton Live.

Load Live, and go into preferences and find your way to the Midi section. You need to make sure the Axe USB ports are enabled. You then need to make sure that "remote" is turned on for the Axe's Midi In port (eg: incoming to your compute.) IIRC, In Ableton's Midi config, "remote" is for listening for CC's and "track" is typically for listening for notes.

If none of this works, then hopefully someone else can get you on your way.

(Disclaimer: I'm not near my Axe or DAW, this is all from memory.)
 
@zenkick I'm having the same problem. I reset my MFC101 and AxeFx XL to factory settings. I'm using Faslink to connect the MFC to the AxeFx, and USB to connect the laptop. I'm using a Mac, which might be part of the problem?

Using snoize if I move the expression pedal I receive the following output. Any ideas of how to fix this?

16:40:20.045 From MIDI Out Invalid 1 bytes
16:40:20.061 From MIDI Out Invalid 1 bytes
16:40:20.061 From MIDI Out Invalid 1 bytes
16:40:20.076 From MIDI Out Invalid 1 bytes
 
@svaha1728 - I use a Mac too.

I've since sold my MFC, and don't recognize the error messages as anything I've seen when I did use the MFC, so I'm afraid I can't offer any real help here.

Good luck!
 
I’m having a similar issue with Axe-FX II XL+/LF+JR+/Ableton Live 9 on MacBook Pro currently.

LF+ foot controller is connected via 7-pin MIDI to the Axe. Axe connects to Mac over USB. I can see the incoming MIDI traffic on a MIDI monitor program (Axe-FX MIDI Out port)...All looks correct. Also selected Axe’s MIDI ports in Ableton. Everything looks right!!! But no MIDI signals are appearing in Live.

I’ve tried connecting the controller over USB directly to the computer via the FAMC bridge software and it works fine.

What am I doing wrong? Not sure if there is some bug in the USB MIDI from the Axe or if I’m missing something obvious.
 
If you want to receive messages on your computer from your MFC, while your MFC is connected with FASLink and your Axe is connected to the computer via USB, you need to a) enable MIDI Adapter mode and b) MFC Echo to MIDI Out. Both on the Axe-FX front panel.

If you want to enable and disable things in Ableton with your MFC switches, you need to enable both Track and Remote for the relevant MIDI input in Ableton.

If you want to sync Axe-FX tempo, you need to enable Sync in Ableton for the relevant output. If you want to control things (i.e. change scenes), enable Track.

Note that enabling Adapter mode has consequences. First, Axe-Edit will lag. So when you adjust your presets, you might want to disable that temporarily. Second, it increases CPU usage slightly. So if you have presets that use the CPU a lot, you may get problems as in missed MIDI messages. MIDI has lower priority than audio in Axe FX.
 
Last edited:
It's on. That's not the problem. You can check the other thread to get the full picture. I don't want to mess up this thread but I do think the problems are related.
 
Yes, bondsong and I have a very similar problem. USB adaptor mode on/off has no bearing on the issue. It appears to be a driver issue. Also, FWIW, I’m not using an MFC but an LF+. Maybe MFC works ok...i no longer have one to test with
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom